SIGNED: Michel Guérard's Cuisine Minceur (Michel Guérard)

William Morrow & Co., New York, 1976. Hardcover with dust jacket. First Edition. In protective wrapping. Signed by the author! 

Michel Guérard was a pioneer of France's nouvelle cuisine movement of the 1960s. Developed in reaction to the rich excess and exacting rules of traditional french haute cuisine, the movement championed a lighter, brighter approach to cooking.

In 1974 a newly married Guérard moved to Eugénie-les-Bains in Southwest France to help his wife run her family's hotel and spa. In the hotel's restaurant, inspired by the spa's emphasis on wellness, he developed a style of cooking he branded "cuisine minceur" - the cuisine of slimness. His signature style built on the foundations of nouvelle cuisine and emphasized cooking techniques like poaching and roasting over frying.

While some recipes include familiar low-calorie substitutes of the era (non-fat powdered milk, artificial sweetener), most are luxurious by any standard: think lobster salad with caviar and baked sweetbread mousse with morels.

A rare gem and piece of french culinary history!

Dust jacket is in very good condition. One closed tear at top edge of front cover and slight yellowing at spine from sun exposure. Some light scuffing on front and back from shelf wear. Binding is tight and interior pages are bright and clear. Some foxing on exterior edges and first few pages.