Dalí. Les dîners de Gala (VARIA)
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Individual Artists
Dalí. Les dîners de Gala (VARIA) Details
Review “A mammoth tome whose lustrous gold cover hints at decadence to come.”“…a surrealist feast for the eyes, a kaleidoscope of weird, captivating, extraordinary, and mind-bending images, with recipes to match.”“Surrealist fans and kooky cooks will enjoy TASCHEN’s re-issue of Salvador Dalí’s 1973 cookbook, Les Dîners de Gala. Illustrated with Dalí’s bizarre, erotic work and dinner spreads shot in garish 1970s tones, this is a legitimate cookbook…”“A surrealist, sensory treat.”“Salvador Dalí’s exotic and imaginative cookbook, filled with the stuff your dreams (or possibly your nightmares) are made of.”“This is one for hedonists. It brims with Dali’s sumptuous, often phallic, illustrations and wry photographs of the mustachioed painter at his famous dinner parties… It’s unlike any other cookbook this year, or any other year, for that matter.” Read more
Reviews
My mother had the original First French Edition of this book which was published in 1973. As a teenager it could usually be found in my room. I was already a big Dalí Fan then. I was delighted when Taschen reissued this book, this time translated into English. This lavishly illustrated cookbook presents all 136 recipes of the original in 12 chapters, specially illustrated by Dalí. The sections include: exotic dishes, eggs - seafood, first course, meats, snails - frogs, fish - shellfish, game - poultry, pork, vegetables, aphrodisiacs, sweets - deserts and hors d'oeuvres. The recipes are from top Paris Restaurants such as Lasserre, La Tour d’Argent, Maxim’s, and Le Train Bleu. Dali and Gala were known as extravagant connoisseurs. As far as I can tell these are all real recipes. The only one I ever tried was No.54 "Snails á la Chablisienne". The recipe calls for 100 snails, I reduced this to 12. Many of the other recipes are not really doable because of complexity, difficulty in finding the ingredients and probably also the difficulty in finding willing dinner guests to eat "Frog Cream", "Pig Feet in flaky pie crusts" and "Salsifies with quenelles".Illustrations consist of photographs of the dishes and table settings which are mostly ok and paintings and drawings by Dalí. Some I've seen before others not. There are also some photographs of menus. The book was printed in Italy and is very well illustrated. The reproductions are good, but the quality is not as good as the original, nor is the paper. One word of caution. The cover of the original was kind of metallic golden foil. This new edition is done in a shiny thick paper replicating the original gold cover. Both the new and the old cover are vulnerable to marking, scratching and damage. I would suggest if you're going to read the book, possibly slide it around a table or carry it around, to take the cover off while in use. Underneath the cover is cloth binding which features the painting "Autumnal Cannibalism" from 1936.Last word by Dalí himself on the book:“Les diners de Gala is uniquely devoted to the pleasures of taste … If you are a disciple of one of those calorie-counters who turn the joys of eating into a form of punishment, close this book at once; it is too lively, too aggressive, and far too impertinent for you.”—Salvador DalíReview by Walter O. Koenig
