A[lexandre] Viard's Le Cuisinier Impérial (Paris: J.-N. Barba, 1806) was a culinary encyclopedia that passed through at least thirty-two editions in its long career as the essential reference work for the French professional chef during the nineteenth century. During its long run it was a staple of its publisher, J.-N. Barba, who warned potential literary pirates, in an age before the enforcement of copyright, of his intention to prosecute any editors of cookbooks who took, in whole or part, any recipes from the publication.

Viard, who called himself "Homme de Bouche", is variously credited with being chef de cuisine to Louis XVI

Louis XVI of France

Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....

 and to Napoleon

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

. The cookbook

Cookbook

A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...

 appeared under various titles that reflected regime changes: with the restoration of the Bourbons

House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

 it became Le Cuisinier Royal (Paris: Barba, 1817) in its ninth edition, and in 1852, in its twenty-second edition, Le Cuisinier National. The co-author Fouret appeared in editions of the 1820s. Its last edition appeared in 1875.

Viard's rival in French kitchens was Marie-Antoine Carême

Marie-Antoine Carême

Marie Antoine Carême , known as the "King of Chefs, and the Chef of Kings" was an early practitioner and exponent of the elaborate style of cooking known as haute cuisine, the "high art" of French cooking: a grandiose style of cookery favored by both international royalty and by the newly rich of...

's L'Art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle, the first volume of which appeared in 1833.

A German translation was published as Viard und Fourets Universal-Kochbuch (Stuttgart, Carl Hoffmann, 1827). A second edition was credited to Catharina Löffler, Pariser Kochbuch (Stuttgart, Weise and Stoppani, 1829).

An earlier, unrelated cookbook with a similar name, François Massialot's

François Massialot

François Massialot was a French chef who served as chef de cuisine to various illustrious personages, including Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV, and his son Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was first duc de Chartres then the Regent, as well as the duc d'Aumont, the Cardinal...

 Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois, one of the first French cookbooks, consisted of recipe

Recipe

A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...

s from Louis XIV

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

's kitchens and marked the beginning of haute cuisine

Haute cuisine

Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe.The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne...

.