'This isn't just any cookery book. It is Mastering the Art of French Cooking, first published in 1961, and it's a book that is a statement, not of culinary intent, but of aspiration, a commitment to

Soups from the garden, bisques from the sea, famous fish stews from Provence and Normandy, the real French crunchy bread, meats, vegetables and desserts in variety, all accompanied by step-by-step in