Bartolomeo Scappi (c. 1500 – 13 April 1577) was a famous Italian Renaissance chef and food writer, best known for his high profile clients, including being the personal chef of Pope Pius IV.
Bartolomeo Scappi | |
|---|---|
 Bartolomeo Scappi | |
| Born | c. 1500 |
| Died | 13 April 1577 |
| Occupation(s) | Chef, food writer |
| Known for | Opera dell'arte del cucinare Chef of Pius IV and Pius V. |
Biography
editScappi came from Dumenza in Lombardy, Italy, according to the inscription on a stone plaque in the church of Luino.[1] In April 1536, he organised a banquet while in the service of Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio.[2] He served several other cardinals after this, then began to serve pope Pius IV, entering the service of the Vatican kitchen. He continued to work as a chef for pope Pius V. Scappi is often considered one of the first internationally renowned celebrity chefs.
He gained new fame in 1570 when his monumental cookbook, Opera dell'arte del cucinare, was published. In the book, he lists about 1,000 recipes of Renaissance cuisine and describes cooking techniques and tools, giving the first known picture of a fork.[3] He declared Parmesan to be the best cheese on earth,[4] and noted that "the liver of [a] domestic goose raised by the Jews is of extreme size and weighs [between] two and three pounds",[5] indicating that Jews of the time were practising the force-feeding used to produce foie gras. Reprints of Opera were continually published from 1570 to 1643.[6]
Scappi died on 13 April 1577, and was buried in the church of Saints Vincenzo and Anastasio alla Regola in Rome, dedicated to cooks and bakers.[7]
The Opera dell'arte del cucinare was partially translated into Spanish (Libro de cozina, 1599, by Diego Granado) and Dutch (Koocboec oft familieren keukenboec, 1612, by Antonius Magirus).[8][9] There is an English translation by the food historian Terence Scully (2008)[10] and modern Dutch translation by Ike Cialona (2015).[11]
Notes
edit- ^ (Riley 2007, p. 491).
- ^ Coquinaria – An Italian recipe from the sixteenth century URL accessed 31 December 2006.
- ^ (Rolland 2006, p. 273).
- ^ (Rolland 2006, p. 481).
- ^ (Ginor 1999, p. 11).
- ^ (Levillain 2002, p. 303).
- ^ (Benporat 2005).
- ^ (Schildermans 2007).
- ^ Schildermans – A Dutch translation of Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1612) Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed 19 December 2007.
- ^ "Scully, "The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570): L'arte et prudenza d'un maestro cuoco"". Agincourt Press. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "Bartolomeo Scappi - Koken voor kardinalen - Bartolomeo Scappi". De Best Verzorgde Boeken (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
References
edit- Ginor, Michael A. (1999), Foie Gras: A Passion, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-29318-0.
- Levillain, Philippe (2002), The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, Routledge (UK), ISBN 0415922283.
- Riley, Gillian (2007), The Oxford Companion to Italian Food, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198606178.
- Rolland, Jacques L. (2006), The Food Encyclopedia, Robert Rose, ISBN 0778801500.
- Schildermans, Jozef M. (2007), Lieve schat, wat vind je lekker? Het Koocboec van Antonius Magirus (1612) en de Italiaanse keuken van de renaissance, Davidsfonds, ISBN 9789058265005.
- Benporat, Claudio (2005), Bartolomeo Scappi, il mistero svelato, Appunti di gastronomia, nr. 46.
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