Xavier Marcel Boulestin (1878 - 1943) was a chef, one of the outstanding French restaurateurs of his generation and the author of several cookbooks that popularized French cuisine in the English-speaking world.
Upon the opening of his restaurant, Boulestin's in England, as a restaurant chef he embarked on his new and most successful career. Under his credo Good meals should be the rule, not the exception, Marcel Boulestin remained as an expatriate to make a huge success with his famous restaurant, which was unrivaled among small establishments between the First and Second World Wars, followed by his cooking courses, and his popular books, with their chatty narrative recipes that introduced British cooks to la cuisine bourgeoise of France.
Boulestin's downstairs premises with Art Deco decor opened in 1926. The superb cuisine he served, adjusted to seasonal ingredients from the central market of Covent Garden outside his door, attracted the haut monde of Britain, the Continent and America: connoisseurs of food, famous writers, artists, and diplomats became intimate friends. His The Conduct of the Kitchen (1925) is part of the mainstream history of cuisine.
He wrote many occasional pieces on food, in Vogue and The Manchester Guardian. His memoirs, Ease and Endurance (A Londres Nagučre) were published in 1948.
Boulestin was the first television chef, appearing on a BBC program in television's earliest experimental days, in 1937.
Upon the opening of his restaurant, Boulestin's in England, as a restaurant chef he embarked on his new and most successful career. Under his credo Good meals should be the rule, not the exception, Marcel Boulestin remained as an expatriate to make a huge success with his famous restaurant, which was unrivaled among small establishments between the First and Second World Wars, followed by his cooking courses, and his popular books, with their chatty narrative recipes that introduced British cooks to la cuisine bourgeoise of France.
Boulestin's downstairs premises with Art Deco decor opened in 1926. The superb cuisine he served, adjusted to seasonal ingredients from the central market of Covent Garden outside his door, attracted the haut monde of Britain, the Continent and America: connoisseurs of food, famous writers, artists, and diplomats became intimate friends. His The Conduct of the Kitchen (1925) is part of the mainstream history of cuisine.
He wrote many occasional pieces on food, in Vogue and The Manchester Guardian. His memoirs, Ease and Endurance (A Londres Nagučre) were published in 1948.
Boulestin was the first television chef, appearing on a BBC program in television's earliest experimental days, in 1937.
