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Dec 23 - Jan 6, 2001 |
An ancient but revolutionary gourmand
Apicius was the father of modern-day cuisine and author of the first gastronomic book
By Antonio Maglio
Originally Published: 2001-12-02
Moralists depicted him as a dissolute glutton. But if the top Roman historian, Tacitus, and great philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca both mention his works, then maybe the life of Appius Marcus Gavius "Apicius" wasn't entirely wasted.
Had he had no other merit, having authored the world's first recipe book, the 10 volumes of De Re Coquinaria (About Cooking) that are still a reference for chefs and gourmets, would have been enough to remember him by. But De Re Coquinaria is not just a collection of recipes; it's the description of the tastes of the Imperial Roman age, magnificent and omnipotent even at the dining table, shaken by Apicius' introduction of beef in a period when it was against both the law and traditions to eat it.
Little is known about him except that he lived under Augustus and Tiberius (he was born in 29 B.C.), the period of Imperial Rome's highest splendour. He belonged to a very rich and aristocratic family, and had no problem making ends meet. On the contrary, he used the immense patrimony of his family to ensure he never lacked anything superfluous; this wasn't simply a matter of luxury to him, but of extreme sophistication as well. He had a soft spot for good food, and his table was laden with the best that could be obtained. Seneca wrote that Apicius once bid 5.000 sesterces, a small fortune, at an auction for a 4-pound mullet.
He well represented the grandeur of Imperial Rome, even at lunchtime. He was nicknamed Apicius after the name of a famous gourmand who lived almost a century before him, and who had invented a system for preserving oysters. That was a trifle, compared with what Appius Marcus Gavius ("our" Apicius) managed to invent for himself and for his guests: delicacies such as camel's foot, sauce of bird's comb, of nightingale, peacock and flamingo tongues boiled and seasoned with some drops of Apulian olive oil. Also, Lucanian boar hunted when the Southerly wind was blowing, stuffed with stewed thrushes, shelled snails, eggs and braised vegetables, cooked on a low flame in a stone oven; or else, stock made with a pregnant moray.
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