Alexis Benoît Soyer
(1810-1858), Cook and writer of cookery booksSitter in 6 portraits
A French chef, in 1837 Soyer was appointed the first chef at the newly created Reform Club in Pall Mall. He helped design the kitchens, instituting many innovations; the kitchens were so famous that they were opened for conducted tours. In 1847 the government asked Soyer to install soup kitchens in Ireland to help alleviate the famine there and during the Crimean War he went to Scutari to reorganise the catering in the hospitals. Soyer wrote a number of books about cooking. A Shilling Cookery for the People (1855) was a recipe book for ordinary people who could not afford elaborate kitchen utensils or large quantities of exotic ingredients.
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