Physiologie du goût

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was born on April 1, 1755, in Belley, Ain. He was a French lawyer and politician, who became famous as a gourmet and gastronome. He studied medicine, law and chemistry in his early years and later practiced law in his town. He died on February 2, 1826, in Paris.

This book is his famous work, published in December 1825, soon after his death. The full title of this book is Physiologie du Goût, ou Méditations de Gastronomie Transcendante; ouvrage théorique, historique et à l'ordre du jour, dédié aux Gastronomes parisiens, par un Professeur, membre de plusieurs sociétés littéraires et savantes.

It is considered as one of the founding texts of gastronomy. At the beginning, you will find twenty aphorisms, followed by a conversation between the author and his friend. After that starts the main content of the book.

In this book the author provides a systematic analysis of the pleasures of eating and tries to highlight the anatomical and histological phenomena of eating, so his first step is to give and overview of the organs responsible for digestion.