... And too, the chefs of the largest and best ocean liners, whose menus are greatly praised and talked of by travelers to all ports of the world, are giving their choicest and most desired recipes to The International Cook Book, in order that the women of this country may use them in their daily meals... Margaret Weimer Heywood

{HISTORY}

When it comes to the history of The International Cook Book, it's a story of phenomenal numbers.  First published in 1930, it contains hundreds of recipes gathered from around the world and compiled by American home economics authority Margaret Weimer Heywood (1895-1966).

In preparation for this book, Margaret interviewed over 200,000 women across the country in regards to what they needed, wanted, and desired from a cookbook that would meet the changing demands of how people wanted to cook, eat, and entertain heading into a new decade. What was driving the 1930s home cook? Exotic fare? Detailed instructions? Reliable recipes?

After spending time with all these women, Margaret learned that home cooks of the Jazz Age wanted something new. Something beyond their mom's favorite been there-done that family recipes and their grandmother's Victorian fare. They wanted to make foods that were new to the table, tantalizing to the taste buds, and filled with glamorous, exotic, and worldly flavors. They wanted reliability in the making of these new recipes, with assurance that they would turn out beautifully each and every time. And they wanted practicality in their cooking with definitive directions that surpassed previous generations' handwritten notes, oral histories, and vague directions.  They wanted interesting, varied, and unique dishes that spoke to a new generation of appetites who were creative and curious home cooks with a penchant for exploring new flavors and broadening cultural horizons.

So Margaret went straight to the source for such foods and follies... the hospitality industry. Collecting favorite recipes from 56 hotel, restaurant, railroad, and oceanliner chefs around the globe, Margaret tested each one in her own kitchen to ensure that they could be easily mastered by American home cooks. 

Japan, Palestine, Greece, Canada, the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, Mexico, Scotland, France, Newfoundland, Yugoslavia, and Turkey were some of the countries featured. Cruise ship chefs from Holland-America, White Star, and Red-Star Lines submitted favorite recipes enjoyed by their passengers. Hotel chefs from The Mayflower in Washington, DC, the  Château Laurier in Ottawa, the Pera Palace Hotel in Constantinople, the Coblenzer Hof Hotel in Germany, and the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool included their most requested fare. 

They were recipes that covered breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper as well as tea time, picnic parties, and kid-friendly meals. There were menu suggestions, table setting suggestions, and a plethora of tips and techniques offered for garnishing, frying, roasting and baking as well as nutrition breakdowns and kitchen wisdom gleaned over Margaret's many years in the culinary field. And there were Margaret's recipes included too. One's that she had mastered throughout her career and refined again and again to eventual fool-proof status. 

When  The International Cook Book debuted, it was a head-turner, creating a flurry of excitement in the culinary community that continued to grow year after year, reprint after reprint. It was unique in that it includes portraits of all the chefs who submitted recipes - a fun and interesting component that draws attention to the cosmopolitan persona of the cookbook and to Margaret's commitment to making both an engaging and informative book. 

Interestingly, although Margaret conducted cooking classes and food demonstrations across the country, as well as on the radio prior to the release of her cookbook but for all the excitement and fanfare it received throughout the 1930s and 1940s, we couldn't find much more information about Margaret in the decades that followed. We do know that she did write some pieces for women's magazines, and up into the 1950s,  she operated a restaurant and tea room out of her circa 1668 home in Lexington, MA.  Perhaps that kept her busy enough! 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1930s edition with the hard-to-find yellow and silver coverboards
• 383 pages
• Includes photos of all the chefs who submitted recipes for the book 
• Illustrated throughout with color plates highlighting food presentation 
• Interesting recipes include Queen Soup, Lobster with Peony Sauce, Fresh Pineapple from Hawaii with Strawberry Ice Cream, Almonds and Whipped Cream, Braised Cabbage, Mayflower Salad, Clams Palmer House, Spring Chicken in Crust, Chicago, Orange Fritters, Sweet Milk Doughnuts, Creole Omelet, Baked Pork Chop Casserole, Banana Ice Creram, Peanut Wafers, Sweet Pickled Peaches, Penuche, Spiced Apple Jelly, Bishop Bread, Black Walnut Cake, English Sponge Cake, Bran Muffins with molasses, Steamed Graham Bread, Shredded Wheat Bread, Boston Fudge cake and Filet of Beef Henry IV.

{CONDITION}

In lovely, almost-antique condition, this cookbook has been a treasured part of kitchens for close to 100 years. There is light staining on the front and back coverboards as well as several recipes in the baking sections. We always love to see these marks on vintage cookbooks because they usually denote the favorite recipes of previous cooks.  In this case, cooking spots can be found in the pie and tart section, the pickle section, the bread section, the chicken salad section, and the cake frosting and filling section. None of these spotted sections interferes with reading the recipes. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.  Please see photos. 

{SIZE}

Measures 8" inches (length) x 5.5" inches (width) x 1.5" inches (thickness) and weighs 1.3 lbs.