Maurice Edmond Sailland (1872-1956), who wrote under the pen name Curnonsky (a playful Latin-Russian hybrid meaning 'why not?'), was born in Angers and became the most influential French food critic of the 20th century, crowned 'Prince des Gastronomes' by a public vote in 1927 — a title he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Curnonsky's philosophical contribution to French gastronomy was the elevation of regional cuisine to parity with Parisian haute cuisine. His masterwork, the 28-volume La France Gastronomique (written with Marcel Rouff, 1921-1928), was the first systematic tour of every French region's culinary traditions, documenting recipes, restaurants, producers, and techniques that would otherwise have been lost to urbanization and industrialization. Curnonsky's famous dictum — 'La cuisine, c'est quand les choses ont le goût de ce qu'elles sont' (Cooking is when things taste of what they are) — became the philosophical foundation for the farm-to-table movement decades before the term existed. He advocated simplicity, respect for ingredients, and the primacy of terroir over technique — positions that were radical in an era dominated by Escoffier's elaborate sauce-based gastronomy. For Loire cuisine specifically, Curnonsky championed the region's fresh, garden-driven character: its river fish, its goat cheeses, its fruit, its wines. He declared crémets d'Anjou the greatest dessert in France and rillettes de Tours the greatest charcuterie — provocative claims from a man who had eaten at every table in France. He founded the Académie des Gastronomes (1928), which continues to promote regional French cuisine. His legacy is that every food writer who celebrates ingredient quality over culinary complexity, every chef who lets the product speak, every movement from Nouvelle Cuisine to farm-to-table, operates within the intellectual framework Curnonsky established.
Born Angers 1872. Pen name Curnonsky ('why not?'). Prince des Gastronomes 1927. La France Gastronomique (28 volumes, 1921-1928) documented all regional cuisines. Dictum: things should taste of what they are. Elevated regional over Parisian haute cuisine. Founded Académie des Gastronomes (1928). Ingredient quality over technique complexity.
La France Gastronomique volumes on the Loire and Anjou are the definitive historical record of the region's cuisine — find them in antiquarian bookshops or the Tours municipal library. Apply Curnonsky's test to your own cooking: does this dish taste of what it is? If a sauce obscures the fish, if seasoning masks the vegetable, Curnonsky would send it back. His restaurant reviews in the 1930s-1950s guided France's eating public — the Michelin Guide acknowledged his influence. Visit the Curnonsky plaque on the Rue Lenepveu in Angers, where he was born above a patisserie — appropriately.
Ignoring Curnonsky's regional documentation (La France Gastronomique is the foundational text of French regional gastronomy). Treating his philosophy as obvious (in the 1920s, championing regional cuisine over Escoffier was radical). Confusing his approach with anti-technique (he appreciated technique in service of ingredients, not technique for its own sake). Forgetting his Loire roots (his preferences — crémets, rillettes, river fish — reflect Angevin terroir).
La France Gastronomique — Curnonsky & Marcel Rouff; Souvenirs Littéraires et Gastronomiques — Curnonsky