Robert May

1588 — in or after 1664

Robert May was a professional chef who can lay claim to being the author of the first modern-style cookbook written by a chef for a more general audience. Prior to May professional chefs jealously guarded their recipes and only passed them on to their apprentices. May was also trained in France and brought a definite Continental influence to his recipes, though he also published the traditional staples from the Middle Ages.

Robert May was born in Wing, Buckinghamshire in 1588 (however, he was not baptized until the 2^nd of April 1592. He was the sone of Edwarde and Joan Mayes, and his father was a notable chef in his own right, working at Ascot Park as the chief cook to the Dormer Family. He was, as his own words put it 'bred up in this Art' [of cookery]. At the age of 10, Lady Dormer sent the young Robert to France to train for five years as a Chef. Partly this was the fashionable thing to do, but it was also the case May came from a Catholic family and worked for a Catholic mistress so his sojourn in France would also have provided for him a Catholic schooling.

Upon his return to England in 1703 he served his apprenticeship in London where he worked for Arthur Hollinsworth (cook to the Grocer's Hall and Star Chamber). At the end of his apprenticeship he returned to Wing and became one of the five under-cooks reporting to his father in Ascott Park. He wrote about this time thus: "then were those Golden Days wherein were practised the Triumphs and Trophies of Cookery; then was Hospitality esteemed, Neighbourhood preserved, the Poor cherished, and God honoured".

In the mid-1630's Sir Anthony Browne employed May to be the chef at his country estate (Cowdray House) in west Sussex. In all, may worked for a total of thirteen households of minor English nobility (these included many prominent Catholic families) until the English Civil war of 1642–1651.

During this period, May began work on his book. The Accomplisht Cook, though it was not published until the year of Charles II's restoration (1660), by which time Robert May was already 72 years of age. Over the following years May updated the book, with the 1665 edition (about the fifth) being the final one that he edited himself. Robert May died in his 80s in 1664/1665.

The image of Robert May, given above comes from the frontispiece of the 1671 edition of his book.

Below is a short biography of Robert May that was written by Robert May himself for the Accomplisht Cook so that you can see his history in his own words:

Robert May's The Accomplisht Cook 1660

The Accomplisht Cook (1660) or Or The Art & Mystery of Cookery wherein the whole ART is revealed in a more easie and perfect Method than hath been publisht in any language was Robert May's only published volume.

The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May's cookbook was the first substantial recipe book to be published in England. It was the first cookery book to be written by a professional chef for a more general audience and laid the model for succeeding cookery books.

May wrote the book in Sholeby in Leicestershire and in it he identified himself as an Englishman who profited much in his cooking by living in France and by consulting Spanish cookery. The book contains traditional fare from the Middle Ages, however he also embraced food trends from Europe—for example by including dishes such as French bisque and Italian brodo (broth). The Accomplisht Cook is still considered to be one of 'the most extensive English treatment of potages, broths, and soups', with about 20 percent of the volume devoted to them. By the fifth edition (1665) the book contained about 300 pages and was considered to be the first major recipe book to be published in England.

May’s book was consciously aimed at the upper class gourmet (the reading classes of the time), but he was aware that many of his readers were not rich enough afford such luxuries. As well as extravagant and showy dishes such as: a pastry stag filled with blood-like claret, a tortoise stewed with eggs, nutmeg and sweet herbs, and a 'pudding of swan' made with rose water and lemon peel he also includes far more modern dishes. Indeed, he writes himself: 'I have so managed them for the general good, that those whose purses cannot reach to the cost of rich dishes, I have descended to their meaner expenses, that they may give... a handsome and relishing entertainment in all seasons of the year.'

May intersperses English recipes with those from France , Spain ,Portugal , Italy , Turkey , and Persia . Although he was clearly indebted to the French masters, he was careful not to overplay their influence, and thus run the risk of offending his English readership. Consequently, in the preface to The Accomplisht Cook he scoffs at the French, writing of how 'by their insinuations, not without enough of ignorance, [they] have bewitcht some of the gallants of our nation with epigram dishes... their mushroom'd experiences for sauce rather than diet, for the generality howsoever called A-la mode, not so worthy of being taken notice of. As I live in France, and had the Language and have been an eye-witness of their Cookeries as well, as a Peruser of their Manuscripts, and Printed Authors whatsoever I found good in them, I have inserted in this Volume.'

Along with its recipes and general technical commentary, the book contained Robert’s effusive record of his indebtedness to the Persons of great Honour in whose households he had been privileged to serve, a model that professional chefs such as Soyer and Francatelli were still using almost 200 years later.

The book was also unusual for its time in that it also contained a number of wood-cut illustrations.

It's this site's aim to provide the original text of all the Robert May recipes and to provide the modern cook with a current redaction of the recipe. You can also find more recipes from the Stuart period in this site's Stuart recipes page.