Brillat-Savarin, Anthelme

Brillat-Savarin, Anthelme (äNtĕlm` brēyä`-sävärăN`), 1755–1826, French lawyer, economist, and gastronomist, famous for his witty treatise on the art of dining, La Physiologie du goût (1825). It has been frequently republished and was translated into English as The Physiology of Taste (1925, rev. ed. 1971). An émigré during the Reign of Terror, Brillat-Savarin spent some time in the United States.

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Brillat-Savarin, (Jean-) Anthelme

(born April 1, 1755, Belley, Fra.—died Feb. 2, 1826, Paris) French lawyer and gastronome. Mayor of the town of Belley, he fled France during the Reign of Terror but returned to sit on France's highest court, where he remained the rest of his life. His celebrated Physiologie du goût (“Physiology of Taste”; Eng. trans. A Handbook of Gastronomy), published in 1825, is less a treatise on cuisine than a witty compendium of anecdotes and observations intended to enhance the pleasures of the table; only the occasional recipe is included.