Martino da Como

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Martino da Como (Martino of Como) was a 15th-century culinary expert who was unequalled in his field at the time and is the western world's first celebrity chef. He was the chef at the Roman palazzo of the papal chamberlain ("camerlengo"), the Patriarch of Aquileia. Martino was applauded by his peers, earning him the epitaph of the prince of cooks.

[edit] Brief Biography

Details about Martino's life are scarce but it can be discerned that between 1460 and 1470 he made his way to Rome in order to cook for Lodovico Trevisani, a house that made a name out of lavish banquets and opulent receptions. Later, his services passed on to Gian Giacomo Trivulzio and eventually he ended up at the Vatican.^[1]

[edit] Bibliography

Martino's book of recipes named the Liber de arte conquinaria is one of the bench marks of early European gastronomical literature, a precious testimony of kitchen etiquette and recipes in the Middle Ages. The recipes in this tome were highly influential during the 15th century, so much so that Bartolomeo Sacchi (known as il Platina) the humanist philosopher and papal librarian, liberally included large portions of its text into his own work on culinary art entitled De Honesta Voluptae et Valetudine. In fact, almost half of Platina's book is a direct copy of Martino's opus. In acknowledgement of Martino, Platina stated 'O immortal gods, which cook could compete with my friend Martino of Como, to a great extent the origin of what is written here?'^[2]

The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani (The Art of Cooking Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli), compiled by Martino. In Martino's Libro de arte coquinaria, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years (doi o tre anni) when dried in the sun.

[edit] References