Timothy Shaw traces Escoffier's career from the early miseries of apprenticeship to being made chef de cuisine and finally becoming an international celebrity. He never loses sight of the great chef's compassion, charm and originality of approach. The diminutive, frock-coated figure with the famous moustache was not only the inventor of the first Peche Melba and the author of Le Guide Culinaire, he also strove to improve the status and surroundings of the ordinary working cook. It is for this, as much as for his purely culinary achievements, that Escoffier is still remembered and admired today.