Antwerp cookbook from 1788 sold for 9,600 euros: “32 times as much as the starting amount” | Antwerp

The 18th-century notebook was once the property of an Antwerp ‘caretaker’. It has been very well preserved all this time and was passed down from generation to generation with great care. Today the item, an absolute masterpiece in terms of our culinary history, was auctioned. The buyer ultimately offered 9,600 euros for it, 32 times as much as the starting amount. We don’t know who the new owner is. The auction was conducted online, so even the auction house has no details about the buyer.

“This is not only a cookbook, but also a time document that provides a special insight into daily life from cook to master in Antwerp,” says Henri Godts of Arenberg Auctions. “That is one of the reasons why this extraordinary amount was offered.”

Antwerp star chef Johan Segers started working on the cookbook earlier this month. He got his hands on the item thanks to a customer. When the chef looked at it, his eye fell on, among other things, ‘fricadel of mussels’, ‘pastey of sneppen’ and ‘English podding’. But ‘krefte soup’ was also on the menu in Antwerp 250 years ago. “So they were wealthy people,” was Seger’s assessment.