Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 10, 2023

Alexis Soyer (1810–1858) was a French chef, writer and inventor, who made his reputation in Victorian England. He worked in the kitchens of royalty, the aristocracy and the landed gentry until 1837. He was then appointed head chef of the Reform Club, where he designed the kitchens on radical modern lines and became celebrated for the range and excellence of his cooking. Soyer became a well-known author of cookery books, aimed variously at the grand kitchens of the aristocracy, at middle-class households and at the poorest families, whose diet he strove to improve. He published recipes for inexpensive and nutritious food and took a keen interest in public health. During the Irish potato famine he set up a soup kitchen in Dublin. During the Crimean War Soyer travelled to the front and worked with Florence Nightingale to improve conditions for the troops. He invented the portable Soyer stove which remained in army use for more than a century. In 1858 he died of a stroke.