Henri Babinski (2 July 1855 – 20 August 1931), who wrote under the pen-name Ali-Bab, was a French gastronome and food writer. After a successful career as a mining engineer he retired to his native Paris, where he wrote ("Practical Gastronomy").

Born to Polish refugees, Babinski, together with his younger brother Joseph, was educated at the Polish school in Paris. Babinski then studied at the National School of Mines, before working in three continents as a consultant mining engineer. On retirement he joined his brother in a flat in Paris, where he wrote his book. It was his only book, but such was its success that he revised it for four new editions between its first publication in 1907 and 1928, and it ran to more than a thousand pages.

The book was not translated into English until 1974, when it was hailed in The New York Times as a major contribution to gastronomic literature.

Life and career Early years Henri Joseph Séverin Babinski was born in Montparnasse, Paris on 2 July 1855, the elder son of Alexandre Babinski and his wife Henriette, Weren. The couple, originally known as Aleksander and Henryeta, were born and married in Poland and fled to Paris after the Polish uprising in 1848.Philippon and Poirier, p. 3 A younger son, Joseph, was born in 1857. Alexandre found employment working for the Paris municipal authorities as a surveyor-engineer, but in 1863 he returned to Poland to take part in a new uprising, leaving his wife and sons in Paris.Philippon and Poirier, pp. 3–4 The two boys were enrolled at the École polonaise – an establishment later described by Henri as one of ferocious austerityDavid, 1986, p. 175 – and, from 1870, at the Lycée René Descartes.Philippon and Poirier, p. 4 Joseph remained there until 1875, receiving his baccalauréat; Henri left before him, entering the (National School of Mines) in 1874.Benson, pp. 445–446

Mining engineer

Babinski graduated as a civil mining engineer in 1878 and in 1880 started to travel extensively, studying mineral deposits in many countries. He worked in South America, in the Equatorial region; in the western United States; in French Guiana and northern Italy. In 1893, returning to Chile, he set up a system for towing the coal barges through the Strait of Magellan using locally mined coal to power the tugs. In 1896 he went to Brazil to examine diamond mines in the state of Bahia, where he set up a successful mining venture.

There was little by way of good food in many of the places in which he worked. He later wrote:

Retirement

After more than twenty years working as a successful mining consultant in places as far apart as Siberia and the Transvaal Babinski retired to Paris. His mother had died in 1897 and his father in 1899, leaving Joseph – by now a leading neurologist – in sole occupation of the family apartment at 170 Boulevard Haussmann. Henri joined him there, and, as a 2009 biography puts it, "Within their bachelor quarters, Henri took the lead, compensating for all the years spent in camping conditions". Thereafter Babinski travelled only for pleasure. In 1909 he visited Constantinople, curious about Turkish cuisine such as the pilaf, the imam bayıldı and the kebab. Later he went from country to country, from province to province, collecting the elements of his book, "Practical Gastronomy".

It is not known why Babinski chose the pen-name "Ali-Bab" for his book. Fellow writers have speculated that "Ali" might stand for "other" and "Bab" for "Babinski", thus making Henri the "other Babinski", his younger brother being better-known to the public.Philippon and Poirier, p. 68 Another theory is that the name alludes to Babinski's visits to Turkey, drawing on the name of Ali Baba, of the One Thousand and One Nights. A third suggestion is that it could be a nostalgic reference to his Polish roots, as baba is the Polish word for cake (as in rum baba).

The book, published by Flammarion in 1907, was an immediate success, and the author revised and expanded it across four new editions between then and 1928. His last edition included an extended essay on the wines of France, in which, according to an obituarist, "he exalted in a precise and truly marvellous style their respective qualities. All of them paraded in their ranks: wines from Saumur, Arbois or Anjou, wines from the Côtes du Rhône, Hermitage, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and the powerful Bordeaux and magnificent Burgundies". In addition to the substantial sales of the book, this brought the author a prize of 10,000 francs from the .Rey, Alexia. "Henri Joseph Séverin Babinski (1855–1931)", Bulletin de l'Association des Anciens élèves de l'Ecole des mines de Paris, 1931 In 1960, Elizabeth David wrote of the seventh and final edition, "The proportions and ingredients for every recipe are given, with the precision of a scientist writing a formula, down to the last gramme. It is a remarkable work by any standards; for an amateur cook it is a quite extraordinary achievement".David, 1964, p. 544

Ali-Bab divided the book into sections. It opens with a survey of cooking from prehistoric times to the present, in Europe and elsewhere.Babinski, pp. 1–77 A section on the principles of cooking,Babinski, pp. 81–87 and then sections on stocks and sauces,Philippon and Poirier, pp. 91–96 soups,Philippon and Poirier, pp. 99–100 mushrooms – a long section of 20 pages,Babinski, pp. 103–123 wine (all French)Babinski, pp. 127–162 and entertaining.Babinski, pp. 165–167 There are then sections on menus for luncheons and dinners ranging from the small and informal to large and grand,Babinski, pp. 171–188 and then, the bulk of the book, detailed recipes, divided into the familiar sections followed in 19th and 20th-century cookery books: soups, hors d'oeuvres, eggs, seafood, fish, game, meat, poultry, potatoes and other vegetables, desserts, preserves and drinks.Babinski, pp. 119–1040 The last section deals with diets for overweight gourmands, and received the approval of several medical journals.Babinski, pp. 1041–1051

His recipes are not exclusively French: they include Italian pasta dishes and risottos, as well as Yorkshire pudding and plum pudding from England, and grog in both American and Indian versions.Babinski, pp. 685, 700, 712, 948, 1039–1040

After was published, Ali-Bab was dubbed "the Brillat-Savarin of the 20th century". The book was not translated into English until 1974; Craig Claiborne in The New York Times hailed the publication as "An event that is to our minds almost as important as the publication of the English language version of Larousse Gastronomique in 1961".Claiborne, Craig. "Finally, Monumental Cookbook Is Translated", The New York Times, 25 July 1974 Julia Child wrote, "Ali-Bab is, I think, immediately appealing to anyone who loves cooking because his is the work of a devoted and tremendously well informed amateur chef who is addressing himself to people of like mind. In fact he unhesitatingly assumes that the reader will be glad indeed to go to any reasonable lengths to produce a magnificent dish".

Death Babinski died in Paris on 20 August 1931. Le Figaro said:

In London, Truth commented:

Babinski was buried in the in the family tomb. His brother, who died a year later, was also interred there.Philippon and Poirier, pp. 21 and 80

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