Cookbook Compiled by Salvador Dali

Check out the new spotlight item in Burling Lounge! On display now is a copy of Les dîners de Gala, an opulent cookbook filled with recipes compiled by the surrealist artist Salvador Dali. 

From his use of foodstuffs such as bread, eggs, and lobster as subject matter and symbols within his artwork to the lavish dinner parties he threw with his wife Gala (both the parties and Gala are referenced within the title of this book), it is clear that food, art, and life were intensely intertwined for Dali.

This cookbook is a bizarre collection of imaginative and sumptuous riffs on traditional French cuisine, with illustrations, collages, and paintings by Dali interspersed between dishes. It has 136 recipes and is divided into twelve sections, which range in topic from “Les cannabalismes de l’automne” (eggs and seafood) to “Les ‘je mange GALA’” (aphrodisiacs). It features recipes such as “Bush of Crayfish in Viking Herbs” and “Aphrodite’s Purée”.

Come see other intriguing and artful books like this one in Special Collections. We encourage anyone interested to stop by to examine the books in our collection in person. Special Collections and Archives is open to the public 1:30–4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and Fridays by appointment.

This display was curated by Special Collections and Archives student Maddi Yu ’25.

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