Stanisław Czerniecki

Stanisław Czerniecki (Polish pronunciation: [staˈɲiswaf t͡ʂɛrˈɲɛt͡skʲi]; fl. 1645–1698) was a Polish soldier, property manager, chef and writer, best known as the author of Compendium ferculorum, albo Zebranie potraw (A Collection of Dishes), the first cookbook written originally in the Polish language. He was an ennobled burgher who held the titular offices of royal secretary and podstoli (deputy pantler) of Zhytomyr. During much of his life he served some of the powerful magnate houses of Poland, including the Wielopolski, Zamoyski, Wiśniowiecki and Lubomirski families. It was as head chef at the court of Prince Aleksander Michał Lubomirski that Czerniecki wrote his cookery book. As a designer of spectacular banquets, he has been called "the Polish Vatel" by Karol Estreicher, although Czerniecki did not meet the tragic fate of François Vatel, the head chef at the court of the Grand Condé.