1. LA CUISINE FRANÇAISE
Olive / Sandra Chu

2. Introduction
French cuisine is known for its high quality ingredients, complicated dishes, and rich flavors. Everyone thinks of 3-5 course meals, meat, cheese, and wine. This project will take you on a journey of the history of French cuisine.

3. Early Middle Ages
French cuisine would not yet established its own truly unique cuisine style until later in the Middle Ages around the 15-17th Century. Until then, food mostly imitated the neighboring counties, especially Italy.
This is not to say that French food at this time was bland! Just, it did not yet find its own unique style.

4. Middle Ages: Food
Banquets: long tables with tablecloths, wooden boards holding meat and bread, wine.
Entertainment: singing, dancing, short plays, or readings occurred in between courses.
Guild systems were created, which limited its members to their specific trade
Will be focusing on high class foods.

5. Middle Ages: Food Food was lavish and a sign of wealth:
Peacock, heron, swan, salted & dried meats, etc.
Spices: saffron, cumin, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon
Large portions
Foods and spices were used to create colorful dishes.
Ex: Egg yolk and saffron created yellow dishes
Food was mostly eaten with one’s hands
Meals began and ended with prayer
* Myth: Medieval Europe used strong spices to mask the smell of rotten meat?
The strong spices were a sign of wealth, and the wealthy could definitely afford fresh food. However for the poorer middle and lower class, this may have been true.
For the rich  False // For the poor  True

6. Middle Ages: Wine
During this time, France became the leading exporter of wine.
Popular varieties mostly came from the Ile de France.
Red wine became very popular after the 13th century
This was largely due to the court in Avignon, which found it easier to ship wine from the Beaune region rather than from Paris. As a result, stronger burgundy wines became popular at this time.
Wine was drank often by men, women, and children (~2 liters per day on average)
Alcoholic drinks were paired with meals to compliment the taste
If no wine, beer or cider!

7. Middle Ages: Taillevent (14th c.)
Guillaume Tirel (Taillevent) was a cook for the Court of France and an important figure in early French cuisine.
He is author of Le Viandier, one of the earliest medieval cookbooks, which gave much insight to what medieval royalty would eat.
Roasting & boiling were the most common cooking method
Heavy, heavily-spiced dishes
Much detail for religious feasts

8. Middle Ages: Taillevent (14th c.)
Born around
Throughout his life he was promoted to:
Premier Queux (chief cook)
Ecuyer de Cuisine (squire of cooking)
Premier Ecuyer (first squire) of all royal kitchens.
^ He kept this title until he died in 1392 at ~80 years old.

9. After the Middle Ages (15/16th c. – )
New World ingredients and techniques are being introduced to France. Later, the guild systems that were established in the middle ages become abolished. This will give cooks the freedom to explore other foods and create/sell what they want.

10. Popular Movements: 17th C.
17th Century – Haute Cuisine (High Cuisine)
Emphasizes moderate portions, high-quality ingredients
Only the very rich could afford this
Francois Pierre de la Varenne (La Varenne)
He is often referred to as the starting point of French cooking
Author of Le Cuisinier François, the 1st / one of the 1st true French cookbooks.
Established the basics of French cooking: to compliment, not hide/imitate flavors.
Shifting away from medieval cooking!
Le Cuisinier Francois (1651) was alphabetical, had no measurements, but was very detailed and homely.
It’s considered the 1st true French cookbook bc it embodies the uniqueness in French food we think of today, unlike Taillevent & medieval cooking
La Varenne is thought to be the founder of the Béchamel Sauce

11. 18th Century Reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
For the high class, food was lavish while the poor were starving
After French Revolution – guild system was abolished
After French Revolution - relief not only for the peasants but in a culinary sense, allowing French cuisine to branch out and explore new things

12. Popular Movements: 20th C.
20th Century – Nouvelle Cuisine (New Cuisine)
1960s-1970s
Emphasizes light, fresh, and natural flavors
Heavily influenced the U.S. (Alice Waters) and the U.K. (Gordon Ramsay)
Alice Waters pioneered the California ver. of Nouvelle Cuisine in the 1970s, with her restaurant Chez Panisse. She stressed fresh, organic, and local ingredients.
Both she and Gordon Ramsay took inspiration from nouvelle cuisine and made it their own.

13. Present: Food Meat, cheese/yogurt, and wine are staples Popular Foods:
Coq au Vin
Soupe à L'oignon
Boeuf Bourguignon
Popular Desserts
Crème Brûlée
Crêpes
Macarons
Café Culture
Fast food & Street food

14. Renowned Restaurants High quality, upscale restaurants
Mirazur (ranked 11th best in the world, 2015)
L'Arpège (12th worldwide, 2015)
L’Astrance (36th worldwide, 2015)

15. Present: Habits
The French eat 3 meals per day at defined times, and almost never between meals.
Second helpings are rare and there is not an unspoken requirement to finish one’s plate.
Cafes and restaurants are empty during non-meal times unless it is a tourist destination or people are only having a drink.
80% of the French eat with others and 80-85% of workers return home to eat with their family
* With globalization, many of these trends are most likely to be changing
These habits are enforced in children at school and from what they see in their environment.

16. Present: Meals
Meals have a defined structure: Entrée, Main course, Cheese/Dessert
If the main course is heavy and creamy, the entrée will probably be salad or vegetables. If there are no vegetables in the entrée, there will be in the main dish. (It’s not really for health that this is done than it is for tradition and flavor.)
This ensures that the French have bread, fruit, veggies, meat/meat substitutes, and dairy daily
Multiple courses means smaller portions (and consequently lower calorie intake)
Usually only wine or water at meals
* Preparing a French meal may seem difficult, but it’s very easy and simplified for everyday meals.
* “An entree can be as simple as a plate of radishes, or a tomato salad. There is a very large choice of meat, fish and poultry, and this only needs to have a vegetable or rice or pasta added. A green salad is no effort and a few cheeses and pieces of fruit can be found in the refrigerator.”

17. Present: Trends
Traditional French cuisine is declining in the modern society as new trends pop up
Street Food
Le Camion qui Fume (the smoking truck) was the 1st Parisian street food vendor
Aix en Provence holds the Food Truck Station
Fast Food
Higher quality fast food for affordable prices
McBaguette
Buying Local in response to “fake ingredient” scandals, etc.
Food Truck Station is like a village of food trucks

18. Health Saturated fats are not shunned.
The French, despite drinking more wine, report lower incidences of intoxication than Americans. This is because they treat it as a compliment to meals rather than something to get drunk off of.
The French are more likely to use internal cues to stop eating (feeling full, not wishing to eat more) while Americans use external cues (the end of a show, an empty plate).
The French take more time eating (less chance of overeating)
The way the French treat food, how they eat it, and what they eat, all lead to lower obesity rates compared to other countries like the U.S.
1. In fact, they’re often replaced with unhealthy refined carbs.

19. French cuisine is filled with rich history and a unique style of its own. It is known as one of the best in the world, and that title is rightfully earned.

20. Works Cited
"A Brief History of French Cuisine: During the Middle Ages." Paris Is Beautiful. N.p., 26 May Web. 21 April 2017.
Knight, Emily. "French Food Trends: Street Food, New Flavours and More." Cafe Asia. N.p., 26 Sept Web. 19 Apr
Myhrvold, Nathan. "Nouvelle Cuisine." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 Feb Web. 15 April
Nowak, Madeleine. "The Influence of Culture and Environment on Food Intake." Nutridate, vol. 9, no. 1, Mar. 1998, p. 5. EBSCOhost.
Oulton, Randal. "Francois Pierre de la Varenne." CooksInfo.com. Published 13 July 2005; revised 03 May Web. 23 April
Oulton, Randal. "Taillevent." CooksInfo.com. Published 13 July 2005; revised 17 November Web. 23 April 2017.
Roberson, Laura. "The French Food Connection." Men's Health, vol. 25, no. 4, May 2010, p EBSCOhost.
Sheehan, Clare. "French Food Trends to Follow." The Daily Meal. The Daily Meal, 10 July Web. 19 Apr
Stephan, Annelisa. "Imagining the Culinary Past in France: Recipes for a Medieval Feast.“ The Getty Iris. N.p., 21 Jan Web. 20 Apr
"What Is Haute Cuisine?" Escoffier Online. N.p., 20 Oct Web. 20 Apr