The history of cooking, which began in the Stone Age, is still evolving

today. Since ancient times and the development of civilization, the culinary
arts and tastes in food have mirrored the achievements and interactions
of societies. Only 400 years old, the fascinating story of modern cookery
is one of tradition and innovation, classic dishes and food trends. It is
one of great chefs who possess a masterful command of technique
and an often visionary creativity. Since extensive knowledge and
appreciation of the culinary past is a distinguishing mark
8000 B.C.
of the professional chef, an understanding of this rich
People in the Near East begin to cultivate crops. heritage is a requirement for every serious student
A.D. 14 of the culinary arts.
The first known cookbook,
“De Re Coquinaria by Apicius,” is published.
1533
Grande cuisine is introduced to the
French court by chefs of Catherine de Medici.
1833
Grande cuisine is detailed in Marie-Antoine Carême’s
“L’art de la Cuisine Française.”
1890s
Escoffier opens the Savoy Hotel and develops the modern brigade system.
1970s
Paul Bocuse inspires a fresh “nouvelle” look at French cuisine.
1977
Through the efforts of Dr. Minor, Chef Szathmary, and Lt. Gen. McLaughlin, the U.S. government recognizes chefs as professionals.
 The Stone Age
KEY TERMS
grande cuisine
regional cuisine
3
nouvelle cuisine
Millions of years ago,the diet of the earliest humans consisted primarily of foods such as
cuisine minceur
fusion cuisine fruits,leaves,and grains that were easy to gather and required no preparation before eating.
During the Stone Age—the Paleolithic period,or Old Stone Age (beginning as early as
750,000 B.C.),and the Neolithic period,or New Stone Age (beginning around 8000 B.C.)—
humans began to make and use stone tools and acquire a larger variety of foods in new ways.

Paleolithic Tools and Foods

Although few traces of human activity during the Paleolithic period have survived, a variety of
stone tools has been found. Some of the oldest known stone implements come from East Africa
and date as far back as 600,000 B.C.Paleolithic tools include axes and blades for cutting and chopping.
Caves in Western Europe, which depict scenes of food gathering and hunting, provide other clues
about prehistoric life.
In order to survive during the Paleolithic period, humans hunted wild animals, birds, and fish
and collected nuts, fruits, and berries.Artifacts found at Vestonice show that people ate mammoth,
reindeer, horse, fox, wolf, and tortoise. Other evidence from this period indicates that food sources
included fish, fowl, and water lilies.

The Neolithic Food Revolution

One of the most significant changes in human food habits occurred around 8000 B.C., when peo-
ple in the Near East began to grow food rather than gather it. This led to a more settled and seden-
tary existence. For example, humans started raising cereal crops such as rye and wheat and
keeping livestock, including pigs, cows, goats, and sheep. Archaeologists have discovered mill-
stones in these areas, an indication that Neolithic peoples were grinding wheat and other grains to
make flour for bread.
Changes in cooking methods also may have taken place at this time. Cooking techniques in the
Paleolithic period already included broiling or roasting food over an open flame or glowing hot coals
and braising food in clay cylinders laid on top of hot ashes in a pit. People now began cooking foods
in water brought to a boil in earthenware pottery. They also built the first closed ovens for baking.
 Early Civilizations
Advances in food production and preparation in early civilizations
had a broad reach.Agriculture and the domestication of animals spread
from Mesopotamia in southwestern Asia through the Middle East
north into Turkey and Greece and west across Egypt and North Africa.
People in northern Europe began to farm sometime after 3000 B.C.
Farming practices advanced with the invention of the plow around
3550 B.C.,and food production increased.
In the Bronze Age,which began around 3000 B.C.in Mediterranean
areas,people began to cook using liquid in pots of copper and bronze.
New tools and utensils also became available,making daily life easier.

Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt

The early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt shared some food habits and traditions.
Although beef, lamb, pork, deer, fowl (excluding chicken), fish, turtles, vegetables, and fruits
were all part of the Mesopotamian diet, grains were a staple food. Besides cooking cereals in
water as a porridge and using ground grain to make bread, the Mesopotamians favored beer
as a beverage for festive occasions. Inscriptions on Egyptian tombs—“Give me bread when I
am hungry. Give me beer when I am thirsty”—bear witness to the heavy use of grain in the
ancient Egyptian diet.
Both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians developed a system of writing early on and
thus had the means to record recipes. The first known recipes come from Mesopotamia and
date to the second millennium B.C. Although no formal cookbooks from either civilization
exist to shed light on food preparation, Egyptian tomb paintings and hieroglyphics reveal that
food was an integral part of Egyptian social and religious ceremonies. Excavated tombs have
yielded remnants of foods such as figs and bread, which were typical funerary offerings.
Barley, wheat, preserved meats, beer, and wine also have been found in Egyptian tombs, some
from as early as 2613 to 2181 B.C. Ancient Egyptian food preparation methods such as
open-hearth baking of unleavened bread and salt preservation of meats and fish are still com-
mon today. The Egyptians also dried and smoked foods and stored fruits in honey and fish in
oil to preserve them.

Hebrew Dietary Traditions

Food also had religious associations for the ancient Hebrews. According to the Torah, or
Hebrew Bible, Moses announced rules for Hebrews about the consumption of food. Today,
Jews around the world continue to observe the dietary rules set in ancient times.
Hebrew dietary laws cover a broad spectrum of foods, but the most important rules deal
with the use of food from animals. The laws cover which animals can be eaten and which
cannot, methods of slaughter, permitted animal parts, preparation of meat, the combina-
tion of meat and other foods, and examination of foods. Followers of the Jewish faith
believe that the laws express the will of God and reflect the Hebrews’ covenant, or formal
agreement, with God. Observation of the dietary rules that reflect this covenant set the
Hebrews apart from others.
The Classical Period
By the time of the Greeks and Romans,cooking and eating had an objective beyond
survival and ceremony—pleasure.Although a few staples (bread,wine,oil),“humble”
vegetables (leeks,onions,garlic,cabbage),and simple delicacies such as figs and honey
formed the basis of the average person’s diet,upper-class Greeks and Romans sampled
and enjoyed a variety of foods in a banquet setting.

Food and the Greeks

Greek writers such as Plato (fourth century B.C.) and Athenaeus (third century A.D.) tell us that
Greek cooks practiced the culinary arts with considerable care and refinement and that din- 5
ers thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their labors. The Greeks made cheeses, baked bread, and
produced wine. They became skilled in the use of seasonings and spices, made sauces
using oil and cheese, and cultivated olives. Meat, such as rabbit, gained popularity and was
commonly grilled.
Influenced in large part by the ideas of the great physician and teacher Hippocrates (ca.
460–377 B.C.), the Greeks, and later the Romans, focused on eating a healthful diet.
Consuming food items for both medicinal and nutritional purposes, they viewed cooking
methods, combinations of foods, drink, and seasonings as contributors to overall well-being.
The Greeks introduced a tradition of lavish dinner parties or banquets, which were often
followed by a symposium, the ritual consumption of wine.Although the Greeks kept food and
wine separate, the Romans did not. Instead, wine was consumed during the banquet and was
considered simply a beverage. Greek dinner parties customarily seated five guests, and Roman
parties usually accommodated nine. A full dinner often required as many as a dozen cooks,
each responsible for a specific task.

Roman Cooking
The cookbook of Marcus Apicius (first century A.D.), one of the first written works on food,
offers a wealth of information about Roman cooking.Apicius outlined some of the basic char-
acteristics of Roman cookery, including grinding meats with mortar and pestle, spit roasting,
pungent seasonings, high regard for rabbit, and frequent use of saffron, honey, and garum (a
fermented liquid made from fish viscera, which was the base of almost every sauce).
In the typical Roman kitchen, the master cook supervised food preparation from a platform
at the rear of the room. Square hearth fires stood in the middle. Kitchen equipment featured
pots made of bronze, brass, clay, or silver, as well as stone ovens fired with wood.
Formal dining developed further during the Roman Empire.A Roman banquet usually fea-
tured three courses: the appetizer (eggs, salads, oysters), the main course, and a final course of
fruit. Historical research suggests that formal dining followed rules of etiquette. Guests were
greeted at the door and provided with a change of robes and sandals. After entering the host’s
home, the guests washed their hands and feet and were adorned with a garland of flowers,
which was believed to repel the ill effects of alcohol consumption.
The Middle Ages
Kitchen equipment included iron pots as
well as various hooks, spoons, and knives.
The cauldron, an iron vessel hanging from
a metal arm over hot coals, was the main

and the Renaissance cooking pot. The chimney hearth accom-

modated three cauldrons. The cauldron on
the left side of the hearth was used for
roasting, and the others were used for boil-
Roman traditions continued to dominate cooking and dining practices during the
ing. Breads and pies were baked in an oven
Middle Ages.Another important tradition that began in this period was the formation on the side of the chimney.
of culinary guilds,which gave chefs a sense of community.During the Renaissance, The medieval kitchen produced the first
master chef—Guillaume Tirel, better
advances in the culinary arts helped set the stage for the development of modern cookery. known as Taillevent. Taillevent, who served
as cook to the French king Charles VI, pub-
Medieval Ways lished Le Viandier de Taillevent, the fore-
runner of other European cookbooks.
Culinary staples during the Middle Ages included leeks, carrots, and turnips, following the
model of the Roman diet.Contact with Germanic tribes in the later Roman Empire had resulted
in wider use of animal products, especially pork, milk, and butter. By the medieval period, the
Renaissance Developments
meat supply also included game, some cattle, and an abundance of fish.Garum was widely used The late 1300s marked the beginning of the
as a seasoning over mashed boiled meats and fish.The Roman cooking techniques of chopping, Renaissance, an era of revival in the arts and
mashing, and heavy seasoning of foods continued through the Middle Ages. In the late Middle sciences that spread across Europe from
Ages, many spices and other foods such as sugar, fruits, and nuts came to European kitchens south to north. Italy dominated the culinary
from distant places by way of the Crusaders and merchants from Venice, who developed a scene in the 1400s. By the end of the century,
monopoly on trade in the Middle East. it had shifted to Spain, whose explorations
Medieval kitchens typically stood apart from the main house to reduce the risk of fire. The and conquests in the Americas introduced
traditional kitchen was crowded, noisy, hot, and smoky.Vents in the ceiling allowed the release new foods and methods of food preparation
of smoke and heat from the roasting spits and simmering iron kettles. Cooks kept food cold in to Europe. Christopher Columbus and
Hernán Cortés as well as other explorers and
cellars or along the floor of the kitchen.
conquistadors returned to Europe with toma-
toes, chili peppers, potatoes, avocados, corn,
vanilla beans, and cacao, the main ingredient
of chocolate. These food items had a lasting
impact on European cuisine.
In the period prior to 1400, European
cooking assimilated elements of Arab cui-
sine, such as the use of citrus juices,
almonds, rose water, and certain spices, as a
result of Spanish and Sicilian contact with
Muslims. Muslims’ own eating habits are
strictly prescribed by their religion, which
recognizes eating as a form of worship.
Islamic dietary laws differentiate between
permitted foods (halal) and prohibited
foods (haram). Haram includes all swine
and improperly slaughtered animals.
By the late 1500s, France had become
Europe’s culinary center, thanks in part to
Italian noblewoman Catherine de Medici’s
marriage to the future French king Henry II
in 1533, a union that brought Italian chefs
and culinary expertise to the French court.
Cultural trends in France and France’s wealth
and power also fostered the development of
the culinary arts and gastronomy.
 Carême
After the French Revolution, noble families
and households disbanded, leaving chefs
without a livelihood. To survive, many chefs
looked for work in public houses. They pre-
pared food and sold it to whoever could pay,
thus establishing the first modern restau-
rants. Now new dishes bore the names of
chefs. Restaurants on the grand boulevards
of Paris catered to the wealthy upper class
and offered a version of grande cuisine once
served only to nobles and royals.
Grande cuisine, or haute cuisine, reached
its height under the influence of Marie-
Antoine Carême (1784–1833). A chef to roy- 7
alty throughout Europe,Carême systematized
French cooking by identifying the basic, or
mother, sauces (also known as leading
sauces); compound sauces; classical gar-
nishes; and standard terminology for recipes.
Carême documented his style of grande
cuisine in L’Art de la Cuisine Française.

Escoffier
The Birth of Grande Cuisine In the nineteenth century, Georges Auguste
Escoffier (1847–1935), chef at some of
Europe’s finest hotels, including the Ritz in
Over the next several hundred years,French cooking changed,incorporating new Paris and the Savoy in London, refined
ingredients,seasonings,procedures,and styles of presentation.The result of these changes grande cuisine by modifying many of
Carême’s recipes and classifications. In par-
was grande cuisine,an elaborate cuisine consisting of many courses and following strict ticular, Escoffier simplified Carême’s com-
cooking rules.Three chefs were instrumental in the development and refinement of plex system of sauces to the five basic sauces
(espagnole, béchamel, velouté, hollandaise,
grande cuisine—La Varenne,Carême,and Escoffier. and tomato) and their compounds. He was
also known for creating the French brigade
La Varenne system, which streamlined culinary opera-
tions. Since it observes the basic principles
Modern cooking began in 1651 with the publication of Le Cuisinier François by François Pierre of classical French cooking without compli-
de la Varenne (1615–1678). This 30-volume work fully documented the development of French cated procedures and display, Escoffier’s
cooking from the beginning of the Middle Ages and detailed Italian influences on French cuisine. grande cuisine is sometimes called cuisine
Le Cuisinier François also reflected contemporary chefs’ interest in detail, balance, and harmony classique, or classic cuisine.
in cooking and ingredients. La Varenne described the reduction of cooking juices to concentrate Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire, first pub-
their flavor, for instance, and the use of nuts, truffles, and mushrooms. La Varenne’s cookbook lished in 1903, remains a classic reference
also contained the first published reference to the use of roux. With its emphasis on the natural today, with its emphasis on the use of quality
flavors of food and other recommendations, Le Cuisinier François changed culinary arts forever. ingredients and the importance of an in-
Over the next 100 years, chefs employed by royalty and working in the households of nobil- depth understanding of cooking technique.
ity built on the foundation laid by La Varenne, who is recognized as the founder of classical Le Guide Culinaire contains thousands of
French cuisine.They created their own recipes, following rigorous cooking principles, and pre- recipes, including many named for Escoffier’s
sented elaborate meals with multiple courses featuring rich new dishes named for greatest patrons, as well as traditional
royalty and nobility. Their culinary efforts were the beginning of grande cuisine. garnishes for hundreds of dishes.
American Cookery Regional Cuisine
During the vast land expansion of the nine-
teenth century, the American diet began to
While grande cuisine was taking shape in France,American cuisine was only in its show variety from one geographic region to
infancy.European settlers in the Americas brought familiar cooking methods and some the next. Each part of the country devel-
oped its own regional cuisine—foods,
staple foods from the Old World with them and combined these with culinary techniques ingredients, and cooking methods charac-
and ingredients they found in the New World.From the start,American cookery has teristic of that particular geographic
region. Several factors contributed to the
been a mosaic of ingredients and techniques from a variety of cultures.
development of regional cuisines, includ-
ing availability of local ingredients and the
Native American Food Patterns influence of cultural groups. Figure 1-1 on
page 9 shows some of the culinary differ-
When Columbus arrived in the Americas in the late 1400s, most Native Americans followed
ences between regions of the United States.
traditional practices. Their main crops were maize (corn), beans, and squash, but other valu-
able crops included potatoes, sweet potatoes, and manioc, or cassava. Domesticated animals
were not a large source of food. However, in addition to cultivating crops, indigenous
Changes in Food Production,
Americans fished, hunted, and collected foods. They devised storage pits for grains, nuts, and Service, and Consumption
other foods, used a variety of cooking techniques, including roasting and boiling in pots,
The nineteenth century was a time of great
and preserved some foods by drying and smoking.
change in the United States. The Industrial
Colonial Food Habits Revolution introduced machines that trans-
formed farming and manufacturing. Large
European settlers learned a great deal from indigenous peoples about growing and numbers of people moved to the cities.
preparing foods native to the New World. Native Americans taught newcomers from Many of these people were immigrants, or
Europe the most efficient ways to cook outdoors and how to prepare beans and corn. newcomers to America. These develop-
Corn breads, succotash, and various soups and stews became part of the colonial cooking ments brought changes in food production
repertoire. For their part, Europeans changed the food supply in the Americas, introduc- and service as well as in eating habits.
ing livestock such as pigs, cattle, and sheep, and plant foods such as rice, wheat, barley, New ideas and technology in the 1800s
and broadbeans from Europe. had a great impact on agriculture, industry,
Soon colonists were comfortable preparing a variety of foods using a blend of Native and cities. Improved tools; new farming
American and European techniques. Their food choices established the basic American eating methods such as fertilization; and the
pattern still evident today: a meat entrée accompanied by vegetables, grains, legumes, and development of various farm machines,
dairy products. The beverage of choice was cider, beer, rum, or wine, which colonists enjoyed including tractors, combines, and cultiva-
both at home and at the newly opened inns and taverns. In the early nineteenth century, tors, increased the supply of food. At the
Americans began to dine at such eating establishments as Durgin-Park’s Market Dining Room same time, the need for farm workers
in Boston, which is still in operation today near Boston’s famed Faneuil Hall Marketplace. decreased. A manufacturing boom in the
Durgin-Park’s offerings, then as now, were regional specialties, including chowder, broiled cities attracted people from rural areas and
lobster, venison, New England boiled dinner, apple pandowdy, Indian pudding, and pies. other countries.
 Transportation also improved in the Figure 1-1
1800s. Railroads could now ship fresh food

Reg ional Cuisine

to cities on the East Coast and across the northeast
country, allowing people in cities who Foods and Preparations Influences
could not grow their own food to purchase New England boiled dinner, meat pie, fish stews Native American,
food delivered to the city by train. With the and soups, clam chowder, clambakes, codcakes, salt English, French
availability of fresh food, more restaurants cod, chorizo and peppers, baked beans, succotash, Canadian,
began to open in big cities, such as Ye Olde Indian pudding, Southern Italian specialties, brown Italian,
bread, maple syrup, cider, fruit pies and desserts, Portuguese
Union Oyster Bar in Boston. It opened for
cream dishes, light seasonings
business in 1826, one year before the publi-
cation of Robert Roberts’s House Servant’s mid-atl ant ic
Directory. This cookbook, the first written Foods and Preparations Influences
by an African American, appeared in Schnitzel, scrapple, sausages, apple butter, sauer- Dutch, German
Boston in 1827. Roberts, who had served as kraut, slaw, pretzels, bagels, waffles, pork, dairy
a butler to Governor Christopher Gore, products, stronger seasonings
wanted to encourage house servants to 9
become caterers and managers, not sub- midwest
servient workers. Foods and Preparations Influences
Food service benefited from the many Jerky, country hams, sausages, gravies, beef stews Native American,
technological advances of the nineteenth and pot pies, meatloaf, fish boils, corn roasts, Polish,
freshwater fish, cheese, potatoes, root vegetables, Hungarian,
century. The invention of the icebox; the
fondue, rye and pumpernickel breads, wild rice, Czech, German,
mechanization of canning; the develop-
pancakes, strudel, applesauce, apple juice, sauer- Scandinavian
ment of pasteurization, electric ovens, kraut, nut candies, poppy seed cake, lager beer,
and kitchen equipment; and the improve- mild seasonings
ment of gas stoves and ranges all helped
fuel the growth of food service. Prior to the south
mid-nineteenth century, most commercial Foods and Preparations Influences
kitchens had no refrigeration, running Brunswick stew, country hams, redeye gravy, corn Scots-Irish,
water, electricity, or gas. breads, biscuits, spoon bread, barbecued pork and English, Welsh,
Immigration in the nineteenth century beef, chitterlings, jambalaya, fried chicken, crab French, Creole,
changed American cities and cuisine. cakes, crab boils, shrimp boils, crawfish boils, catfish, Cajun, African
Nearly 5 million immigrants arrived in the butter bean custard, peanut soup, peach pie, key
lime pie, greens with fatback or salt pork, hoppin’
United States in the period between 1830
John, fried okra and okra stews, hominy, grits,
and 1860. Most were from Germany, Great
gumbos, sweet potato pie, nut cakes, pies, brittles,
Britain, and Ireland. Two waves of immi- rice, hot and spicy seasonings
gration after 1860 brought people from
Scandinavian countries and from Italy, west
Austria, Hungary, Russia, Greece, Poland, Foods and Preparations Influences
Portugal, and Spain.Asian immigrants also Barbecue, corn dishes, Tex-Mex food, California Spanish, Mexican,
began to make a home in America’s big cuisine, chorizo, chili con carne, citrus fruits, Native American,
cities. Ethnic communities spread across guacamole, poi, olives, tuna, crab, sourdough Chinese,
America, and ethnic dishes began to find a bread, mesclun, steaks, game, grilled lamb, Basque Japanese,
place in American cuisine. potatoes, cioppino, teriyaki, luau pork, clam hash, Southeast
salmon chowder, sashimi, trout, fry bread, Asian Asian,
noodle dishes, stir-fried dishes, tortillas, tacos, Hawaiian,
quesadillas, chimichangas, turkey and chicken Pacific Island
mole, pineapple, sugarcane, chilies prepared
or used variously, hot and spicy seasonings
Traditional New England Clambake

The New England clambake is a prime example of regional Wash and oil the potatoes. When the fire has burned down and

cuisine. The clambake is a Native American tradition that the stones are hot, place the food on top of the stones. The usual

European settlers adopted and adapted. Native Americans order is potatoes, corn, onions, chicken or lobsters, and clams.

steamed shellfish by placing them over hot stones and covering Then cover with a layer of wet seaweed, which will provide

them with seaweed. Today a clambake often includes corn, both steam and aromatics. Put a tarpaulin over everything, and

potatoes, onions, and lobster or chicken in addition to clams. let the food cook. The different foods will determine cooking

Though not particularly complicated, preparation and actual times. Check the clams after about a half hour. When the clams

cooking take time. The first step is to dig a deep pit in the sand are open and the lobsters are red, the food is ready. Lemon and

and line it with dry stones. (Wet stones may explode during melted butter are traditional accompaniments. As an alternative,

heating.) Then build a wood fire on top of the stones, leaving shown in the photo, the New England clambake can be cooked

it to burn for several hours. While the fire is burning, prepare in a metal steamer or pot placed on a fire grate over the fire.

the food items. Put lobsters or chicken halves on ice. Wash The ingredients would be the same; only the cooking method

the clams. Soak ears of corn (still in the husk but with silk would change.

removed) in cold water. If using onions, peel and trim them.

 11

Evolution in European Cuisine

As American cooking was beginning to absorb elements of other cuisines,a new cuisine was
evolving in Europe.French chef Fernand B.Point (1897–1955) brought Escoffier’s French classic
cuisine into the twentieth century by merging it with aspects of regional French cooking to pro-
duce what is known as nouvelle cuisine,or “new cooking.” Nouvelle cuisine moved away from
the rich sauces,intricate garnishes,and traditional accompaniments of classic French cuisine to
lighter,fresher food,preserving natural flavors and served in smaller portions.Point emphasized
procedure and wanted food to be at once elegant and simple.He trained a number of chefs,
including Paul Bocuse and Roger Verge,who,along with Michel Guérard and others,carried
nouvelle cuisine into the 1960s and 1970s.
Guérard introduced cuisine minceur (or “cookery of slimness”) in the 1970s,a cooking technique
that reduced calories without sacrificing flavor.He used herbs instead of fats such as butter and oil to
flavor foods.Guérard also eliminated sugar—except for the natural ones contained in fruits—
as well as starches and cream from his list of ingredients.Steaming,baking,and poaching were his
main cooking methods,and he added miniature or julienne vegetables to his artfully arranged
serving plates.
Emergence of Modern
American Cuisine
The evolution of European cuisine laid the groundwork for modern
American cuisine.American chefs of the 1970s adapted nouvelle cuisine and
cuisine minceur in their kitchens.The 1971 opening of Alice Waters’s Chez
Panisse in Berkeley,California,raised the status of American chefs and
drastically altered the cuisine of U.S.restaurants.Following Guérard’s lead,
Waters offered delicious lowfat meals that centered around local seasonal
ingredients,fresh vegetables,fish,poultry,and lean meats.Like Guérard,
Waters shunned frying and instead steamed or grilled her entrées.She won
national acclaim and inspired many chefs,especially women,who before
then had been reluctant to enter this predominately male field.Among her
protégées are Lydia Shire (Boston’s Biba),Anne Rosenzweig (New York’s
Arcadia),Joyce Goldstein (San Francisco’s Square One),and Mary Sue
Milliken and Susan Feniger (L.A.’s City Restaurant).Other well-known
American chefs of the 1970s and 1980s include Jeremiah Tower and Paul
Prudhomme.Tower,once a chef at Chez Panisse before opening his own
restaurant (San Francisco’s Stars),is known for his use of fresh California
ingredients,such as Monterey Bay prawns and San Francisco almonds,
walnuts,and mountain pears.Prudhomme,who opened K-Paul’s Louisiana
Kitchen in New Orleans in 1979,started the U.S.craze for blackened fish
and Cajun cuisine.
The 1980s also introduced a new cooking style,fusion cuisine,which
combines culinary elements from the United States,France,Spain,Italy,
China,and Thailand.It was inspired by the ever-increasing number of
people living or traveling abroad.Washington,D.C.’s Cities,which featured
cuisine from a different international city every month,and New York’s
Quilted Giraffe,which featured such diverse offerings as tuna wasabi pizza,
duck confit,and Japanese tasting menus called kaiseki,are examples of
fusion cuisine.
The proliferation of new restaurants in the United States at the end of the
twentieth century catapulted chefs toward celebrity status.The popularity of
cooking shows in the 1960s and food magazines,including “Food & Wine”
and “Bon Appétit,” in the 1980s contributed to this trend.
Media and Celebrity Chefs American Culinary Leaders
Television brought American chefs to the The media frenzy continued during the
attention of the public beginning in the 1980s, when American chefs capitalized on
1960s. Julia Child pioneered the profes- mass media, writing hundreds of cook-
sional cooking show when she appeared books that documented the many different
on public television in 1963 to expound movements occurring in the foodservice
on the pleasures of French cooking and industry. Among the topics of such books
demonstrate its techniques. Child studied as New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant
culinary arts at the Cordon Bleu cooking by the Moosewood Collective and Lord
school in Paris and then privately with Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian
chefs Max Bugnard, Claude Thilmond, Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi were
and Pierre Mangelatte. After publishing American regional and vegetarian cuisine,
Mastering the Art of French Cooking in the infusion of world cuisines, and comfort 13
1961 with coauthors Simone Beck and foods. American chefs continue to lead the
Louisette Bertholle, Child was invited to way in innovative cookery. Each adds to
appear on a public television program to the mosaic that is American cuisine.
promote the new book. Her famous tele-
vision series, “The French Chef,” was
launched, and the marriage between
mass media and cooking began.
Other media pioneers in the culinary arts
include the following:
• James Beard, often called the Father of
American Cooking
• “Galloping Gourmet” Graham Kerr, who
helped make fine cuisine accessible to an
American audience
• Joyce Chen, a restaurateur and writer,
who was the first Asian chef to have a
television show in the United States
• Martin Yan, another Asian chef, who
hosted the long-running cooking show
“Yan Can Cook” and was a distinguished
visiting chef at Johnson & Wales
• Paul Prudhomme, whose shows, includ-
ing “A Fork in the Road,” were based on
his cookbooks
• Emeril Lagasse, a Johnson & Wales grad-
uate and celebrity chef with an extremely
faithful following