FRENCH

CUISINE
• One of the world’s
most refined & elegant
style of cooking

• Renowned for its

classical, regional and
nouvelle cuisine
• A major influence and basis on virtually all
other forms of Western cuisines

• Development of systematic methods on which

generation of French cooks have ordered and
classified their knowledge
 TOPOGRAPHY
Four River Basins
West
• Seine into the English
Channel
• Loire into the Atlantic
• Garonne into the Bay of
Biscay
South
• Rhône into the
Mediterranean
 TOPOGRAPHY
• Largest country in Western
Europe
• Second largest country in
Europe next to Russia
• Over two thirds of France
is covered with mountains
and hills, with the Alps,
Pyrenees, and Vosges
Mountains
 HISTORY

• 5th – 15th Century Medieval

– Church and Monarchs

• Methods of food
preservation salting,
brining, smoking and
boiling in honey.
 MONOPOLY OF GUILDS

• Guilds - group of cooks who prepared and sold

certain food items
 I am a professional craftsman.
I am a cook.
I take fowl from the air; fish from the
waters;
Fruits, vegetables and grain from the land;
And animals that walk the earth,
And through my skills and art
transforms the raw products to edible food.
I serve to sustain life in man,
woman and child.
I have the sacred duty
through my efforts and art
To sustain and maintain healthy bodies
That God has given us to house our souls.

- The 16th Century European Guild Manual

 16 Century Renaissance
th

• Catherine De Medici of Florence and King Henry II

 17 Century French Revolution
th

• Storming the Bastille

• Execution of King
Louise XVI and Marie
Antoinette

• Napoleon Bonaparte
 “RESTAURER”

• 1765 Monsieur Boulanger – tavern keeper opened

the first restaurant selling sheep feet in cream soup
 La Varenne

• Author of La Cuisine Francois – first French Cookbook

• Roux – instead of bread for thickening soup
 Jean Brillat - Savarin

• Author of Physiologie du Gout - Physiology of Taste

 Savarin Mold

"The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on

humanity than the discovery of a new star.“
 Savarin Ring Cake

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are."
 Marie Antoine Careme

• Father of Classical French

Cuisine

• Symmetry and artistic

execution of dishes
 Marie Antoine Careme

• Five mother sauces and

derivatives

• Soufflés

• Charlotte Rousse -
Chartreuse
 Georges Auguste Escoffier

• Father of modern classical

French cuisine

• Established the kitchen brigade

system

• Published Le Guide Culinaire in

1903
 20 Century Nouvelle Cuisine
th

• Fernand Point – Father of Modern French Cuisine

20 Century Nouvelle Cuisine
th

• Paul Bocuse - Chef of the Century

 20 Century Nouvelle Cuisine
th

• Henri Gault & Christian Millau – Le Nouveau

Guide 1965 (Guide Michelin)
 Michelin Star Rating
• One Star: "A very good
restaurant in its
category”

• Two Stars: "Excellent

cooking, worth a detour“

• Three Stars: "Exceptional

cuisine, worth a special
journey"
French Cuisine

• Oenology
study of wine

• Gastronomy
study of food
TYPES OF
FRENCH
CUISINE
 Haute Cuisine

• Grand and extravagant

• For high level

establishments and
luxury hotels

• Meticulously prepared
food with rare wine
Cuisine Bourgeois
• French home cooking

• Bold, rustic, tasty,

earthy, and full of
texture
Cuisine de Provence
• “provincial cuisine”

• “cuisine campagnarde”
(country cooking)

• Best local ingredients

with most refined
techniques
 Nouvelle Cuisine
• Rejection of excessive
complications in
cooking

• Focus on enhancing
natural flavors of fresh
regional food
 Nouvelle Cuisine
• Innovation of
techniques, modern
equipment and new
combinations and
pairings

• Attention to dietary
needs of guests
 French Full Course Meals
1. Aperitif- a pre-dinner dish

2. Hors D’ Oeuvres- small appetizers

3. Entrée- starter, first course

4. Plat Principal- main course/dish

5. Salade- simple green salad with dressing

 French Full Course Meals
6. Fromage- cheese (in some cases, served with fruit)

7. Dessert- cream-, chocolate-, custard- and/or

pastry-based

8. Fruit- at times served instead of the dessert

9. Café- coffee or chocolate beverages

10. Digestif- digestive cookies served with the hot

beverage
Influences
*North – Flemish
Belgian
*North East - Alsatian
German
Swiss
*South West France - Basque
Spanish
*Southeast France - Provencal
Italian
*South
African
Moroccan
Basque Cuisine of Southern Regions
- Spanish and Italian influences
- olive oil, herbs, tomatoes, garlic
Provencal Cuisine
of Central Regions

- foie gras
- porcini mushroom
- gizzards
- spring vegetables
Flemmish Cuisine of North Western Regions
- Belgium and Netherlands
- butter, cream, endives, potatoes and apples
Alsatian Cuisine of Eastern
Regions
- Germany and Switzerland
- lard, sausages, sauerkraut
and beer
Northern
France
 Burgundy and Northern France
• Burgundy is known for fine cattle, and Bresse
for poultry
• Northern France and Alsace are famous for
dishes influenced by the Netherlands and
Scandinavia
• Cabbages, beer, fish from the Atlantic,
chowders, braised apples, and dairy products
 GEOGRAPHY
– Paris/Central
– North (Nord-Pas-de-Calais
and Picardie)
– North West (Normandy,
Brittany, Western Loire
Valley, Centre Loire Valley,
Poitou Charente)
– North East (Lorraine,
Alsace, Champagne,
Burgundy, Franche-
Comte)
Tradition of Northern France
• Bastille Day
– July 14, most colorful
celebration to
commemorate French
Revolution and honor
French Republic

– Storming the Bastille

COOKING METHODS
• A LA BOURGUIGNON -
Burgundy style

• CONFIT- simmering in a
reduction of its own juices/fat

• DAUBE- stew of meat, red

wine, onions, and garlic
COOKING METHODS
• FRIT- fried, deep-fried, pan-
fried

• FLORENTINE- with spinach

• A L’HUILE- in oil

• ROTI- roast
Northern France Food
• Carbonnade Flamande - is
beef stew braised in beer

• Choucroute Garnie - bacon,

pork loin or knuckle and
various types of sausages,
both smoked and not smoked,
all served with boiled
potatoes on a bed of
sauerkraut
Northern France Food
• Boudin noir- blood
pudding

• Boudin blanc- white
pork sausage

• Saucisse de
Strasbourg- basically a
thick frankfurter
Northern France Food
• Quiche Lorraine- egg custard in
a pastry shell filled with smoked
bacon

• Porc aux deux pommes- a

classic dish, is pork with
potatoes and apples

• Kougelhopf- is a ring-shaped
cake with almonds and sultanas
Northern France Food

• Escargot – cooked land

snails

• Rilettes- pieces of pork or
goose meat cooked slowly
in lard then shredded and
potted
Northern France Food
• Crepe- thin pancakes
with a sweet filling

• Galette- thin buckwheat

pancakes with a savory
filling
Southern France
 Southern France
• Oysters,
mussels,
monkfish
• Walnuts,
chantrelles,
cèpes, and
truffles
 Regions in Southern France
• Perigord
• Provence
• Côte d'Azur
• Bordeaux
• Gascony
• Languedoc-Roussillon
• Corsica
 BORDEAUX
• Known for wine

• Seafood - fishing in the Bay of

Biscay, trapping in
the Garonne and stream
fishing in the Pyrenees

• High quality beef, free-range

chickens, capons and pigeons
 PERIGORD
• Known for truffles,
walnuts, foie gras,
and cepes
mushrooms

• “A la
perigourdine”-
dishes prepared
with or garnished
with truffles
 GASCONY

• Patés, terrines, 
confits and magrets

• Armagnac - oldest type

of brandy distilled in
France
 LANGUEDOC-ROUSILLON
• Roquefort comes from
the brebis (sheep) on the
Larzac plateau. Aged only in
natural caves of Mont
Combalou

• Jambon cru or  Jambon de

montagne 
 PROVENCE
• Largest supplier of fruits, vegetables, olives
and olive oil in France

• Lavender is used in many dishes found

in Haute Provence.

• Herbs de Provence- thyme, savory,

lavender, tarragon, rosemary, oregano,
marjoram
 CORSICA
• Region most influenced
by Italy

• Italian-style charcuterie,
pasta, and polenta

• Stufato - classic beef

stew where sauce is
served over pasta
Food of Southern France
• Tapenade- olives,
capers, anchovies and
olive oil

• Aioli- a mayonnaise
base, usually flavored
with crushed garlic
 Food of Southern France
• Bouillabaisse
– “bouille” (boil) and
“baisse” (lower the
heat)
– Aromatic bouillon with
poached fish and
seafood; made thin or
chunky.
 Food of Southern France
• Pistou- green-tinted
soup of dried and fresh
beans and diced
vegetables
• La Soupe a l’ail-
provencal garlic soup
• Salade Nicoise- salad
with tuna and olives,
eggs and beans
 Food of Southern France
• Cassoulet- a combination of
beans and meats
• Bearnaise Sauce- a sauce of
Hollandaise base with the
addition of tarragon
• Ratatouille- eggplant
casserole with zucchini,
tomatoes, bell peppers and
onions
Food of Southern France
• Veau Marengo- veal
stew with
mushrooms and
tomatoes
• Poulet Roti - chicken
infused with herbs
and olive oil
• Bourride- seafood
or fish soup with
aioli
Food of Southern France
• Anchoiade- anchovies with
garlic and olive oil
• Tartiflette- made with
Rebochlon cheese with
bacon, potatoes, and salad
• Gratin Dauphinois-
potatoes with cream
FRENCH CULINARY TERMS

• A LA MODE
• AU LAIT
• CROQUANTE
• EN GELEE
• BROUILLE
• CRU
 FRENCH CULINARY TERMS
• FARCI
• FROID
• CHAUD
• OEUFS
• GATEAU
• RAGOUT
 FRENCH CULINARY TERMS
• BAIN MARIE
• BEURRE MANIE
• BEURRE NOIR
• BEURRE NOISETTE
• COURT BOUILLON
• BOUQUET GARNI
• COMPOTE
 FRENCH CULINARY TERMS
• COULIS
• CREPE
• CRUDITE
• EN CROUTE
• EN PAPILLOTE
• ESCALOPE
• FLAMBE
 FRENCH CULINARY TERMS
• AU FROMAGE
• AU GRATIN
• PATE
• ROULADE
• ROUX