Haute cuisine

[1] It has had a long evolution through the monarchy and the bourgeoisie and their ability to explore and afford prepared dishes with exotic and varied flavors and looking like architectural wonders.

[4] The 17th-century chef and writer La Varenne (1615–1678) marked a change from cookery as known in the Middle Ages, to somewhat lighter dishes, and more modest presentations.

Contrary to popular belief, Catherine de' Medici did not introduce Italian food to the French court to create haute cuisine.

The major developments were to replace service à la française (serving all dishes at once) with service à la russe (serving meals in courses) and to develop a system of cookery, based on Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire, which formalized the preparation of sauces and dishes.

Although the term nouvelle cuisine had been used in the past, the modern usage can be attributed to authors André Gayot,[7] Henri Gault, and Christian Millau, who used nouvelle cuisine to describe the cooking of Paul Bocuse, Alain Chapel, Jean and Pierre Troisgros, Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé and Raymond Oliver, many of whom were once students of Fernand Point.

[8] In general, nouvelle cuisine puts an emphasis on natural flavours, so the freshest possible ingredients are used, preparation is simplified, heavy sauces are less common, as are strong marinades for meat, and cooking times are often reduced.