French cuisine consists of the cooking traditions
and practices from France.
In the 14th century Guillaume Tirel, a court
chef known as "Taillevent", wrote Le Viandier,
one of the earliest recipe collections of
medieval France.
During that time, French cuisine was heavily
influenced by Italian cuisine.
In the 17th century, chefs François Pierre
La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême spearheaded
movements that shifted French cooking away
from its foreign influences and developed
France's own indigenous style.
Cheese and wine are a major part of the cuisine.
They play different roles regionally and nationally,
with many variations and appellation d'origine
contrôlée (AOC) (regulated appellation)
laws.
French cuisine was made important in the 20th
century by Auguste Escoffier to become the
modern haute cuisine; Escoffier, however,
left out much of the local culinary character
to be found in the regions of France and was
considered difficult to execute by home cooks.
Gastro-tourism and the Guide Michelin helped
to acquaint people with the rich bourgeois
and peasant cuisine of the French countryside
starting in the 20th century.
Gascon cuisine has also had great influence
over the cuisine in the southwest of France.
Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated
in variations across the country.
Knowledge of French cooking has contributed
significantly to Western cuisines.
Its criteria are used widely in Western cookery
school boards and culinary education.
In November 2010, French gastronomy was added
by the UNESCO to its lists of the world's
"intangible cultural heritage".
== History ==
=== 
Middle Ages ===
In French medieval cuisine, banquets were
common among the aristocracy.
Multiple courses would be prepared, but served
in a style called service en confusion, or
all at once.
Food was generally eaten by hand, meats being
sliced off in large pieces held between the
thumb and two fingers.
The sauces were highly seasoned and thick,
and heavily flavored mustards were used.
Pies were a common banquet item, with the
crust serving primarily as a container, rather
than as food itself, and it was not until
the very end of the Late Middle Ages that
the shortcrust pie was developed.
Meals often ended with an issue de table,
which later changed into the modern dessert,
and typically consisted of dragées (in the
Middle Ages, meaning spiced lumps of hardened
sugar or honey), aged cheese and spiced wine,
such as hypocras.The ingredients of the time
varied greatly according to the seasons and
the church calendar, and many items were preserved
with salt, spices, honey, and other preservatives.
Late spring, summer, and autumn afforded abundance,
while winter meals were more sparse.
Livestock were slaughtered at the beginning
of winter.
Beef was often salted, while pork was salted
and smoked.
Bacon and sausages would be smoked in the
chimney, while the tongue and hams were brined
and dried.
Cucumbers were brined as well, while greens
would be packed in jars with salt.
Fruits, nuts and root vegetables would be
boiled in honey for preservation.
Whale, dolphin and porpoise were considered
fish, so during Lent, the salted meats of
these sea mammals were eaten.Artificial freshwater
ponds (often called stews) held carp, pike,
tench, bream, eel, and other fish.
Poultry was kept in special yards, with pigeon
and squab being reserved for the elite.
Game was highly prized, but very rare, and
included venison, wild boar, hare, rabbit,
and birds.
Kitchen gardens provided herbs, including
some, such as tansy, rue, pennyroyal, and
hyssop, which are rarely used today.
Spices were treasured and very expensive at
that time – they included pepper, cinnamon,
cloves, nutmeg, and mace.
Some spices used then, but no longer today
in French cuisine are cubebs, long pepper
(both from vines similar to black pepper),
grains of paradise, and galengale.
Sweet-sour flavors were commonly added to
dishes with vinegars and verjus combined with
sugar (for the affluent) or honey.
A common form of food preparation was to finely
cook, pound and strain mixtures into fine
pastes and mushes, something believed to be
beneficial to make use of nutrients.Visual
display was prized.
Brilliant colors were obtained by the addition
of, for example, juices from spinach and the
green part of leeks.
Yellow came from saffron or egg yolk, while
red came from sunflower, and purple came from
Crozophora tinctoria or Heliotropium europaeum.
Gold and silver leaf were placed on food surfaces
and brushed with egg whites.
Elaborate and showy dishes were the result,
such as tourte parmerienne which was a pastry
dish made to look like a castle with chicken-drumstick
turrets coated with gold leaf.
One of the grandest showpieces of the time
was roast swan or peacock sewn back into its
skin with feathers intact, the feet and beak
being gilded.
Since both birds are stringy, and taste unpleasant,
the skin and feathers could be kept and filled
with the cooked, minced and seasoned flesh
of tastier birds, like goose or chicken.The
most well known French chef of the Middle
Ages was Guillaume Tirel, also known as Taillevent.
Taillevent worked in numerous royal kitchens
during the 14th century.
His first position was as a kitchen boy in
1326.
He was chef to Philip VI, then the Dauphin
who was son of John II.
The Dauphin became King Charles V of France
in 1364, with Taillevent as his chief cook.
His career spanned sixty-six years, and upon
his death he was buried in grand style between
his two wives.
His tombstone represents him in armor, holding
a shield with three cooking pots, marmites,
on it.
=== Ancien Régime ===
Paris was the central hub of culture and economic
activity, and as such, the most highly skilled
culinary craftsmen were to be found there.
Markets in Paris such as Les Halles, la Mégisserie,
those found along Rue Mouffetard, and similar
smaller versions in other cities were very
important to the distribution of food.
Those that gave French produce its characteristic
identity were regulated by the guild system,
which developed in the Middle Ages.
In Paris, the guilds were regulated by city
government as well as by the French crown.
A guild restricted those in a given branch
of the culinary industry to operate only within
that field.There were two groups of guilds
– first, those that supplied the raw materials;
butchers, fishmongers, grain merchants, and
gardeners.
The second group were those that supplied
prepared foods; bakers, pastry cooks, sauce
makers, poulterers, and caterers.
There were also guilds that offered both raw
materials and prepared food, such as the charcutiers
and rôtisseurs (purveyors of roasted meat
dishes).
They would supply cooked meat pies and dishes
as well as raw meat and poultry.
This caused issues with butchers and poulterers,
who sold the same raw materials.
The guilds served as a training ground for
those within the industry.
The degrees of assistant-cook, full-fledged
cook and master chef were conferred.
Those who reached the level of master chef
were of considerable rank in their individual
industry, and enjoyed a high level of income
as well as economic and job security.
At times, those in the royal kitchens did
fall under the guild hierarchy, but it was
necessary to find them a parallel appointment
based on their skills after leaving the service
of the royal kitchens.
This was not uncommon as the Paris cooks'
guild regulations allowed for this movement.During
the 16th and 17th centuries, French cuisine
assimilated many new food items from the New
World.
Although they were slow to be adopted, records
of banquets show Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589?)
serving sixty-six turkeys at one dinner.
The dish called cassoulet has its roots in
the New World discovery of haricot beans,
which are central to the dish's creation,
but had not existed outside of the New World
until its exploration by Christopher Columbus.Haute
cuisine (pronounced [ot kɥizin], "high cuisine")
has foundations during the 17th century with
a chef named La Varenne.
As author of works such as Le Cuisinier françois,
he is credited with publishing the first true
French cookbook.
His book includes the earliest known reference
to roux using pork fat.
The book contained two sections, one for meat
days, and one for fasting.
His recipes marked a change from the style
of cookery known in the Middle Ages, to new
techniques aimed at creating somewhat lighter
dishes, and more modest presentations of pies
as individual pastries and turnovers.
La Varenne also published a book on pastry
in 1667 entitled Le Parfait confitvrier (republished
as Le Confiturier françois) which similarly
updated and codified the emerging haute cuisine
standards for desserts and pastries.Chef François
Massialot wrote Le Cuisinier roïal et bourgeois
in 1691, during the reign of Louis XIV.
The book contains menus served to the royal
courts in 1690.
Massialot worked mostly as a freelance cook,
and was not employed by any particular household.
Massialot and many other royal cooks received
special privileges by association with the
French royalty.
They were not subject to the regulation of
the guilds; therefore, they could cater weddings
and banquets without restriction.
His book is the first to list recipes alphabetically,
perhaps a forerunner of the first culinary
dictionary.
It is in this book that a marinade is first
seen in print, with one type for poultry and
feathered game, while a second is for fish
and shellfish.
No quantities are listed in the recipes, which
suggests that Massialot was writing for trained
cooks.The successive updates of Le Cuisinier
roïal et bourgeois include important refinements
such as adding a glass of wine to fish stock.
Definitions were also added to the 1703 edition.
The 1712 edition, retitled Le Nouveau cuisinier
royal et bourgeois, was increased to two volumes,
and was written in a more elaborate style
with extensive explanations of technique.
Additional smaller preparations are included
in this edition as well, leading to lighter
preparations, and adding a third course to
the meal.
Ragout, a stew still central to French cookery,
makes its first appearance as a single dish
in this edition as well; prior to that, it
was listed as a garnish.
=== Late 18th century – early 19th century
===
Shortly before the French Revolution, dishes
like bouchées à la Reine gained prominence.
Essentially royal cuisine produced by the
royal household, this is a chicken-based recipe
served on vol-au-vent created under the influence
of Queen Marie Leszczyńska, the wife of Louis
XV.
This recipe is still popular today, as are
other recipes from Queen Marie Leszczyńska
like consommé à la Reine and filet d'aloyau
braisé à la royale.
Queen Marie is also credited with introducing
lentilles to the French diet.
The French Revolution was integral to the
expansion of French cuisine, because it abolished
the guild system.
This meant anyone could now produce and sell
any culinary item he wished.
Bread was a significant food source among
peasants and the working class in the late
18th century, with many of the nation’s
people being dependent on it.
In French provinces, bread was often consumed
three times a day by the people of France.
According to Brace, bread was referred to
as the basic dietary item for the masses,
and it was also used as a foundation for soup.
In fact, bread was so important that harvest,
interruption of commerce by wars, heavy flour
exploration, and prices and supply were all
watched and controlled by the French Government.
Among the underprivileged, constant fear of
famine was always prevalent.
From 1725 to 1789, there was fourteen years
of bad yields to blame for low grain supply.
In Bordeaux, during 1708-1789, thirty-three
bad harvests occurred.Marie-Antoine Carême
was born in 1784, five years before the Revolution.
He spent his younger years working at a pâtisserie
until he was discovered by Charles Maurice
de Talleyrand-Périgord, who would later cook
for Napoleon Bonaparte.
Prior to his employment with Talleyrand, Carême
had become known for his pièces montées,
which were extravagant constructions of pastry
and sugar architecture.More important to Carême's
career was his contribution to the refinement
of French cuisine.
The basis for his style of cooking was his
sauces, which he named mother sauces.
Often referred to as fonds, meaning "foundations",
these base sauces, espagnole, velouté, and
béchamel, are still known today.
Each of these sauces was made in large quantities
in his kitchen, then formed the basis of multiple
derivatives.
Carême had over one hundred sauces in his
repertoire.
In his writings, soufflés appear for the
first time.
Although many of his preparations today seem
extravagant, he simplified and codified an
even more complex cuisine that existed beforehand.
Central to his codification of the cuisine
were Le Maître d'hôtel français (1822),
Le Cuisinier parisien (1828) and L'Art de
la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle
(1833–5).
=== Late 19th century – early 20th century
===
Georges Auguste Escoffier is commonly acknowledged
as the central figure to the modernization
of haute cuisine and organizing what would
become the national cuisine of France.
His influence began with the rise of some
of the great hotels in Europe and America
during the 1880s – 1890s.
The Savoy Hotel managed by César Ritz was
an early hotel in which Escoffier worked,
but much of his influence came during his
management of the kitchens in the Carlton
from 1898 until 1921.
He created a system of "parties" called the
brigade system, which separated the professional
kitchen into five separate stations.
These five stations included the "garde manger"
that prepared cold dishes; the "entremettier"
prepared starches and vegetables, the "rôtisseur"
prepared roasts, grilled and fried dishes;
the "saucier" prepared sauces and soups; and
the "pâtissier" prepared all pastry and desserts
items.
This system meant that instead of one person
preparing a dish on one's own, now multiple
cooks would prepare the different components
for the dish.
An example used is "oeufs au plat Meyerbeer",
the prior system would take up to fifteen
minutes to prepare the dish, while in the
new system, the eggs would be prepared by
the entremettier, kidney grilled by the rôtisseur,
truffle sauce made by the saucier and thus
the dish could be prepared in a shorter time
and served quickly in the popular restaurants.Escoffier
also simplified and organized the modern menu
and structure of the meal.
He published a series of articles in professional
journals which outlined the sequence, and
he finally published his Livre des menus in
1912.
This type of service embraced the service
à la russe (serving meals in separate courses
on individual plates), which Félix Urbain
Dubois had made popular in the 1860s.
Escoffier's largest contribution was the publication
of Le Guide Culinaire in 1903, which established
the fundamentals of French cookery.
The book was a collaboration with Philéas
Gilbert, E. Fetu, A. Suzanne, B. Reboul, Ch.
Dietrich, A. Caillat and others.
The significance of this is to illustrate
the universal acceptance by multiple high-profile
chefs to this new style of cooking.Le Guide
Culinaire deemphasized the use of heavy sauces
and leaned toward lighter fumets, which are
the essence of flavor taken from fish, meat
and vegetables.
This style of cooking looked to create garnishes
and sauces whose function is to add to the
flavor of the dish, rather than mask flavors
like the heavy sauces and ornate garnishes
of the past.
Escoffier took inspiration for his work from
personal recipes in addition to recipes from
Carême, Dubois and ideas from Taillevent's
Viander, which had a modern version published
in 1897.
A second source for recipes came from existing
peasant dishes that were translated into the
refined techniques of haute cuisine.
Expensive ingredients would replace the common
ingredients, making the dishes much less humble.
The third source of recipes was Escoffier
himself, who invented many new dishes, such
as pêche Melba and crêpes Suzette.
Escoffier updated Le Guide Culinaire four
times during his lifetime, noting in the foreword
to the book's first edition that even with
its 5,000 recipes, the book should not be
considered an "exhaustive" text, and that
even if it were at the point when he wrote
the book, "it would no longer be so tomorrow,
because progress marches on each day."
=== Mid-20th century – late 20th century
===
The 1960s brought about innovative thought
to the French cuisine, especially because
of the contribution of Portuguese immigrants
who had come to the country fleeing the forced
drafting to the Colonial Wars Portugal was
fighting in Africa.
Many new dishes were introduced, as well as
techniques.
This period is also marked by the appearance
of the nouvelle cuisine.
The term "nouvelle cuisine" has been used
many times in the history of French cuisine
which emphasized the freshness, lightness
and clarity of flavor and inspired by new
movements in world cuisine.
In the 1740s, Menon first used the term, but
the cooking of Vincent La Chapelle and François
Marin was also considered modern.
In the 1960s, Henri Gault and Christian Millau
revived it to describe the cooking of Paul
Bocuse, Jean and Pierre Troisgros, Michel
Guérard, Roger Vergé and Raymond Oliver.
These chefs were working toward rebelling
against the "orthodoxy" of Escoffier's cuisine.
Some of the chefs were students of Fernand
Point at the Pyramide in Vienne, and had left
to open their own restaurants.
Gault and Millau "discovered the formula"
contained in ten characteristics of this new
style of cooking.The first characteristic
was a rejection of excessive complication
in cooking.
Second, the cooking times for most fish, seafood,
game birds, veal, green vegetables and pâtés
was greatly reduced in an attempt to preserve
the natural flavors.
Steaming was an important trend from this
characteristic.
The third characteristic was that the cuisine
was made with the freshest possible ingredients.
Fourth, large menus were abandoned in favor
of shorter menus.
Fifth, strong marinades for meat and game
ceased to be used.
Sixth, they stopped using heavy sauces such
as espagnole and béchamel thickened with
flour based "roux", in favor of seasoning
their dishes with fresh herbs, quality butter,
lemon juice, and vinegar.
Seventh, they used regional dishes for inspiration
instead of haute cuisine dishes.
Eighth, new techniques were embraced and modern
equipment was often used; Bocuse even used
microwave ovens.
Ninth, the chefs paid close attention to the
dietary needs of their guests through their
dishes.
Tenth and finally, the chefs were extremely
inventive and created new combinations and
pairings.Some have speculated that a contributor
to nouvelle cuisine was World War II when
animal protein was in short supply during
the German occupation.
By the mid-1980s food writers stated that
the style of cuisine had reached exhaustion
and many chefs began returning to the haute
cuisine style of cooking, although much of
the lighter presentations and new techniques
remained.
== National cuisine ==
There are many dishes that are considered
part of French national cuisine today.
A meal often consists of three courses, hors
d'œuvre or entrée (introductory course,
sometimes soup), plat principal (main course),
fromage (cheese course) or dessert, sometimes
with a salad offered before the cheese or
dessert.
Hors d'œuvre
Plat principal
Pâtisserie
Dessert
== Regional cuisine ==
French regional cuisine is characterized by
its extreme diversity and style.
Traditionally, each region of France has its
own distinctive cuisine.
=== Paris and Île-de-France ===
Paris and Île-de-France are central regions
where almost anything from the country is
available, as all train lines meet in the
city.
Over 9,000 restaurants exist in Paris and
almost any cuisine can be obtained here.
High-quality Michelin Guide-rated restaurants
proliferate here.
=== Champagne, Lorraine, and Alsace ===
Game and ham are popular in Champagne, as
well as the special sparkling wine simply
known as Champagne.
Fine fruit preserves are known from Lorraine
as well as the quiche Lorraine.
Alsace is influenced by the Alemannic food
culture; as such, beers made in the area are
similar to the style of bordering Germany.
Dishes like choucroute (the French word for
sauerkraut) are also popular.
Many "Eaux de Vie" (alcoholic distillation)
also called schnaps is from this region, due
to a wide variety of local fruits (cherry,
raspberry, pear, grapes) and especially prunes
(mirabelle, plum).[9]:259,295
=== Nord Pas-de-Calais, Picardy, Normandy,
and Brittany ===
The coastline supplies many crustaceans, sea
bass, monkfish and herring.
Normandy has top quality seafood, such as
scallops and sole, while Brittany has a supply
of lobster, crayfish and mussels.
Normandy is home to a large population of
apple trees; apples are often used in dishes,
as well as cider and Calvados.
The northern areas of this region, especially
Nord, grow ample amounts of wheat, sugar beets
and chicory.
Thick stews are found often in these northern
areas as well.
The produce of these northern regions is also
considered some of the best in the country,
including cauliflower and artichokes.
Buckwheat grows widely in Brittany as well
and is used in the region's galettes, called
jalet, which is where this dish originated.
=== Loire Valley and central France ===
High-quality fruits come from the Loire Valley
and central France, including cherries grown
for the liqueur Guignolet and the 'Belle Angevine'
pears.
The strawberries and melons are also of high
quality.
Fish are seen in the cuisine, often served
with a beurre blanc sauce, as well as wild
game, lamb, calves, Charolais cattle, Géline
fowl, and goat cheeses.
Young vegetables are used often in the cuisine,
as are the specialty mushrooms of the region,
champignons de Paris.
Vinegars from Orléans are a specialty ingredient
used as well.
=== Burgundy and Franche-Comté ===
Burgundy and Franche-Comté are known for
their wines.
Pike, perch, river crabs, snails, game, redcurrants,
blackcurrants are from both Burgundy and Franche-Comté.
Amongst savorous specialties accounted in
the Cuisine franc-comtoise from the Franche-Comté
region are Croûte aux morilles, Poulet à
la Comtoise, trout, smoked meats and cheeses
such as Mont d'Or, Comté and Morbier which
are at the palate best eaten hot or cold,
the exquisite Coq au vin jaune and the special
dessert gâteau de ménage.
Charolais beef, poultry from Bresse, sea snail,
honey cake, Chaource and Epoisses cheese are
specialties of the local cuisine of Burgundy.
Dijon mustard is also a specialty of Burgundy
cuisine.
Crème de cassis is a popular liquor made
from the blackcurrants.
Oil are used in the cooking here, types include
nut oils and rapeseed oil.
=== Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ===
The area covers the old province of Dauphiné,
once known as the "larder" of France, that
gave its name to Gratin dauphinois.
Fruit and young vegetables are popular in
the cuisine from the Rhône valley, as are
great wines like Hermitage AOC, Crozes-Hermitage
AOC and Condrieu AOC.
Walnuts and walnut products and oil from Noix
de Grenoble AOC, lowland cheeses, like St.
Marcellin, St. Félicien and Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage.
Poultry from Bresse, guinea fowl from Drôme
and fish from the Dombes, a light yeast-based
cake, called Pogne de Romans and the regional
speciality, Raviole du Dauphiné, and there
is the short-crust "Suisse", a Valence biscuit
speciality.
Lakes and mountain streams in Rhône-Alpes
are key to the cuisine as well.
Lyon and Savoy supply sausages while the Alpine
regions supply their specialty cheeses like
Beaufort, Abondance, Reblochon, Tomme and
Vacherin.
Mères lyonnaises are female restaurateurs
particular to this region who provide local
gourmet establishments.
Celebrated chefs from this region include
Fernand Point, Paul Bocuse, the Troisgros
brothers and Alain Chapel.
The Chartreuse Mountains, also in the region,
are the source of the green and yellow Digestif
liquor, Chartreuse produced by the monks of
the Grande Chartreuse.
Since the 2014 administrative reform, the
ancient area of Auvergne is now part of the
region.
One of its leading chefs is Regis Marcon.
=== Poitou-Charentes and Limousin ===
Oysters come from the Oléron-Marennes basin,
while mussels come from the Bay of Aiguillon.
High-quality produce comes from the region's
hinterland, especially goat cheese.
This region and in the Vendée is grazing
ground for Parthenaise cattle, while poultry
is raised in Challans.
The region of Poitou-Charentes purportedly
produces the best butter and cream in France.
Cognac is also made in the region along the
Charente River.
Limousin is home to the Limousin cattle, as
well as sheep.
The woodlands offer game and mushrooms.
The southern area around Brive draws its cooking
influence from Périgord and Auvergne to produce
a robust cuisine.
=== Bordeaux, Périgord, Gascony, and Basque
country ===
Bordeaux is known for its wine, with certain
areas offering specialty grapes for wine-making.
Fishing is popular in the region for the cuisine,
sea fishing in the Bay of Biscay, trapping
in the Garonne and stream fishing in the Pyrenees.
The Pyrenees also support lamb, such as the
"Agneau de Pauillac", as well as sheep cheeses.
Beef cattle in the region include the Blonde
d'Aquitaine, Boeuf de Chalosse, Boeuf Gras
de Bazas, and Garonnaise.
Free-range chicken, turkey, pigeon, capon,
goose and duck prevail in the region as well.
Gascony and Périgord cuisines includes patés,
terrines, confits and magrets.
This is one of the regions notable for its
production of foie gras or fattened goose
or duck liver.
The cuisine of the region is often heavy and
farm based.
Armagnac is also from this region, as are
prunes from Agen.
=== Toulouse, Quercy, and Aveyron ===
Gers, a department of France, is within this
region and has poultry, while La Montagne
Noire and Lacaune area offers hams and dry
sausages.
White corn is planted heavily in the area
both for use in fattening the ducks and geese
for foie gras and for the production of millas,
a cornmeal porridge.
Haricot beans are also grown in this area,
which are central to the dish cassoulet.
The finest sausage in France is commonly acknowledged
to be the saucisse de Toulouse, which also
finds its way into their version of cassoulet
of Toulouse.
The Cahors area produces a specialty "black
wine" as well as truffles and mushrooms.
This region also produces milk-fed lamb.
Unpasteurized ewe's milk is used to produce
the Roquefort in Aveyron, while in Laguiole
is producing unpasteurized cow's milk cheese.
The Salers cattle produce milk for cheese,
as well as beef and veal products.
The volcanic soils create flinty cheeses and
superb lentils.
Mineral waters are produced in high volume
in this region as well.
Cabécou cheese is from Rocamadour, a medieval
settlement erected directly on a cliff, in
the rich countryside of Causses du Quercy.
This area is one of the region’s oldest
milk producers; it has chalky soil, marked
by history and human activity, and is favourable
for the raising of goats.
=== Roussillon, Languedoc, and Cévennes ===
Restaurants are popular in the area known
as Le Midi.
Oysters come from the Etang de Thau, to be
served in the restaurants of Bouzigues, Meze,
and Sète.
Mussels are commonly seen here in addition
to fish specialties of Sète, Bourride, Tielles
and Rouille de seiche.
In the Languedoc jambon cru, sometimes known
as jambon de montagne is produced.
High quality Roquefort comes from the brebis
(sheep) on the Larzac plateau.
The Les Cévennes area offers mushrooms, chestnuts,
berries, honey, lamb, game, sausages, pâtés
and goat cheeses.
Catalan influence can be seen in the cuisine
here with dishes like brandade made from a
purée of dried cod wrapped in mangold leaves.
Snails are plentiful and are prepared in a
specific Catalan style known as a cargolade.
Wild boar can be found in the more mountainous
regions of the Midi.
=== Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ===
The Provence and Côte d'Azur region is rich
in quality citrus, vegetables, fruits, and
herbs; the region is one of the largest suppliers
of all these ingredients in France.
The region also produces the largest amount
of olives, and creates superb olive oil.
Lavender is used in many dishes found in Haute
Provence.
Other important herbs in the cuisine include
thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, savory, fennel,
marjoram, tarragon, oregano, and bay leaf.
Honey is a prized ingredient in the region.
Seafood proliferates throughout the coastal
area and is heavily represented in the cuisine.
Goat cheeses, air-dried sausages, lamb, beef,
and chicken are popular here.
Garlic* and anchovies are used in many of
the region's sauces, as in Poulet Provençal,
which uses white wine, tomatoes, herbs, and
sometimes anchovies, and Pastis is found everywhere
that alcohol is served.
The cuisine uses a large amount of vegetables
for lighter preparations.
Truffles are commonly seen in Provence during
the winter.
Thirteen desserts in Provence are the traditional
Christmas dessert, e.g. quince cheese, biscuits,
almonds, nougat, apple, and fougasse.
Rice is grown in the Camargue, which is the
northernmost rice growing area in Europe,
with Camargue red rice being a specialty.
Anibal Camous, a Marseillais who lived to
be 104, maintained that it was by eating garlic
daily that he kept his "youth" and brilliance.
When his eighty-year-old son died, the father
mourned: "I always told him he wouldn't live
long, poor boy.
He ate too little garlic!" (cited by chef
Philippe Gion)
=== Corsica ===
Goats and sheep proliferate on the island
of Corsica, and lamb are used to prepare dishes
such as "stufato", ragouts and roasts.
Cheeses are also produced, with "brocciu"
being the most popular.
Chestnuts, growing in the Castagniccia forest,
are used to produce flour, which is used in
turn to make bread, cakes and polenta.
The forest provides acorns used to feed the
pigs and boars that provide much of the protein
for the island's cuisine.
Fresh fish and seafood are common.
The island's pork is used to make fine hams,
sausage and other unique items including coppa
(dried rib cut), lonzu (dried pork fillet),
figatella, salumu (a dried sausage) salcietta,
Panzetta, bacon, figatellu (smoked and dried
liverwurst) and prisuttu (farmer's ham).
Clementines (which hold an AOC designation),
lemons, nectarines and figs are grown there.
Candied citron is used in nougats, while and
the aforementioned brocciu and chestnuts are
also used in desserts.
Corsica offers a variety of wines and fruit
liqueurs, including Cap Corse, Patrimonio,
Cédratine, Bonapartine, liqueur de myrte,
vins de fruit, Rappu, and eau-de-vie de châtaigne.
=== French Guiana ===
French Guianan cuisine or Guianan cuisine
is a blend of the different cultures that
have settled in French Guiana.
Creole and Chinese restaurants are common
in major cities such as Cayenne, Kourou and
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.
Many indigenous animal species such as caiman
and tapir are used in spiced stews.
== Specialties by season ==
French cuisine varies according to the season.
In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular
because they are refreshing and produce is
inexpensive and abundant.
Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruit and
vegetables at lower prices if needed, rather
than see them rot in the heat.
At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful
and appear in stews throughout France.
The hunting season begins in September and
runs through February.
Game of all kinds is eaten, often in elaborate
dishes that celebrate the success of the hunt.
Shellfish are at their peak when winter turns
to spring, and oysters appear in restaurants
in large quantities.
With the advent of deep-freeze and the air-conditioned
hypermarché, these seasonal variations are
less marked than hitherto, but they are still
observed, in some cases due to legal restrictions.
Crayfish, for example, have a short season
and it is illegal to catch them out of season.
Moreover, they do not freeze well.
== Foods and ingredients ==
French regional cuisines use locally grown
vegetables, such as pomme de terre (potato),
blé (wheat), haricots verts (a type of French
green bean), carotte (carrot), poireau (leek),
navet (turnip), aubergine (eggplant), courgette
(zucchini), and échalotte (shallot).
French regional cuisines use locally grown
fungi, such as truffe (truffle), champignon
de Paris (button mushroom), chanterelle ou
girolle (chanterelle), pleurote (en huître)
(oyster mushrooms), and cèpes (porcini).
Common fruits include oranges, tomatoes, tangerines,
peaches, apricots, apples, pears, plums, cherries,
strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackberries,
grapes, grapefruit, and blackcurrants.
Varieties of meat consumed include poulet
(chicken), pigeon (squab), canard (duck),
oie (goose, the source of foie gras), bœuf
(beef), veau (veal), porc (pork), agneau (lamb),
mouton (mutton), caille (quail), cheval (horse),
grenouille (frog), and escargot (snails).
Commonly consumed fish and seafood include
cod, canned sardines, fresh sardines, canned
tuna, fresh tuna, salmon, trout, mussels,
herring, oysters, shrimp and calamari.
Eggs are fine quality and often eaten as:
omelettes, hard-boiled with mayonnaise, scrambled
plain, scrambled haute cuisine preparation,
œuf à la coque.
Herbs and seasonings vary by region, and include
fleur de sel, herbes de Provence, tarragon,
rosemary, marjoram, lavender, thyme, fennel,
and sage.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish
and meat, can be purchased either from supermarkets
or specialty shops.
Street markets are held on certain days in
most localities; some towns have a more permanent
covered market enclosing food shops, especially
meat and fish retailers.
These have better shelter than the periodic
street markets.
== Structure of meals ==
=== 
Breakfast ===
Le petit déjeuner (breakfast) is traditionally
a quick meal consisting of tartines (slices)
of French bread with butter and honey or jam
(sometimes brioche), along with café au lait
(also called "café crème"), or black coffee,
or tea and rarely hot chicory.
Children often drink hot chocolate in bowls
or cups along with their breakfasts.
Croissants, pain aux raisins or pain au chocolat
(also named chocolatine in the south of France)
are mostly included as a weekend treat.
Breakfast of some kind is always served in
cafés opening early in the day.
There are also savoury dishes for breakfast.
An example is "le petit déjeuner gaulois"
or "petit déjeuner fermier" with the famous
long narrow bread slices with soft white cheese
topped or boiled ham, called mouillettes,
which is dipped in a soft-boiled egg and some
fruit juice and hot drink.
Another variation called "le petit déjeuner
chasseur", meant to be very hearty, is served
with pâté and other charcuterie products.
A more classy version is called "le petit
déjeuner du voyageur", where delicatessens
serve gizzard, bacon, salmon, omelet, or croque-monsieur,
with or without soft-boiled egg and always
with the traditional coffee/tea/chocolate
along fruits or fruit juice.
When the egg is cooked sunny-side over the
croque-monsieur, it is called a croque-madame.
In Germinal and other novels, Émile Zola
also reported the briquet: two long bread
slices stuffed with butter, cheese and or
ham.
It can be eaten as a standing/walking breakfast,
or meant as a "second" one before lunch.
In the movie Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, Philippe
Abrams (Kad Merad) and Antoine Bailleul (Dany
Boon) share together countless breakfasts
consisting of tartines de Maroilles (a rather
strong cheese) along with their hot chicory.
=== Lunch ===
Le déjeuner (lunch) is a two-hour mid-day
meal or a one-hour lunch break.
In some smaller towns and in the south of
France, the two-hour lunch may still be customary.
Sunday lunches are often longer and are taken
with the family.
Restaurants normally open for lunch at noon
and close at 2:30 pm.
Some restaurants close on Monday during lunch
hours.In large cities, a majority of working
people and students eat their lunch at a corporate
or school cafeteria, which normally serve
complete meals as described above; it is not
usual for students to bring their own lunch
food.
For companies that do not operate a cafeteria,
it is mandatory for white-collar workers to
be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee
benefits.
These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets
and traiteurs; however, workers having lunch
in this way typically do not eat all three
dishes of a traditional lunch due to price
and time constraints.
In smaller cities and towns, some working
people leave their workplaces to return home
for lunch.
Also, an alternative, especially among blue-collar
workers, eating sandwiches followed with a
dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made
at bakeries and supermarkets for budget prices.
=== Dinner ===
Le dîner (dinner) often consists of three
courses, hors d'œuvre or entrée (appetizers
or introductory course, sometimes soup), plat
principal (main course), and a cheese course
or dessert, sometimes with a salad offered
before the cheese or dessert.
Yogurt may replace the cheese course, while
a simple dessert would be fresh fruit.
The meal is often accompanied by bread, wine
and mineral water.
Most of the time the bread would be a baguette
which is very common in France and is made
almost every day.
Main meat courses are often served with vegetables,
along with potatoes, rice or pasta.
Restaurants often open at 7:30 pm for dinner,
and stop taking orders between the hours of
10:00 pm and 11:00 pm.
Some restaurants close for dinner on Sundays.
== Beverages and drinks ==
In French cuisine, beverages that precede
a meal are called apéritifs (literally: that
opens the appetite), and can be served with
amuse-bouches (literally: mouth amuser).
Those that end it are called digestifs.
ApéritifsThe apéritif varies from region
to region: Pastis is popular in the south
of France, Crémant d'Alsace in the eastern
region.
Champagne can also be served.
Kir, also called Blanc-cassis, is a common
and popular apéritif-cocktail made with a
measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant
liqueur) topped up with white wine.
The phrase Kir Royal is used when white wine
is replaced with a Champagne wine.
A simple glass of red wine, such as Beaujolais
nouveau, can also be presented as an apéritif,
accompanied by amuse-bouches.
Some apéritifs can be fortified wines with
added herbs, such as cinchona, gentian and
vermouth.
Trade names that sell well include Suze (the
classic gentiane), Byrrh, Dubonnet, and Noilly
Prat.
DigestifsDigestifs are traditionally stronger,
and include Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, Eau
de vie and fruit alcohols.
== Christmas ==
A typical French Christmas dish is turkey
with chestnuts.
Other common dishes are smoked salmon, oysters,
caviar and foie gras.
The Yule log is a very French tradition during
Christmas.
Chocolate and cakes also occupy a prominent
place for Christmas in France.
This cuisine is normally accompanied by Champagne.
Tradition says that thirteen desserts complete
the Christmas meal in reference to the twelve
apostles and Christ.
== Food establishments ==
=== 
History ===
The modern restaurant has its origins in French
culture.
Prior to the late 18th century, diners who
wished to "dine out" would visit their local
guild member's kitchen and have their meal
prepared for them.
However, guild members were limited to producing
whatever their guild registry delegated to
them.
These guild members offered food in their
own homes to steady clientele that appeared
day-to-day but at set times.
The guest would be offered the meal table
d'hôte, which is a meal offered at a set
price with very little choice of dishes, sometimes
none at all.The first steps toward the modern
restaurant were locations that offered restorative
bouillons, or restaurants – these words
being the origin of the name "restaurant".
This step took place during the 1760s–1770s.
These locations were open at all times of
the day, featuring ornate tableware and reasonable
prices.
These locations were meant more as meal replacements
for those who had "lost their appetites and
suffered from jaded palates and weak chests."In
1782 Antoine Beauvilliers, pastry chef to
the future Louis XVIII, opened one of the
most popular restaurants of the time – the
Grande Taverne de Londres – in the arcades
of the Palais-Royal.
Other restaurants were opened by chefs of
the time who were leaving the failing monarchy
of France, in the period leading up to the
French Revolution.
It was these restaurants that expanded upon
the limited menus of decades prior, and led
to the full restaurants that were completely
legalized with the advent of the French Revolution
and abolition of the guilds.
This and the substantial discretionary income
of the French Directory's nouveau riche helped
keep these new restaurants in business.
=== Restaurant staff ===
Larger restaurants and hotels in France employ
extensive staff and are commonly referred
to as either the kitchen brigade for the kitchen
staff or dining room brigade system for the
dining room staff.
This system was created by Georges Auguste
Escoffier.
This structured team system delegates responsibilities
to different individuals who specialize in
certain tasks.
The following is a list of positions held
both in the kitchen and dining rooms brigades
in France:
== See also
