haute cuisine

Haute cuisine 2010

Contents

Contents.....................................................................................................................................1

Declaration................................................................................................................................3

Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................4

Introduction..............................................................................................................................5

What is Haute Cuisine? ..........................................................................................................6

The Italian Connection............................................................................................................6

Catherine de Medici’s dual effect: Haute cuisine and Bourgeoisie cuisine........................7

La Varenne: The beginning of a new style of cooking..........................................................7

The Transition from Spices to Herbs.....................................................................................7

The Catholic Influence on Food and Wine............................................................................7

The Invention of the Restaurant.............................................................................................8

The Printing Press: The wide spread of Cookbooks.............................................................8

Antonin Careme: The King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings...............................................8

The Third Power: The Critics.................................................................................................9

Necessity of Food and Wine Pairing.....................................................................................10

Wines served at ‘The Dinner of the Three Emperors’........................................................10

Madère retour de l'Inde 1810...................................................................................................13

Xérès 1821...............................................................................................................................13

Châteaux d'Yquem 1847..........................................................................................................13

Chambertin 1846......................................................................................................................13

Châteaux Margaux 1847..........................................................................................................14

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Château Latour 1847................................................................................................................14

Châteaux Lafite 1848...............................................................................................................14

Champagne Roederer frappe....................................................................................................14

Auguste Escoffier: The Modernization of Haute Cuisine...................................................16

The French Revolution effect................................................................................................16

The Parisian lifestyle..............................................................................................................16

Rise of the Automobiles: The growth of Food and Wine....................................................17

The power of ‘Gastronomic Literature’...............................................................................17

The Michelin Guide................................................................................................................17

Adaptation to Modernization................................................................................................18

Haute Cuisine Influence: Restaurants in New York...........................................................19

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................20

Menu........................................................................................................................................21

Bibliography...........................................................................................................................22

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DECLARATION

I declare that this project is the result of my own individual effort and that conforms to the

university, departmental and course regulations regarding cheating and plagiarism. No

material contained within this Project has been used in any other submission, by the author,

for an academic reward.

Aaron Coutinho [C-1201]

15.03.10

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Acknowledgements

As my adviser Mrs. Abba Joshi encouraged and supported me at every stage in my

assignment. At a very crucial juncture she read the manuscript and provided valuable insights

and suggestions. I benefited enormously from her advice, ideas, and encouragement.

I would like to thank Chef Gerard D’souza for his stylistic advice which was a gift during the

initial revision process. His comments did much to help clarify my ideas. His unerring eye for

detail and his insistence on clear language made this a much better assignment.

The highlight of this research was the time spent at the library. I would like to give special

thanks to the entire library staff Rupa Fernandez, Bhagwati Bhainsora, Gajanan Mankare and

Shaikh Ejaz, headed by Chef Gerard D’souza for making it such a pleasant experience. Rupa

Fernandez and Bhagwati Bhainsora, the librarians, were an amazing resource and guide.

They recommended me various books, for which I am extremely grateful.

I would also like to thank my roommates Deepu Jacob and Sidhart Sehgal for being so patient

with their technical help.

I would like to thank Nikita John and Michelle Vaz for their support.

It is not enough to merely acknowledge my colleagues, friends and family but for now a

thank you must suffice.

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Introduction

A renowned gastronome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once said, “Tell me what you eat and I’ll

tell you what you are.” The author can’t agree with him more on this statement. Every

locality has a culture of its own which calls for a diverse cuisine. Thus one is indeed, what

one eats! Culture and cuisine are so tightly woven into the fabric of society that society

cannot be imagined without them. The author through the following study has tried to

understand Haute cuisine by studying its culture in depth, as history demonstrates changes in

the way people cook, eat and enjoy food. To understand the reason why a particular cuisine

persists over time we must turn to the past and perform a genealogy of the present. French

cuisine is highly regarded and it has an international image of authority and esteem. And with

good food comes good wine too. The cuisine has not only been highly influential in affecting

all western cuisine, but has also affected food around the world in one way or another, with

its various sophisticated and refined techniques. France has often been described as the birth

place of gastronomy, but how did it take on this glory? Most definitely, France is a country of

moderate climates and amazing varieties of produce can be found in its many of regions, but

the high-quality abundance of fresh produce alone does not explain why France became one

of the world’s greatest gastronomies. Gastronomy needs its professionals, as well as its

enthusiastic beginners and customers who encourage the professionals to greater elegance

and refinement.

This crucial culinary journey begins with ancient French regime and it has changed the way

food is approached and prepared all over the world. How did haute cuisine evolve from ‘the

meals for kings,’ to being readily available in every nook and corner throughout France? The

evolution of haute cuisine and as a result the wide-spread of the consumption of wine has

been elaborated upon to better understand food and wine today. High end and extravagant

cooking goes hand in hand with quality wine. Anthropologist Sidney Mintz asserts that not

every society has an haute cuisine, but a society must have a cuisine to have an haute cuisine.

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What is Haute Cuisine?

The French translation of haute cuisine means “high cooking.” It is the elaborate preparation

and presentation of French cuisine in small and numerous courses. These rich courses are

often served along with wines at luxurious restaurants and hotels all around Europe. Haute

cuisine is also known as ‘Grande cuisine.’

The Italian Connection

Catherine de Medici’s arrival at the French court in 1533, due to her marriage to Henry, the

future king of France, was the turning point in the gastronomy of France. She brought her

chefs, pastry makers, and gardeners, the finest from Florence. Did she intentionally bring

about the changes in French cookery or was it just a big accident? For the forty years

following Henry II's death, France was filled with turbulence as Protestants and Catholics

fought the bitter French Wars of Religion. In 1564, as a part of her effort to knit together the

divided kingdom, Catherine embarked on an epic journey with her second son, Charles IX.

The tour of his kingdom lasted more than 2 years. The object of this grand voyage de France

was to secure the loyalty of the people by showing their monarch to them.

The queen’s motive in making this trip was political, not gastronomic, but probably showed

more people how the court dined than a lifetime of giving banquets could. The king had a

master chef in his entourage, Guillaume Verger, who was assisted by a staff of five cooks and

an unknown number of kitchen boys. As the court slowly circled France, people in the

regions it passed through saw how and what the court ate. Local cooks had temporary jobs in

the kitchens that were set up along the way; this gave them the opportunity to observe the

techniques used by court cooks. The court style of cooking was Italian, as Catherine had

brought along her Italian cooks from Florence.

However this is not the only Italian influence in France, there had been constant travelling

between artists from France and Italy and so was there regular travelling between, the French

empire and the Vatican City. Catherine de Medici’s contribution to the development and

refreshment of French dining was in the planning and execution of court festivals. Modern

scholars regard her as having been one of the most imaginative producers of court festivals.

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Catherine de Medici’s dual effect: Haute cuisine and Bourgeoisie cuisine

France had been heavily influenced by the works of Catherine de Medici and thus one could

see the moulding of two cuisines, one, haute cuisine which evolved out of large households

which could afford skilled labour, various equipments and expensive ingredients and the

other the bourgeoisie cuisine out of small households which was simple and with inexpensive

ingredients.

La Varenne: The beginning of a new style of cooking

La Varenne marked a change in French cookery from what was known in the Middle Ages,

to somewhat lighter dishes which were modestly presented. He published ‘Le Cuisinier

François’ a cookbook and he is called ‘the founder of French classical cooking.’ A bouillon

went on to become an indispensable part for all dishes, whether they were soups, entrees, or

entrements. He also gave a recipe for roux in which flour is cooked in pork fat which

replaced bread crumbs. This roux was used as a thickening agent to make sauces. This made

French cookery very flexible; it allowed cooks to manage with whatever materials that were

available. His motto in food was “santé, moderation, raffinement.” (Health, moderation,

refinement)1

The Transition from Spices to Herbs

The seventeenth century also saw a culinary revolution which geared up French cookery into

the modern era. Exotic spices such as saffron, cumin, cardamom, ginger were replaced by

local herbs such as parsley, tarragon, thyme, bay leaf, chervil. New vegetables such as

cauliflower, asparagus, peas, cucumber and artichoke were introduced.

The Catholic Influence on Food and Wine

Pork fat which was originally used to make roux was now being substituted with butter, as butter had now been allowed during lent. This saw the substitution of butter in almost everything. As far as wine is considered, history of wine is not complete without discussing its role in the church. Wine is sacred to the holy church; it symbolizes the blood of Christ. During the 16th and 17th century the Catholic Church had immense power and they supported and encouraged the art of Wine making, helping the wide spread of wine.

The Invention of the Restaurant

1 Wheaton, B. K. (1996). Savouring the Past: The French kitchen and table from 1300 to 1789. New York: Simon &Schuster Inc.

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The term restaurant first appeared in 1765, on the streets of Poulies in Paris, near the Louvre

Museum, where a certain Boulanger called Champ d’Oiseaux, served “Restaurants,” that is,

broths; a rich flavoured soup. Portions of sheep trotters in a white sauce were also served.

This earned the Boulanger a law suit with the caterers who used to sell cooked meats during

those times. However the Boulanger won the law suit and thus continued its business. Later

on the place itself were people came to eat was called a Restaurant. The first restaurant in the

form that became standard was the Grand Taverne de Londres (the "Great Tavern of

London"), founded in Paris in 1782 by a man named Antoine Beauvilliers, who is the

essential link in bringing haute cuisine of the court to the streets. Dinners sat at private with

individual tables, it became a place where people could come and have a confidential or

romantic conversation over a sip of wine and dine together, away from the hustle and bustle

of the city.

The Printing Press: the wide spread of Cookbooks

The printing press was brought into France in 1470, but it had no immediate effect on the art

of cookery. Why? Well who would have written those books anyways? Cooks were ill-

literate in those days, they used to learn their craft from other fellow cooks. During the 17th

century, however the publication of cookbooks increased considerably and various ideas and

cooking techniques emerged and were now being shared.

Antonin Careme: The King of Chefs and the Chef of Kings

Antonin Careme born in 1784 was known as “The king of chefs and the chef of kings.” He is

also considered as one of the first, internationally renowned celebrity chefs. Antonin Careme

wrote many books but above all the encyclopaedic L'Art de la Cuisine Française which

showcased new techniques and styles of cooking. The basis for his style of cooking came

from his sauces, which he named mother sauces. His four mother sauces were Béchamel

(based on milk and thickened by white roux), Espagnole (based on brown stock thickened

with a brown roux), Veloute (based on white stock thickened by a blonde roux) and

Allemande (based on Veloute sauce but thickened with egg yolk and heavy cream). Careme

had also declared war on the use of excessive spices and used herbs instead.

By no means did Antonin Careme invent all the dishes that he explained. What he did was

give names to these dishes, however minor the difference between it and the basic recipe. The

point for Careme was that each variant have a distinct name, and that it be his designations.

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He was very concerned to be clear, in hopes that “young practitioners” would find them

easier to remember. He is also frequently credited with replacing the practice of service a la

Française (serving all dishes at once) with service a la Russe (serving each dish in the order

printed on the menu).

The Third Power: The Critics

The largely unsung hero of the modern working class and middle class table was food critic

Grimod de la Ryniere (1758-1837). Son of a farmer general, trained as a lawyer, he had

serious interest in food and deep cynicism regarding the motives of the powerful. He was

called to be the “father of the table”. He invented (1804) a clever system for judging quality

and legitimating all that was best to eat. He brought together tasting juries who gave or

denied their blessing to the various dishes provided by restaurants owners, caterers,

delicatessens, pastry cooks, confectioners, etc. The results of these meticulous experiments

were published in L’ almananch des gourmands. He recommended that meals be simplified.

He was an early advocate of serving in the Russian style, instead of the old French style. The

service of a full meal in separate courses became standard in the most elegant and expensive

contexts by the 1860’s. Simplicity made the method adaptable for modest households, too.

Grimod introduced a third power, that of the critic, who sought to guide both of them the

producers and the consumers and whose role would only become greater. “Quality” now

came from work or performance, rather than bloodlines.

Necessity of Food and Wine Pairing

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Food and wine pairing is the process of matching food with wine to enhance the dining

experience. The history of food and wine pairing has its origins back in time, when wine was

first used as a sanitizing agent to purify water. In former days local food was merely paired

with local food. The basic principle behind pairing food and wine is that different

components in the food and the wine will react differently with each other; therefore it is

necessary to find the appropriate combination, to make the meal an enjoyable experience.

The most basic component in wine and food pairing is the balancing of the weight of the food

and the wine

Wines served at ‘The Dinner of the Three Emperors’

In 1867 Duglere a chef trained by Antonin Careme served a famous meal which became to be

known as the ‘diner des trios empereus,’ for Tsar Alexander of Russia, his son Tsarevitch and

the king of Prussia William I.

MENU2

Potages

Impératrice

(a chicken stock thickened with tapioca and finished with egg-yolks and cream)

Fontanges

(a purée of fresh peas diluted with consommé with chiffonade of sorrel and sprigs of chervil)

Relevés

Soufflé à la Reine

(a chicken soufflé with truffles)

2Adolphe Dugléré. (2009, December 28). Retrieved March 10, 2010, From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphe_Dugl%C3%A9r%C3%A9

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Filets de sole à la Vénitienne

(fillet of sole in a sauce of white wine, mounted with butter and finished with chopped

chervil)

Escalope de turbot au gratin

Selle de mouton purée

(saddle of mutton with a purée of broad beans bound with Breton sauce)

Entrées

Poulet à la Portugaise

(chicken roasted with a covering of a tomato sauce, stuffed with tomato flavoured rice)

Pâté chaud de cailles

(warm pâté of quail.)

Homard à la Parisienne

(lobster cooked in bouillon, with a mixture of mayonnaise and aspic and garnished with

sliced truffle)

Digérer

Sorbets au Champagne

Rôts

Canetons à la Rouennaise

Ortolans sur canapés

(Ortolans on toast)

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Entremets

Aubergines à l’Espagnole

(aubergine shells filled with chopped aubergine, tomato and ham, gratinéed with gruyère

cheese.)

Asperges en branches

Cassolette Princesse

(A Cassolette with a border of duchesse potatoes and an asparagus filling in cream sauce)

Dessert

Bombe glacée

(an ice-cream dessert)

Fruit

VINS

Madère retour de l'Inde 1810

Xérès 1821

Châteaux d'Yquem 1847

Chambertin 1846

Châteaux Margaux 1847

Château Latour 1847

Châteaux Lafite 1848

Champagne Roederer frappé

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Madère retour de l’Inde 1810

Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine strictly made in the Madeira Islands. The wine used in

the menu was a 57 year old, which was returned to the islands after a long sea voyage to

Southeast Asia (Indies), where it was exposed to excessive heat and movement which

transformed the flavour of the wine. This process is the original procedure of making the

wine, as Madeira was a standard port for ships heading to the new world and East Indies.

Now days the estufagem aging process is followed which duplicates the effect of a long sea

voyage of the aging barrels through tropical climates. It is served at room temperature.

Xérès 1821

Xeris was the Arabic name for the city of Jerez. Today the names Jerez, Xérès, or Sherry are

synonymous with the wines from the region of Jerez de la Frontera. Sherry is a fortified wine

made from palomino grapes a white variety grown near the town Jerez, Spain. Brandy is

added to the wine to fortify it, but only after the fermentation is over. The sherry used in the

menu was a 46 year old wine. It is Served chilled.

Châteaux d'Yquem 1847 (20 yr old)

Chateau d’Yquem produces top quality sauterne wines from the southern part of Bordeaux. It

is classified as a premier cru superieur (superior first growth), the highest level in the

Bordeaux wine official classification of 1855 for red wines. Sauterne is a dessert wine known

for its complexity, sweetness and concentration. It has a relatively high acidity level which

helps to balance the sweetness. The grape varieties used are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and

Cabernet Franc. It is a robust medium to full bodied red wine with aromas of cinnamon and

black currant. It also produces a white wine called Ygrec made from Semillon and Sauvignon

Blanc. It is an elegant dry white wine with apricot and lime-flower aromas.

Chambertin 1846 (21 year old)

It is a deep coloured full bodied red wine made with Pinot Noir as the main variety with

Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris as accessory grapes. Chambertin is called ‘The King

of Wines.’ It has a fruity flavour with perfumed aromas; it is a rich and intense wine and has

a long aging capability.

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Châteaux Margaux 1847 (20 year old)

It is a wine estate of Bordeaux. It produces the most delicate Margaux wine of the Medoc

region. Margaux premier cru classe is the only premier cru of the appellation of Margaux. It

also produces Margaux pavilion and Pavilion Blanc. Margaux wines contain 60-75%

Cabernet Sauvignon; the other grapes used are Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Elegance is key concept of Margaux, combined with delicious fruits when young. The subtle

tannins hold firm during long aging, leading, in the case of the greatest wines.

Château Latour 1847 (20 year old)

Chateau Latour is a French wine estate in the Bordeaux region of France. The chateau is one

of the four chateaux as the absolute top crus under the 1855 Bordeaux classification. The

wines produced are Pauillac premier cru classe and les Forts de Latour. The grape varieties

used for making a Pauillac are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, of Cabernet Franc and Petit

Verdot. 75% of Cabernet Sauvignon makes a Latour Pauillac par excellence- firm, big, age

able- that is considered. At the end of the 18th century Thomas Jefferson described the wine

as one of the best of Bordeaux. It is a full bodied red wine, with aromas of cedar and black

currant.

Châteaux Lafite (19 year old)

Chateaux Lafit is a wine estate in the same region as Chateau Latour. It is now owned my

Rothschild banking family of France since the 19th century. Chateau Lafite is also one of the

four chateaux as the absolute top crus. The wines produced by this region are Pauillac

premier cru classe and Moulin des Carruades. The Pauillac wine of this chateau uses 70 %

cabernet sauvignon.

Champagne Roederer frappé

It is a half frozen Louis Roederer champagne. Louis Roederer is a champagne producer in the

region of Remis, France. It produces a luxury champagne called Cristal which is

approximately an equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, it is also available as a rosé

wine, which contains more Pinot and by addition of a little red wine.

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The selection of the wines for the dinner of the three emperors reflects the popularity of

international wines like Sherry and Madeira during the haute cuisine period. Prestigious and

famous wines from burgundy and specially Bordeaux are also prominent. Champagne had

been readily consumed by the high court during this era with their meals and during special

occasions.

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Auguste Escoffier: The Modernization of Haute Cuisine

Born in 1847 Georges Auguste Escoffier modernized French Haute cuisine. His influence

began with the rise in hotels in Europe during the 80’s and 90’s. He created a system of

“parties” called the brigade de cuisine. This structured team system delegates responsibilities

to different individuals that specialize in certain tasks, thus the dish could be prepared in a

shorter time and served quickly.

Escoffier published Le Guide Culinaire which is still used as a reference work in form of a

cookbook as well as a textbook on cooking. Much of the techniques were based on that of

Antoine Careme. He added two egg based emulsions hollandaise and mayonnaise and a

tomato sauce to Careme’s mother sauces list. He had a simple saying on cooking, “La Bonne

cuisine Est celle ou les choses ont le gout de cequelles sont.”(Good cooking is that in which

things taste of what they are)3

The French Revolution effect

Although the French Revolution disrupted culinary and gastronomic institutions as it did the

rest of French society, more survived than was lost. The guilds were abolished; aristocratic

households, the centre of haute cuisine until this time, were severely disrupted in many cases

and destroyed in others. This meant that a chef could now produce and sell any culinary item

he wished. Many cooks who had been working in royal courts became jobless; this caused

some of them to go abroad, while others went to work for the restaurants.

The Parisian lifestyle

In Paris the outburst of gastronomy took place due to the lifestyle habits of the upper middle

class who had abundance of wealth to spend and could dictate their tastes to all the cooks.

Moreover, it was the capital of fashion, theatre and music. One ate well at the provinces too

but, straightforward, generous food, prepared with local products and rather easy on the

pocket.

Rise of the Automobiles: the growth of Food and Wine

3 Gillespie, C. (2001). European Gastronomy into the 21st Century. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

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In the 20th century, the forties brought war, death and deprivation, while the mostly chaotic

fifties saw the start of rebuilding the national order. By the sixties, though, the invention and

boom of the automobile industry took place. By the mid-sixties the entire country was

passionately on the road and French drivers were already carving out the reputation that they

still proudly uphold today as the worst menaces on the entire European highway system.

However French drivers also have a pronounced tendency to get hungry, and if there is one

thing that a Frenchman or Frenchwomen enjoys more than driving at breakneck speed, it is

lunch at a snail’s pace and the same goes for dinner. Generally from large cities tourists took

wild pleasure in the change in scenery offered through local cuisines and wines consumed in

the landscapes of its origin. This trend turned out to be a boom for the regional wineries.

Soon there was hardly a village in France without a restaurant serving true French food

accompanied with regional wines.

The Power of ‘Gastronomic Literature’

Maybe in France more than nowhere else, the oral and written culture of fine eating and good

wine runs parallel to its subject historically and supports the latter’s development. It is said

that the French people of all classes like to talk about what they eat and drink, before during

and after. The famous, “and afterward, you talk about it” is a line attributed to many fine

eaters. Certainly cuisine cannot exist without food; nor can it survive without words. Cooking

turns the raw into cooked, and writing transforms the cooked into cultural.

The Michelin Guide

Throughout the 19th century, guides appeared in France: travel guides, guides for eating out,

for the gourmand, for the pleasure seekers, etc most of them gave information on the food

and lodging the tourist could hope to find in the Provence but left the gastronome unsatisfied.

Not until the automobile boom did the situation improve. Andre’ Michelin’s guide appeared

beginning in 1900: it included numerous addresses of hotels, restaurants and garages, but no

indication of the quality of the fare. However, the 1931 edition established a hierarchy going

from one to three stars. Culinary guides have helped to define modern haute cuisine.

Adaptation to Modernization

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The 1960s were marked by the appearance of "nouvelle cuisine" as chefs rebelled from

Escoffier's "orthodoxy". Within 20 years, however, chefs began returning to the earlier style

of haute cuisine, although many of the new techniques remained.

Fernand Point is known to be the father of modern gastronomy, his contribution to French

cuisine is enormous. Point’s cuisine was a personal, freewheeling derivation of the grand old

Escoffier tradition, simplified and trimmed of the extravagance flamboyance common to the

big-city hotel restaurants. Point, trained a generation of chef's who would take his ideas to

new heights: Paul Bocuse, Jean and Pierre Troisgros, Alain Chapel, Francois Bise, Louis

Outhier, and Michel Guérard and Roger Vergé became the pioneers of the expansion of

Nouvelle Cuisine into the 1970's.The last generation of chefs who learned all the lessons

from masters like Joel Robuchon, Alain Ducasse, Eric Ripert, Paul Bocuse, the Troisgros

brothers etc have applied them with a more modern style and individual panache, and this has

resulted in restaurants around the world now serving in more casual surroundings the same

quality of haute cuisine that used to be served. Haute cuisine’s concepts have filtered down

into every kind of restaurant, from the commitment to freshness in every ingredient to the

stocking of wine lists that are designed to complement the chef’s food.

Haute Cuisine Influence: Restaurants in New York

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Many restaurants all around the world have been influenced by French haute cuisine,

especially New York. In New York there are five, 3 Michelin starred restaurants and out of

which four are French influents. The chefs of these restaurants are also either French or

influenced by French cuisine.

Restaurant Daniel

Restaurant Daniel serves traditional French haute cuisine, with readily available ingredients

in America. It is a true French adaptation in New York. Daniel Boulud a French chef and

restaurateur run the restaurant.

Per Se

A restaurant owned by the famous Thomas Keller, who learned fundamental French cooking

in France. One can see the French influence in the cuisine served at Per Se. It features two

Prix Fixe menus. A style originated during the haute cuisine era.

Jean Georges

Jean Georges is a French chef from Alsace, after whom the restaurant is named. This also is a

French influenced restaurant in Manhattan.

Le Bernardin

Le Bernardin is also referred to as the Temple of Seafood. The famous chef Eric Ripert who

has his origins in France is the person behind the excellent cuisine being served.

Conclusion

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And what is to be made of Careme and Escoffier today? What lessons do their career, their

work, and their personal qualities holds for one? They have more to tell than what one might

suppose on the culinary front. Even though banquets today no longer come even close to

what they thought was mandatory for a proper culinary spectacle, however by no means has

their techniques died out. On the contrary, it turns up today in all sorts of ways and often in

unexpected venues. Every cuisine may not necessarily adapt to the changes in trends and

human expectations, how Haute cuisine has adapted in the modern world. The theoretical

aura of Careme’s new cuisine, his emphasis on the principles of a culinary system fostered an

exceptionally strong identity for French cuisine. Like Careme and Escoffier, today chefs are

on the lookout for new implements and appliances, methods and techniques. Do not the

bouillon cubes that can be found in any supermarket today bespeak their shortcut of reducing

sauces?

If the definition of haute cuisine is rich, extravagant, overly elaborate food full of truffles and

caviar served on gold-rimmed plates along with the finest wines of France at astonishing

prices, then there are more than enough such places still thriving in Paris, New York and

Tokyo. But the heart of haute cuisine has always really been the excellence of product, the

care in cooking it, and the richly flavourful result that distinguishes it from food that is

merely tasty. And under that definition, haute cuisine has never been more popular.

“The only thing constant in life is change [thus one should learn to adapt accordingly]”-

François de la Rochefoucauld

Menu

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Frog legs with garlic puree and parsley jus

The garlic puree used here is very mild as it is boiled several times; therefore it has a pleasant

taste. The wine paired with it is a Fordant Merlot Rose 2008. It has a raspberry mixed with

strawberry and a bit of watermelon flavour. It is a good summertime wine.

Mushrooms Olivier

The mushrooms are served in a creamy sauce. Therefore the wine pared with it should be a

dry white wine so that it will help to cleanse the palate. The wine paired for it is a

Savennieres wine, which is a Chenin Blanc variety wine from the Loire valley, Domaines

Des Baumard Savennieres 2005

Poached chicken with foie gras

It is a high flavoured dish with high fatty content too. Therefore it should be paired with a

flavourful wine, so that the food does not over power the wine. It is paired with a Bordeaux

Pomerol wine La Conseillante Pomerol 2005

Camembert

It is a white rind soft cheese; therefore full bodied champagne will be an ideal choice, as the

bubbles will help to wipe the palate clean. The champagne paired with the cheese is Alfred

Gratien Cuvee Pavadis Brut Champagne.

Bavarois cream with walnuts

It is a creamy dessert with a nutty flavour. The wine paired with it is a Taylor Fladgate

Vintage 1994, it is a port wine.

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Bibliography

Lecture notes:

Joshi, A. (2010). Food and wine harmony. [Rules for perfect pairing, Saturday, 16th January, 2010].

Books :

Aambramson, J. (2007). Food Culture in France. London: Greenwood Press.

Chelminski, R. (2005). The Perfectionist: Life and death in haute cuisine. New York: Gotham Books.

Domine, A. (2001). Wine. Cologne: Konemann.

Ferguson, P. P. (2004). Accounting for Taste: The trimph of french cuisine. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Foulkes, C. (2001). La Rousse: Encyclopedia of wine. kingston: Hamlyn.

Gillespie, C. (2001). European Gastronomy into the 21st Century. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kaufmann, H. L., & cracknell, R. J. (2005). The Complete Guide to Art of Modern Cookery. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kelly, I. (2003). Cooking for Kings. New York: Walker & Company.

Kolpa, S., Smith, B. H., & Weiss, M. A. (2002). Exploring Wine. New York: John Willey & Sons, Inc.

Pitte, J.-R. (2002). French Gastronomy:The history and geography of a passion. Columbia: Columbia University press.

Robinson, J. (1999). The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Simon, A. L. (2000). Auguste Escoffier Ma Cuisine. London: The hamlyn publishing group limited.

Trubek, A. B. (2000). Haute Cuisine: How the french invented the culinary profession. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Wheaton, B. K. (1996). Savouring the Past: The french kitchen and table from 1300 to 1789. New York: Simon & Schuster inc.

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Websites:

Adolphe Dugléré. (2009, december 28). Retrieved march 10, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolphe_Dugl%C3%A9r%C3%A9

Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière. (2010, februry 15). Retrieved february 20, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Balthazar_Laurent_Grimod_de_La_Reyni%C3%A8re

Auguste Escoffier. (2010, february 9). Retrieved february 19, 2010, from wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Auguste_Escoffier

Brigade de cuisine. (2010, february 21). Retrieved february 22, 2010, from wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigade_de_cuisine

Catherine de' Medici. (2010, march 9). Retrieved february 19, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de'_Medici

Chambertin. (2010, february 12). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambertin

Château d'Yquem. (2010, february 22). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_d%27Yquem

Château Lafite Rothschild. (2009, november 7). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Lafite

Château Latour. (2010, january 30). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Latour

Cuisine. (n.d.). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from Le-Bernardin: http://www.le-bernardin.com/

Cuisine classique. (2009, december 4). Retrieved february 21, 2010, from wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_classique

Daniel. (n.d.). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from danielnyc: http://www.danielnyc.com/daniel.html

Daniel Boulud. (2010, february 7). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Boulud

Dining. (2010, march 10). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from fourseasons: http://www.fourseasons.com/newyorkfs/dining/l_atelier_de_joel_robuchon.html

Eric Ripert. (2010, march 9). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wixipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Ripert

Fernand Point. (2010, february 22). Retrieved february 24, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_Point

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French cuisine. (2010, february 9). Retrieved february 22, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_cuisine#17th_Century_-_Early_18th_Century

French wine guide. (2009). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from terroir-france: http://www.terroir-france.com/region/bordeaux_pauillac.htm

Haute cuisine. (2009, july 9). Retrieved february 27, 2010, from artandpopularculture: http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Haute_cuisine

Haute cuisine. (2010, january 9). Retrieved february 27, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute_cuisine

Henry II of France. (2010, february 15). Retrieved february 26, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_France

Jean-Georges. (n.d.). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from jean-georges: http://www.jean-georges.com/

Jean-Georges. (2010, january 6). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Georges

Jerez-Xérès-Sherry y Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda. (2007, december 14). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerez-X%C3%A9r%C3%A8s-Sherry_y_Manzanilla_de_Sanl%C3%BAcar_de_Barrameda

Joel Roubuchon. (n.d.). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from joel-roubuchon: http://www.joel-robuchon.com/

Joel Roubuchon. (2010, february 21). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%ABl_Robuchon

La varenne. (2009, june 30). Retrieved february 26, 2010, from practicallyedible: http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/pierrefrancoisdelavarenne

Le Bernardin. (2010, january 7). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Bernardin

Le Cirque. (n.d.). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from lecirque: http://www.lecirque.com/index2.htm

Le Cirque. (2010, january 24). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cirque

Louis Roederer. (2010, january 30). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Roederer

Louis XIV of France. (2010, february 9). Retrieved february 26, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France

Madeira wine. (2010, february 26). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira_wine

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Margaux. (2010, march 1). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaux

Mariani, J. (2009, august 12). Is Haute Cuisine Dead? Not by a Long Shot! Retrieved february 27, 2010, from fourseasons: http://magazine.fourseasons.com/articles/global/interest/restaurants_cuisine/is_haute_cuisine_dead_not_by_a_long_shot

Marie-Antoine Carême. (2010, february 15). Retrieved february 23, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Antoine_Car%C3%AAme

Per Se. (n.d.). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from perseny: http://perseny.com/

Per Se (restaurant). (2010, february 18). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Se_(restaurant)

Pierre La Varenne. (2010, january 9). Retrieved february 24, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Pierre_La_Varenne

Restaurant. (2010, january 9). Retrieved february 19, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant

Restaurants. (2010, february 11). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from gayot: http://www.gayot.com/restaurants/restaurantissue/top40/main.html

Sauce. (2010, february 9). Retrieved february 25, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauce

Sherry. (2010, march 9). Retrieved march 12, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherry

Sirio Maccioni. (2010, 24 january). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirio_Maccioni

Thomas Keller. (2010, march 7). Retrieved march 13, 2010, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Keller

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