ANTH 205 Lecture 33

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French Food!

art: anything that changes the way you see the world.

First great restaurant meal is a rite of passage

• uncomfortable the first time
• start to see dining in a different way

Most fancy restaurants follow a French model

Medieval Cuisine

• Elaborate banquets
• Heavy flavors, thick sauces, lots of spices
• Dessert
• Service en Confusion (everything all at once)
• Hands and spoons were utensils (Men use their own knives
• Trenchers: hard, stale bread used as a plate

Taillevent

Cook to the Court of France in Hundred Years' War

Rockstar of food at the time

Said to have written Le Viandier (The Meat Book) in 1395

• One of first professional treatises on gastronomy
• First attempt to codify French cooking

15^th and 16^th Centuries

Strong Italian influence

Royal marriange between Catherine de Medici of Italy to King Henry II of France brought:

• Italian chefs
• truffles
• garlic
• mushrooms
• fine tableware

Guild system encouraged specialized

• bakers
• pastry cooks
• charcutiers (preserved meats)
• etc.

La Varenne

Published Le Juisinier François in 1651

• Founding text of modern French cuisine
• Marked revolution that would become haute cuisine

Moved beyond medieval food

• Lighter food than in medieval
• Fewer (handfuls of) spices, more local herbs
• New vegetables (cauliflower, asparagus, peas)
• Proliferation of sauces
• Evaluation of quality and freshness of ingredients
• New preparation techniques (using reduction to thicken sauce)

Followed with book on baking

Codified food of Louis XIV

• Ridiculously expensive taste
• Encouraged culinary innovation
• Voracious, big appetite
• Made fork a regular utensil
• Implemented dining in courses (so food wouldn't get cold on the table)
• Specialized cooks and roles (Brigade system; like Ottomans)
• Popularized eating in a specialized dining room

What about Peasants?

• Bread and Soup
• In 17^th Century, peasants lived off 2–3 acres of land (little livestock, sold most)
• Pork was main protein
• Feast were big spectacles (Christmas and Easter):
  • whole roasted animals
  • lots of dessert

Royal Dinner in 1747

For 50 people,

• 10 grand entrees
• 12 Terrines
• 48 Entrees
• 10 Grand entremets
• 24 Medium entremets
• 20 Roast platters
• 24 Salads

Many returned to kitchen untouched and was thrown away (this angered hungry peasants)

[Post-]Revolution

Rich people were running away, taking some of their staff, but leaving others behind

Culinary talent no longer restricted to royalty

Led to development of the restaurant

Taverns and Inns

In Middle Ages, hospitality (for travelers) was:

• Bread
• Cheap wine
• Shelter
• Socialization

By 14^th century:

• there were rudimentary eating establishments, but
• it was very much a "bring-your-own-food" (and utensils and cooks) place

Term "Restaurant" first used in 1765

• to designate soups of a particular Chef Boulanger in his tavern

True restaurants established 1776 after guild system was abolished

Restaurants

After fall of aristocracy, chefs were unemployed

• Offered services elsewhere
• catered to tastes of middle-class
• often from their own house

Prior to revolution, less than 100 restaurants in Paris.

Within 3 years, there were 500–600

Regats

Like restaurants, but served leftovers of fancy dining places