Several weeks ago I reported in this space about a book that was making the best seller lists throughout Europe in which the author claimed that French dominance in the culinary world was beyond waning – that it was near death.
Now comes the counter-argument that claims French cuisine actually is evolving with the times. In fact, the respected chef, Eric Ripert, the genius in the kitchen at Le Bernardin in New York, lets us know that French cooking now uses far less butter and cream than ever.
Hubert Keller, who was a finalist in the Bravo TV competition “Top Chef Masters,” is another highly-regarded French chef whose recent fame centers on his healthier dishes. Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, Jacques Torres and many other French chefs prove every day that they know how to modernize French cuisine.
So what is it about French cooking that, among non-foodies at least, continues to hold this lofty reputation for being fat-laden, difficult to cook, snooty, financially out-of-reach and so on?
Stereotypes.
The writers and producers of the wildly successful animated feature, “Ratatouille” gave us a peak into the classical French kitchen – hierarchical, thankless, tedious, low-paying, exacting, etc. It certainly was typical for French restaurant kitchens in the 19th and most of the 20th centuries, but that’s stereotypical now.
This is not to say that the traditions, techniques and mystique of the French culinary world have become passé. Au contraire.
All western culinary schools and many in other parts of the world, notably Japan, begin with knife skills developed by the French. All of the classical knife cuts have French names, such as batonette, julienne, chiffonade, and tourné, to name a few. Our cooking techniques have French names such as sauté, braise, and puree. The word restaurant is, in itself, French.
Others have tried, but no one really accomplished the cataloging and categorization and codifying of recipes and techniques the way Escoffier did more than 100 years ago. It’s still the go-to culinary bible, though other more modern reference works have been written and enjoy widespread use.
In any case, French cuisine may no longer be the dominant restaurant style, as it was for so many years. When the venerable Julia Child helped simplify French cooking for the average American cook and it became more accessible, it opened the way for other cuisines (there’s another French word) to be presented to all of us.
The notion that French food is all about fat – butter and cream for starters – is no longer true about modern French cooking. As American cuisine has evolved, thanks to the influx of scores of other cultures from around the world, so has French cuisine.
Nevertheless, when I teach a Beginners Course in cooking, I start with those knife skills that are absolutely critical if you’re going to be a serious cook. I also teach all of the various cooking techniques the French chefs perfected over the last two centuries. We dabble in other forms, too – Asian, South American, Indian, Middle Eastern – but I insist that my students master classical French technique before moving on to others.
Notice I said technique. I didn’t say ingredients. The French chefs of old achieved richness in their sauces and desserts by using butter and cream. We’ve since learned that, while butter and cream are important in many dishes, they are not critical to successful food.
When a cook learns about layering flavors, butter and cream usually become secondary, because the most important part about preparing and serving food is flavor. Not richness. Flavor. That was always the basis of French cuisine, as I understand it.
And to the French, we owe a debt of gratitude for setting that standard.
As for their politics – that’s a whole other story.