Haute cuisine 201

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

Page 1 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
Chambertin 1846......................................................................................................................13

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

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

Page 2 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0

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

Page 3 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0

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.

Page 4 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0

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

Page 5 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.

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

Page 6 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.

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

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

Page 7 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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.

Page 8 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.
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

Page 9 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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

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

Page 10 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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)

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)

Page 11 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
Digérer

Sorbets au Champagne

Rôts

Canetons à la Rouennaise

Ortolans sur canapés

(Ortolans on toast)

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

Page 12 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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.

Page 13 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.

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

Page 14 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.

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.

Page 15 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0

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

Page 16 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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

Page 17 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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

Page 18 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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

Page 19 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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

Page 20 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

Frog legs with garlic puree and parsley jus

Page 21 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.

Page 22 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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.

Page 23 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0

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

Page 24 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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

Page 25 of 26
 Haute cuisine 201
0
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

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_h
aute_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

Page 26 of 26