Grand Véfour, restaurant
Cuisine
French restaurants are the best in the world. The range and variety of French cooking is astounding. France is very rich in agricultural resources. There is a tradition of passion for cooking. Parisians love to eat out and to discuss cuisine and chefs, as others might discuss politics and politicians. Celebrated chefs are considered national monuments.
Western European and North American cooking is mainly derived from the French. The nearest rival to French cooking is Japanese cooking. In the last decades French chefs have emphasized their lead by inventing Nouvelle Cuisine, a light and lean version of the classic French cuisine, but more in line with modern considerations on health.
The last decade of the 20th Century has seen a resurgence in Cuisine de Terroir, earthy farmhouse cooking, partly as a counterweight to Nouvelle Cuisine and partly an evolution of farmhouse cooking under Nouvelle Cuisine influence.
Pharamond, restaurant,
Eating habits
The French do not eat much in the morning. They may have a café latte and croissants at the corner café. Lunch often starts at 13 and dinner at 20:30. Both lunch and dinner are hot meals and are equally important. The French like delicate food and consume it with due reverence.
Few French have drinks before eating as it spoils the palate. They are also careful with the wine and some only drink water. In good restaurants most people have bottled water though, l’eau minerale, often with gas, gaseuse.
Nouvelle Cuisine
French chefs have emphasized their position as the world leaders by inventing Nouvelle Cuisine, a light and lean version of the rich and classic French cuisine, but more in line with modern considerations on health.
The main rules of Nouvelle Cuisine are as follows:
Raw materials are fresh, chosen according to the season, preferably not from the freezer and definitely not out of tins. Emphasis is put on seafood and vegetables. Cooking times are shortened to conserve the taste and ingredients of the food. Precooking and reheating are abolished. Flour in sauces and soups is written off in favour of fumets and blenderized vegetables which are lighter on the stomach. Fats are used sparingly, pan-frying has decreased and deep-frying almost disappeared.
Wine
French wine is absolutely the best in the world and priced accordingly. But the general quality is so high, that even the house wines are excellent. The French don’t drink plonk. The best French wine is graded in complicated ways which vary betwewaen regions, Bordeaux and Burgundy wines generally fetching the highest prices.
Now we start the Paris walks.
