Nouvelle Cuisine and the History of Modern French Food

 

In the 1960s and 1970s, a new way of cooking called nouvelle cuisine was introduced to the world of traditional French foods. Throughout the history of French cooking, many of the flavors were rich and creamy and packed with calories and sugars. Nouvelle cuisine was a departure from this aesthetic, emphasizing natural flavors and light textures over the previous heavy recipes.

Chef André Gayot writes that nouvelle cuisine has transformed from a revolutionary trend into a culinary institution. Nouvelle cuisine features foods with that are created with a lighter touch and with high regard to health while staying true to delicious French flavor.

What is Nouvelle Cuisine?

One translation of “nouvelle cuisine” is “new food”, and that’s exactly what this trend was. Gone was the idea that cooking needed to be overly complicated or laden with heavy cream sauces. Chefs began to serve smaller menus that featured recipes made from very fresh food. The presentation of the foods took a cue from Japanese meals and became much more spartan and carefully arranged. Meats became more lightly cooked and meals drastically shrank in size.

The Effect of Nouvelle Cuisine

The introduction of this culinary form to chefs and diners alike was not without some controversy. Some critics of the approach complained that restaurants had merely cut back on portions in the name of profits and were passing it off as high style. Other detractors noted the slew of untalented copycat chefs that began producing subpar and ridiculous versions of nouvelle cuisine. But the style did have an effect on the culinary world as a whole. To this day, the teachings of nouvelle cuisine are still impact food trends.

No one can deny nouvelle cuisine’s lasting heritage. Foodies today are lucky that nouvelle cuisine’s principles of fresh ingredients, healthy foods, and gorgeous presentation continue to show up in restaurants all across the world.

Source:

• “The True Story of Nouvelle Cuisine”, André Gayot