French cuisine, renowned for its delectable flavours, has garnered a global following, making it a sought-after culinary skill for many aspiring chefs.
Despite the Michelin Guide being French, Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else. However, French cuisine, much like the Michelin Guide, has travelled. Most people can name a French dish or two from Western Europe to all over the world.
French cuisine, far from being a singular entity, is a tapestry of regional flavours. While the country boasts a consistent standard of good food, it's important to note the unique regional differences.
This means that French cuisine benefits from lots of variety and a history of enjoying good food. After all, we wouldn't have the word "restaurant" without the French!
The Role of Food and Cuisine in French Culture
While there are regional differences in cuisine, most French people will agree that food is essential and to be enjoyed.
Naturally, the capital of France, Paris, is famed for its cuisine and many high-quality restaurants. Did you know that French restaurants typically serve food using "Russian service", bringing dishes out sequentially in courses?
Traditionally, "French service" meant all the dishes were brought out simultaneously. You ate what you wanted in the order you wanted, much more akin to how tapas are served in Spain. While "French service" in France is ironically a thing of the past, this Russian-style service allowed the French to develop a culture around food where each dish can be savoured. After all, people in France typically spend two hours eating!
French cuisine, a cornerstone of the nation's cultural heritage, has been recognized by UNESCO for its role in promoting the practice of savoring a meal and the associated social activities.
However, this is more than any time the French sit down for a meal. This specifically refers to a French meal that starts with an aperitif and includes four courses and a digestif. A French meal can have more courses than this, but it should have a dessert and cheese course.
French Cuisine and the World's Best Chefs
France played an incredibly important role in European and global history in the 18th century, and Europeans spoke French as a lingua franca across the continent.
Many elements of French culture were envied by other countries. While French is no longer the lingua franca it once was, the tradition of French cuisine being among the best in the world remains.
Typically, French cuisine is seen as a guarantee of quality, luxury, diversity, health, and taste!
French food can be found on every continent, and the world rankings speak for themselves. Many French chefs are featured in lists and rankings of the best in the world.
Six of the top 10 chefs in the world are French, and 26 are in the top 100. Famous French chefs include Pierre Gagnaire, Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse, Michel Bras, Éric Frechon, and Yannick Alleno.
Having the best cuisine is about more than having the best chefs. What makes French cuisine stand out is the high standards found all over the country, not just from the world's best chefs. The average quality of French food sets such a high standard that it's obvious why it's so popular.
You can't make bad French food; if you do, you can't call it French food.
French food is synonymous with quality.
How French Food Fought its Way to the Top of European Cuisines
France's dishes didn't become some of the most popular in the world without a fight. After all, there are plenty of traditional cuisines worldwide and in neighbouring France that could easily be anybody's favourite.
France's neighbours can also boast a good cheese or two, incredibly fresh ingredients grown in the Mediterranean sunshine and food served in excellent restaurants in some of the most beautiful places in the world.
Plenty of Spanish and Italian dishes would astound French chefs, and even recipes were similar to those in France.
Italian cuisine boasts pizza, pasta, and outstanding wine. Still, French cuisine always attempts to elevate it above its neighbours with its elegance.
French cuisine has benefitted from French politics. France has enjoyed unity and political stability for longer than Italy and Spain, allowing France's various regions to share culinary traditions and create local and national dishes.
Prosperity also helps as restaurants and chefs create more elaborate dishes when there's a market for fine dining. We often take a lot of what we eat for granted, forgetting that some of the beautiful dishes we can buy in a restaurant would have never been eaten during an entire person's lifetime as little as one hundred years ago!
Most French cuisine was reserved for the elite, with the most famous French recipes served to the wealthy in Paris or the aristocracy in their châteaux all over the country.
French Cuisine's Status as Fine Dining
French cuisine's status as one of the best in the world is undoubtedly bolstered by its association with wealth, prosperity, and luxury.
The dining experience, with all its elegant touches, can elevate even the most basic French meals into a truly indulgent event.
Whether or not the food is better than other cuisines is a matter of opinion, naturally. Still, French cuisine benefits from often being seen as fancier than Italian, Chinese, or Mexican food.
These cuisines also offer culinary delights, and you can easily enjoy beautiful meals from any region or country worldwide. However, many people agree that French cuisine positions itself literally as the crème de la crème.
French food is so special because it's greater than the sum of its parts. Ingredients are used in a complimentary fashion, and the dishes and experience all build on one another to create an experience that's more than just food.
You can't simply follow a recipe and make some French cuisine at home, but if you want to do it right, you need to make an event of it and respect the meal. The French have been enjoying their food for years, and you must respect that eating needs to be an exquisite experience for all the senses.
The Most Popular Dishes from French Cuisine
Now that we know why French cuisine is so famous and influential let's get to the stars of the show: the dishes!
While we can't name every great French dish, here are a few of our favourites that anyone new to French cuisine might want to try.
Andouillette
Andouillette is a sausage made from pork intestines. It's delicious.
Beef Bourguignon
Wine is a huge part of French culinary culture, and it is involved in both eating and drinking. This dish is beef cooked in a red Burgundy wine and usually served with mushrooms and carrots.
Boudin Blanc
This white pork sausage is made using milk, onions, and other seasoning.
Bouillabaisse
The famous bouillabaisse is a seafood stew with olive oil and freshly caught fish.
Brandade
This casserole is made from mashed and seasoned cod with milk or potatoes.
Cassoulet
A cassoulet is made by mixing white beans with different types of meat, such as duck confit or sausage.
Coq au Vin
This famous dish is chicken marinated and cooked in wine.
Duck Confit
You make duck confit by cooking it in duck fat. This isn't healthy, but it's definitely tasty!
Fondue
Fondue is technically a Swiss dish, but the Savoyarde fondue is the French version of it that uses beaufort, abondance, or emmental cheeses.
Garnished Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is famously a German dish, but the French “choucroute” version is particularly popular in Alsace by the German border.
Moules-frites
This dish is a staple from northern France and Belgium. Mussels and "French" fries (also Belgian) are great for people who love seafood and potatoes.
Pot-au-feu
This dish consists of slowly boiled meat and vegetables. There are almost as many versions of this dish as there are regions in France, with each area favouring popular local ingredients.
Raclette
The raclette is another dish of Swiss origin that made its way into France's Alpine regions. This is a dish and an activity, with diners melting raclette cheese over ham, potatoes, cornichons, or bread.
Veal Blanquette
This dish is veal cooked with carrots and onions and served with a white cream sauce.
Of course, these are just our favourites and there are plenty of more French dishes that you could enjoy or even learn to make. If you're interested in learning to cook French food, why not learn from a private cooking tutor?
On the Superprof site, you just need to search for one and you can start learning with your own private tutor today!
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