Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession [Paperback]

Amy B. Trubek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2000

"Paris is the culinary centre of the world. All the great missionaries of good cookery have gone forth from it, and its cuisine was, is, and ever will be the supreme expression of one of the greatest arts of the world," observed the English author of The Gourmet Guide to Europe in 1903. Even today, a sophisticated meal, expertly prepared and elegantly served, must almost by definition be French.

For a century and a half, fine dining the world over has meant French dishes and, above all, French chefs. Despite the growing popularity in the past decade of regional American and international cuisines, French terms like julienne, saute, and chef de cuisine appear on restaurant menus from New Orleans to London to Tokyo, and culinary schools still consider the French methods essential for each new generation of chefs. Amy Trubek, trained as a professional chef at the Cordon Bleu, explores the fascinating story of how the traditions of France came to dominate the culinary world.

One of the first reference works for chefs, Ouverture de Cuisine, written by Lancelot de Casteau and published in 1604, set out rules for the preparation and presentation of food for the nobility. Beginning with this guide and the cookbooks that followed, French chefs of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries codified the cuisine of the French aristocracy. After the French Revolution, the chefs of France found it necessary to move from the homes of the nobility to the public sphere, where they were able to build on this foundation of an aesthetic of cooking to make cuisine not only a respected profession but also to make it a French profession. French cooks transformed themselves from household servants to masters of the art of fine dining, making the cuisine of the French aristocracy the international haute cuisine.

Eager to prove their "good taste," the new elites of the Industrial Age and the bourgeoisie competed to hire French chefs in their homes, and to entertain at restaurants where French chefs presided over the kitchen. Haute Cuisine profiles the great chefs of the nineteenth century, including Antonin Careme and Auguste Escoffier, and their role in creating a professional class of chefs trained in French principles and techniques, as well as their contemporary heirs, notably Pierre Franey and Julia Child.

The French influence on the world of cuisine and culture is a story of food as status symbol. "Tell me what you eat," the great gastronome Brillat-Savarin wrote, "and I will tell you who you are." Haute Cuisine shows us how our tastes, desires, and history come together at a common table of appreciation for the French empire of food. Bon appetit!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Trubek, an instructor at the New England Culinary Institute who has a background in anthropology, has given us an interesting account of the French contribution to the development of the culinary profession. Food and its preparation are examined both as cultural symbols and as means for creating social distinctions. The discussion focuses on French cuisine from 1870 to 1910, although events as far back as the 11th century are also recounted. The author addresses a variety of topics, including whether cooking is a trade or a profession, the role of schools and expositions, and the emergence of the restaurant. A brief glossary of culinary terms and a few illustrative recipes are featured, and there is an extensive section of resource notes. Recommended for large academic libraries and specialized culinary collections.DMary A. Martin-Russell, New Hampshire State Lib., Concord
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

Trubek sees the world the way cooks do. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (December 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812217764
• ISBN-13: 978-0812217766
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delicious book!, September 28, 2007

By 

Eileen S. Demarco - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession (Paperback)

For readers interested in either France or cuisine of any kind, Haute Cuisine is a worthwhile and enjoyable read. Offering insight into the efforts of French chefs to establish their trade as a profession, the book explains how and why the French style of haute cuisine came to dominate within France and, more inportantly, far beyond its borders. The book studies the trade associations and journals of chefs, primarily in the 19th century. The rivalry between France and Britian in terms of culture and cuisine is discussed. It also describes the culinary expositions of the day. I highly recommend Haute Cuisinefor the casual reader as well as academics in history, anthropology, sociology, or cultural studies.

7 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine survey of French food and culinary history., September 6, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession (Hardcover)

How did the French invent the culinary profession and rise to culinary heights? Haute Cuisine: How The French Invented The Culinary Profession charts the history of French cooking and French chefs, providing reviews of the pioneers of the field and their achievements. A fine survey of French food and culture, and how it influenced the world.

4 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars overly worshipful, December 19, 2000

By 

Werner Kattinger "kattinger" (Wien) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession (Hardcover)

OK, the topic of the book is french cuisine. But Ms Trubek writes so simplistically worshipful that I think the book is not informative any more. She gives as a fact that until today french cuisine has been on top in every respect - and that's too narrow a view in the year 2000. The book should be displayed in every french cultural center and maybe in all the cooking schools mentioned which propagate french cooking - maybe that was the main motivation to write it anyway.