Versailles was not just a palace; it was an entire city staffed by
thousands of chefs, servants, suppliers, gardeners of the royal
orchards and vegetable beds, and an entire army. Practically every
daily occurrence at court was governed by a complex, formalized,
and public ritual, especially eating. This was a fantastic place for
the arts to fl ourish—especially cooking. This period is so important in the history of cuisine because it was
here that what we call modern French classical, or haute, cuisine
was born, although it wouldn’t be called haute cuisine until much
later. Cookbook authors defi ned what elegant cooking should be like
and how to do it. In codifying cuisine and making rules, it becomes
something totally different and something uniquely French.La Varenne’s Cookbook
The fi rst cookbook to make the decisive break from culinary history
is Le Cuisinier François by François-Pierre de La Varenne. It was
published in 1651, with a translation into English only two years
later. The essence of this new cuisine lies in the fact that foods are
increasingly cooked in a way that accentuated and intensifi ed the
fl avor of the main ingredient rather than contrasting with it, as the
sugar, spices, and vinegar of older cookbooks had.
Sauces were more often bound with a roux of fl our and fat rather
than bread crumbs and sharp fl avorings. Also, an increasing number
of sauces are based on butter. Herbs are used to add a subtle fl avor
to a sauce. A consommé is clarifi ed with egg whites. Equally
important is the procedural logic of La Varenne’s recipes. A few basic
preparations, such as a rich stock, can be kept on hand and reduced
(that is, boiled quickly to evaporate away some of the water) to make
a variety of sauces to accompany many different foods. Many of the older standbys, such as exotic birds, game, large fi sh,
and whale, disappear. Although it would take some time, spices
were increasingly banished to desserts, where we still fi nd them
today. Fresh herbs and aromatics, such as onions and mushrooms,