3 ms·
Modern French cuisine was codified by Escoffier. Not only did he nail down what haute cuisine was in terms of technique, he codified a process of restaurant man
by beat 10y ago
Modern French cuisine was codified by Escoffier. Not only did he nail down what haute cuisine was in terms of technique, he codified a process of restaurant management, based on the military chain of command. Escoffier trained up-and-coming chefs on how to structure large kitchens (up to hundreds of staffers) and how to handle budget and marketing, to get the "right" customers. In other words, he invented the modern large-scale upscale restaurant business.
American and European cooking schools are all modeled on Escoffier's techniques, as passed down through generations of chefs going back to those worked under him directly. It's not just about the cooking. It's the white tablecloths, the wine list, the dress code - it's about a restaurant experience that says as much about who the customer is and what their role in society is as it says about food.
Why require that gentlemen wear a jacket and a tie for dinner? Does it add to the cost of the food? No. It's about standards. If you offer a gentleman a tie so he may eat, you've said something about his station in life. That's why waiters at such fancy places seem like they're insulting you - they're actually insulting you! Because of this, the restaurants are expensive. Of course they're expensive. Not because the food is superior, but because the kind of people who would eat there expect it. At the best, putting prices on the menu is a faux pas. If you have to think about the cost, you don't belong.
- cmdrfred 10y agoWhen I was a cook I worked under a french chef and read Escoffier. Le guide culinaire is a fascinating read, meals for kings with pigeon stuffed into hen, stuffed in a goose, stuffed into a pig and cooked in a coal fire oven for 12 hours.
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago> That's why waiters at such fancy places seem like they're insulting you - they're actually insulting you! Because of this, the restaurants are expensive. Of course they're expensive. Not because the food is superior, but because the kind of people who would eat there expect it. At the best, putting prices on the menu is a faux pas. If you have to think about the cost, you don't belong. It sounds like you're saying that the purpose of French restaurants is to signal your wealth/social class, and if you want good food that's worth what you're paying, you should go somewhere else.
- barrkel 10y agoAnd on the counterpoint, the best meals of my life have mostly been in the French style, usually with matched French wines too.
- beat 10y agoYeah. Something I think that was lost in the original article was that French and Japanese technique really are superior to other cuisines. There's a reason they're so dominant.
- careersuicide 10y agoI think you're 100% correct. But, I also think that even implying that that is the purpose is itself a form of signaling of your wealth/social class. "I'm much too smart/frugal/down to earth/in the know about where the real good food is to be fooled by cloth napkins and dim lights." Signaling is funny like that. We often discuss it in the context of letting others know how up the social ladder we are or want to be perceived as being. But at least as often signaling is used to convey to others that we're not at the top, we're right where we belong, with the other members of our tribe.