Cooking Across the Ages Season 1 Episode 14 The Birth of French Haute Cuisine

In Cooking Across the Ages season 1 episode 14, we explore the birth of French Haute Cuisine. French cuisine has long been considered one of the best in the world, and this episode delves into how it all began.

We start by looking at the French Revolution in the late 18th century. This tumultuous time in French history saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of the working class. As the aristocracy fled the country, they took with them their chefs and their culinary traditions. This left a gap in the culinary landscape of France, and it was the working class who stepped up to fill it.

One of the key figures in the birth of French Haute Cuisine was Marie-Antoine Carême. Born into poverty, Carême started working as a kitchen boy in Paris at just 10 years old. He quickly showed a natural talent for cooking, and his skills soon caught the attention of some of the wealthy patrons of the time. Despite his lack of formal education, Carême went on to become one of the most influential chefs of his day, credited with creating the concept of French cuisine as we know it today.

We see some of Carême's most famous creations recreated on the show, including his famous pièce montée - a towering pyramid of pastries and sweets, adorned with intricate sugar sculptures. This kind of elaborate and showy cooking was a hallmark of French Haute Cuisine, and it quickly caught on with the upper classes.

The episode also looks at the role of French Haute Cuisine in politics and diplomacy. We see how, during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, French chefs were sent around Europe to cook for heads of state and important dignitaries. The food they served was seen as a reflection of the power and sophistication of the French nation, and it played a key role in establishing France as a cultural leader on the world stage.

As the episode draws to a close, we see how French Haute Cuisine has continued to evolve over the centuries. Many of the techniques and ingredients pioneered by Carême and his contemporaries are still used today, but they have been mixed with influences from around the world to create a truly global cuisine. French cuisine may no longer hold the same cultural dominance it once did, but it remains a fundamental part of the culinary landscape and a testament to the enduring power of good food.