French Cuisine and Status by Ruth Paget
Maryann Tebben shows how the French have used their cuisine to establish itself as an elite nation in the world in her book Savoir-Faire: A History of Food in France.
Tebben begins her book by writing that when King Louis XIV set up a royal printing press the first books he had published were cookbooks to be distributed throughout Europe to reflect the splendor of his court at Versailles.
Reviewing restaurants that ensured travelers, especially businessmen and nobility, good meals promoted competition to provide high quality food that guaranteed a secure livelihood for inn and restaurant owners.
Many French writers included significant scenes devoted to food in their books. Tebben provides samples of this kind of writing at the end of her chapters. Food becomes more than sustenance in this way be calling up emotion and making cultural references.
Bourgeois homes in France eventually adopted the food system of the aristocracy and the royalty by planning marketing based on seasonal products. Once food was purchase at the market, bourgeois homes planned meals for the upcoming week and set up pantries or garde mangers Tebben writes.
Discussing food and wine at the dinner table is a practice the French still keep alive, creating tomorrow’s gastronomes among youth.
For a well-documented glimpse into the world of French cuisine, Savoir-Faire by Maryann Tebben is an informative and enjoyable read.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
