Perhaps the ultimate refutation to anyone claiming there is a
single, simple answer to the question of why France invented and
continues to set the world standard for haute cuisine. While
acknowledging that his native soil does constitute a veritable
"garden," Pitte (Geography/Sorbonne) asserts that this is neither
unique in Europe nor primarily accountable for French gastronomic
predominance. The cultural case he builds, going back to the Roman
occupation, touches base with everything from a sensually indulgent
brand of medieval Catholicism to a tableau of the definitive
gourmand, Louis XIV, dining at Versailles quite alone (except for a
daily gallery of gawking citizenry) and an astonishing variety of
robust regional cuisines that coalesce over the ages under the
cruelly Darwinian dynamics of the Parisian marketplace. While some
offhand references to obscure personages or innate ethnic
characteristics may be lost on American readers, Pitte easily
succeeds in demonstrating that the universal subtleties of the
debate, rather than any formal proof, are the point here.
Entertaining examples come straight from the historic pulpit in the
form of tongue-in-cheek sermons on gluttony, or from the literary
mainstream, as when the writer Balzac insists to his guest (perhaps
with a wink) that the great wine he has poured must be "lovingly
regarded," sniffed, and discussed at length before any drinking
takes place. The author's geographical perspective enables him to
be both seriously analytic and illuminating: one of several map
plots, for example, shows how the taste, properties, and even the
typical size of every major cheese variety in France were long ago
determined by regional agronomics combined with distance (during
original development) from the principal market. Finally, there's a
sobering caution about how modern agribusiness practices could
compromise quality standards, homogenizing regional input enough to
threaten the essential roots of French gastronomy as public
indifference within the country continues to deepen. Surprisingly
thought-provoking and original table talk from the academy. (Kirkus
Reviews)
This we can be sure of: when a restaurant in the western world
is famous for its cooking, it is the tricolor flag that hangs above
the stove, opined one French magazine, and this is by no means an
isolated example of such crowing. Indeed, both linguistically and
conceptually, the restaurant itself is a French creation. Why are
the French recognized by themselves and others the world over as
the most enlightened of eaters, as the great gourmets? Why did the
passion for food -- gastronomy -- originate in France? In "French
Gastronomy," geographer and food lover Jean-Robert Pitte uncovers a
novel answer. The key, it turns out, is France herself. In her
climate, diversity of soils, abundant resources, and varied
topography lie the roots of France's food fame.
Pitte masterfully reveals the ways in which cultural phenomena
surrounding food and eating in France relate to space and place. He
points out that France has some six hundred regions, or
microclimates, that allow different agricultures, to flourish, and
fully navigable river systems leading from peripheral farmlands
directly to markets in the great gastronomic centers of Paris and
Lyon. With an eye to this landscape, Pitte wonders: Would the great
French burgundies enjoy such prestige if the coast they came from
were not situated close to the ancient capital for the dukes and a
major travel route for medieval Europe?
Yet for all the shaping influence of earth and climate, Pitte
demonstrates that haute cuisine, like so much that is great about
France, can be traced back to the court of Louis XIV. It was the
Sun King's regal gourmandise -- he enacted a nightly theater of
eating, dining alone but in full view of the court -- that made
food and fine dining a central affair of state. The Catholic Church
figures prominently as well: gluttony was regarded as a "benign
sin" in France, and eating well was associated with praising God,
fraternal conviviality, and a respect for the body. These cultural
ingredients, in combination with the bounties of the land,
contributed to the full flowering of French foodways.
This is a time of paradox for French gourmandism. Never has
there been so much literature published on the subject of culinary
creativity, never has there been so much talk about good food, and
never has so little cooking been done at home. Each day new
fast-food places open. Will French cuisine lose its charm and its
soul? Will discourse become a substitute for reality? French
Gastronomy is a delightful celebration of what makes France unique,
and a call to everyone who loves French food to rediscover its full
flavor.
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