La Cuisine Française

Abstract

In an earlier chapter we read ‘la nourriture isole les Français du reste du monde presque autant que leur langue’. The reason for this isolation was, it was said, the incapacity of the French to appreciate foreign cooking. If this is true, it is a failing which might be generously excused, given the pleasure which French cooking has offered the rest of the world. There are no doubt many countries whose cuisine would not be worthy of a mention in a book of this kind, and in a section devoted to aspects of the national culture. French cuisine is, however, a central part of French culture, and the articles which are chosen for study convey something of the awe and admiration reserved for this very special art.