“Gastronomy is part of Parisian life and French life”
He says it right away, gastronomy and cooking should not be confused. Patrick Rambourg (1) dates the popularization of the word “gastronomy” to around the 19th century. At that time, it was accompanied by a discourse on eating and drinking. “We cannot say that gastronomy was born on a specific date, even if the word was brought up to date at the time. little by little, it entered the dictionaries. It is interpreted differently in different countries and languages. Today, it is a broader definition that encompasses tableware.”
According to the historian, the first culinary treatises appear in the Middle Ages: people ate there with their fingers. “The notion of pleasure at the table is there,” he explains. In France, when we say “gastronomy”, we think of haute cuisine. But it can include a family or celebratory meal. For the gastronome and author Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), everything to do with the menu, with "this notion of 'pleasure by serving the food' is gastronomy". We publish the Almanach des gourmands, or even the Promenade gourmande dans le Paris d'epoch. There are addresses of shops where you can do your shopping… All this contributes to highlighting gastronomy.
"Elephant Consume"
Paris is at the center of this movement: the capital of good food. France is the country of gastronomy, a royal tradition that Versailles has taken to the highest level. In 1760, restaurants appeared there. Since the 1730s, according to the historian, a "new cuisine, lighter, which wants to address an elitist clientele, on the model of caterers", has been practiced.
Paris is a city where food shops are multiplying. The apartments being cramped, Parisians are used to buying their food outside. And the restaurants are hugely successful. They played on this famous word “restaurant” which is also a way of taking care of one's health, “to get better”. In luxurious establishments, small tables are set with gold-edged plates. There are boxes where you can isolate yourself. The source of the food is indicated. A specific room is reserved for ladies… There are already famous names like Beauviliers, the Trois Frères Provençaux, the Grand Café, or the Véry Brothers. There are then two categories of trade. Those who are à la carte, with a price per dish. The others at fixed prices, with an all-inclusive menu, which caters to all segments of the population.
Very quickly, these restaurants will be emulated around the world. This French creation is accompanied by the pleasures of fashion. Paris is presented as the city of restaurants. “When the Prussians arrived in 1814, they only thought of one thing, eating in the restaurants of the capital. The New Year's Eve menu at the time included elephant broth! explains the historian.
"Top of the line"
At that time, great chefs still worked for aristocrats or members of the royal family. We organize literary dinners. “This gastronomic environment is part of Parisian life and French life. France has built its reputation on the top of the range.”
Today, “bistronomy” and “fooding” have rejuvenated the context. TV shows are on the rise. Great chefs (Bocuse, Gagnaire, Robuchon) have freed themselves from “haute cuisine” and play on two registers by opening “an annex”. From now on, the midday meal in a three-star is more accessible than that of the evening. There is no longer “one” French cuisine but “some” French cuisines that appeal to a young, urban clientele, “with the idea that quality can be achieved at a reasonable price”.
(1) Author of History of French cuisine and gastronomy, Perrin, “Tempus”.
