Food - Drink
The French Culinary Movement That Transformed International Cuisine
By RYAN CASHMAN
If you have spent any time in the culinary world, looking at recipes or eating at nice restaurants, it will come as no surprise how much the French have influenced the global fine dining scene. One of the French culinary movements that has had the biggest impact on cuisine worldwide, particularly Western cooking, is Nouvelle Cuisine.
Nouvelle Cuisine emerged in the ‘60s and is defined by its high-quality ingredients, shorter cooking times, smaller menus, abandonment of marinades, and lighter sauces. Nouvelle Cuisine pioneered aesthetically pleasing yet simple and high-quality food, as a contrast to the over-cooked, heavy, and mass-produced cuisine of the day.
While Nouvelle Cuisine had little impact on the long-established food cultures of Spain and Italy, Nouvelle’s principles of fresh, local produce and simple preparation helped create New American cuisine, brought to life by Alice Waters. Likewise, it helped revamp British cuisine and has heavily influenced fusion cuisine.