Paul François Pierre Bocuse was a French chef based in Lyon known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. Dubbed "the pope of gastronomy", he was affectionately nicknamed Monsieur Paul. The Bocuse d'Or, a biennial world chef championship, bears his name.
Bocuse in 2008
Bocuse in 2007
Le Nord, one of Bocuse's chain of brasseries in central Lyon
Bocuse wearing his Meilleur Ouvrier de France medal, 2005
French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices from France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In the 17th century, chefs François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême spearheaded movements that shifted French cooking away from its foreign influences and developed France's own indigenous style.
A nouvelle cuisine presentation
French haute cuisine presentation
French wines are usually made to accompany French cuisine.
John, Duke of Berry enjoying a grand meal. The Duke is sitting with a cardinal at the high table, under a luxurious baldaquin, in front of the fireplace, tended to by several servants, including a carver. On the table to the left of the Duke is a golden salt cellar, or nef, in the shape of a ship; illustration from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, circa 1410.