Culinary Excellence

THE French Chefs THAT SHAPED US

By Chef Matthew Stocker

What do mayonnaise, copious amounts of butter, and the term sauté have in common?

If you did not guess correctly, they are examples of the French food influence we carry with us day to day. Most of the food world, in execution and training, is deeply rooted in French tradition. From how kitchens are managed to a standard array of sauces, our croissant-loving ancestors put in some serious work as to how we enjoy food service today. Though many chefs came before, Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833) was the first major French Chef to develop and standardize sauces. These sauces would later be codified and written in with more detail by another French chef we will talk about. Carême is considered, by most food historians, to be the founder of French gastronomy- along with being a prolific writer and food architect-artist. One of the most profound creations that came from Carême are the mother sauces, which are the five sauces that most traditional French sauces originate from. They are:

Bechamel - A sauce made from roux (a combination of flour and butter, used to thicken) and milk.

Derivative: Often used to make mac n’ cheese in modern times.

Espagnole - a brown sauce made from brown roux, veal or beef stock, and tomato paste.

Derivative: Demi-glace, served with steaks

Tomato - Though better done by the Italians, traditional French tomato sauce has tomatoes, veal stock, mirepoix (celery, onion, carrots) and aromatics.

Derivative: Most Chefs do not use the tomato mother sauce, but one familiar preparation may be sauce Provençale.

This is a tomato sauce made with sautéed onions, garlic, capers, olives, and herbs.

Hollandaise - simply made with egg yolks and oil- using heat to manipulate the texture. This is one of the hardest sauces for culinary students to get a good grade on! Heat too low, you won’t get the sauce thick, heat too high, you’ve scrambled the sauce.

Derivative: The most common is bearnaise, with the addition of tarragon.

Velouté - An off-white sauce made from roux and chicken stock.

Derivative: Sauce supreme, which is a chicken velouté with added cream (or creme fraiche) and finished with lemon juice.

Le Patissier Royal Parisien, ou Traité Élémentare et Pratique de la Patisserie Ancienne et Moderne

Chef Carême not only had a knack for food; his talents lapsed into drawing and architecture. Before his time, it was rare for food and art to mix. Carême took this seriously, the elevation his food and French cuisine could have given a better look. He spent some of his time studying architecture and art, looking for ways to contribute those works to his food and desserts. These studies would lead him to publish multiple books of his drawings. Above are exerts from one of Carême’s books, “Le Patissier Royal Parisien, ou Traité Élémentare et Pratique de la Patisserie Ancienne et Moderne.” (roughly translated to The Parisian royal patisser, or elements and practical treats of ancient and modern pastry). The importance of transcending food into art cannot be understated. Though nowhere close to the interpretation of artful food that Michelin level restaurants implement- there is a clear connection of progression to that stage. Though Carême’s version of breaking edge of the early 1800s meant big and boisterous, modern day breaking edge can be summarized and minimal and sleek. Popularized many years later in the 1980s.

Known by the moniker "The king of chefs, the chef of kings”, Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) formed what we think of as a modern restaurant. Escoffier, like Carême, was a writer and a dreamer. He took the pathway that was set out by Carême and took those standards to another level.

Escoffier was focused as much on professionalism as he was on food. He had spent 7 years in the French army, most likely influencing his later kitchen contributions. The king of chefs would introduce the most important system in any well-oiled kitchen—the brigade. Before Escoffier, kitchens were still loose in command. You would have someone at the top, but below them was the entire kitchen with no order. With the brigade system in place, everyone would have set responsibilities, making a more cohesive environment. In a small kitchen, the brigade system seems nominal. However, in larger kitchens it is essential. In the late 1800s, this mass organizing of kitchens began to take shape. Escoffier imagined and implanted a kitchen where only certain people would work with the vegetables, cook the meat, or only make sauces for the day. He named those positions, which some you may find familiar: executive chef, chef de cuisine, sous chef, chef de partie, commis chef and so on. Though in America we have some different names, the chain of command is still in place.

Along with the order and respect that a brigade system brings, Escoffier was cementing the chef uniform. Clean white coats and a white chef hat (toque) were enforced, with militaristic precision. It is even known that Ho Chi Minh, the future leader of North Vietnam, trained under Escoffier during this time, in France. Some speculate that this military like training in respect and order helped form Ho Chi Minh into a would-be ruler many years later.

In terms of food, Escoffier sought out to simplify the Grande Cuisine popularized by Carême. He focused largely on the standardization of food. With over 5,000 recorded recipes, he made fine dining preparations approachable by chefs around the world, or at least the ones that could read French. He did away with overthe-top garnishes on plates and focused on taste and texture.

While running the kitchens in legendary hotels the Savoy and the Ritz Carlton in the late 1880s - early 1900s, Escoffier would write his most famous work. Le Guide Culinaire (1903) would not only be a cookbook that opened up Escoffier’s recipes to the rest of the world, but would be used as a teaching book to the next generation of chefs.

The legacy of great French chefs would be picked up by our final contender, Paul Bocuse (1926 -2018). Bocuse is the most modern of the Chefs discussed. He is credited with bringing the world a style of food that was simple, yet elegant with a level of exactness. This style of cooking is what we most often see in Michelinrated restaurants. He was also known to be a great mentor, and a big fan of competition. He created the “Bocuse d’Or”, which is the world’s most regarded culinary competition.

Bocuse was one of a kind – a positive, drama-free chef that wanted to share food with the world around him. He worked every day to train new

Culinary Excellence

chefs and make the world of food look interesting, but respectable. He loved to make good food and do it perfectly. Bocuse was one of the biggest drivers of a newly developing cuisine, “Nouvelle Cuisine”. This approach does away with heavy sauces, and focuses on fresh, simple ingredients on a plate. Bocuse had to the brave a storm of upset mentees, as they thought he was leading them astray. How could Bocuse throw away the last 300 years of culinary teachings? Why would he do away with what Escoffier just brought to the world? Through the skepticism, Bocuse ended up redefining modern dining. The teaching skills of Bocuse spoke for themselves. Bocuse would pump out high level chefs that would open worldrenowned restaurants after leaving him. Daniel Boulud would be the most recognizable in America, with his famous restaurant In New York City, Daniel, that has earned two Michelin stars. As the other Chefs mentioned, Bocuse has dishes that have gone down in history. No dish of his was more famous than his black truffle soup: a truffle and foi gras (fattened duck liver) soup, topped with puff pastry. This recipe was created for French President Valerie Giscard d’Estaing, after he declared Bocuse “Knight of the National Order of the Legion”. The recipe is often printed as “Black truffle soup VGE” as Bocuse added the initials of the president to the original recipe name.

To be proud of our heritage as Americans is important. But to recognize the heritage of others who have changed the world we live in hold that same effect. The food we enjoy today, in looks, taste and preparation, may have never existed if it wasn’t for the French chefs that braved the world in front of them. To the French chefs long gone: merci beaucoup. This is an authentic recipe from Bocuse himself! We made some small edits to make it more user friendly. What is a better way to learn about these chefs than making their food! Notice how this recipe is slightly different than how we make mac n cheese day to day in America. One big difference is that the cheese isn’t mixed in, it’s only put on top. Enjoy!

Bocuse Mac-n-Cheese

Serves 6-8 side portions 6 ½ cups of milk ½ tsp of nutmeg 1lb of pasta (we used cavatappi) 3 oz of butter

2 oz of flour 1 ½ cups of Crème fraiche or sour cream 1 cup of Gruyère cheese, grated. It is best to buy a small block of cheese and grate yourself. Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Set one pot of water to a boil with 3 tablespoons of salt

3. In a separate pot, pour milk, add 3 tsp of fine salt, nutmeg and pepper. Bring to a boil. Constantly whisk so the milk does not scorch the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat off and set aside- you will be using this pot with hot milk in the next step.

4. Cook pasta in salted boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes less than specified on the package. Strain pasta and add to milk. Bring the milk to a boil and continue cooking pasta for 2 minutes. Strain the pasta and KEEP the milk.

5. Rinse the pot that you just poured and turn on a medium heat. Add the butter to the pot and lightly sprinkle in flour and whisk. This is a roux, continue to whisk for 1 minute, or until the roux starts to boil. Pouring all the milk, stir until the mixture comes to a boil. It is important to make sure the roux is completely incorporated into the milk. Incorporate cream while whisking, and take off of the heat once the cream is completely mixed in. Add pasta and stir. Fill cooking dish (large or small separate), with pasta mixture.

6. Place the grated cheese on top of the pasta. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Let dish rest for 15 minutes before serving.