Nouvelle Cuisine

Nouvelle Cuisine (French for "new cuisine") is an approach to cooking and food presentation based on the style of Fernand Point. It was initially developed in France and the USA in the 1970s but has come under heavy criticism since its inception and is no longer considered very fashionable. Few chefs openly practice nouvelle cuisine today, but its influence is still widely felt.

Related Topics:
French - Cuisine - Fernand Point - France - USA - 1970s

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Food presentation and visual appeal are paramount in nouvelle cuisine. The food had to excite all five senses, especially the visual. The reliance on the waiting staff to present the food, as is the norm in haute cuisine, was abandoned. Courses were served already plated. Herbs and spices were used extensively, and sauces and stocks were much lighter. nouvelle cuisine created light dishes with a distinct tastes - combining flavours instead of overruling them - and emphasized less intrusive service. Elegant yet simple dishes and pure tastes are the hallmarks of nouvelle cuisine.

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There is a standing debate as to whether nouvelle cuisine has been abandoned. Much of what it stood for - particularly its preference for fresh flavors lightly presented - has combined with other food movements such as California cuisine, and even haute cuisine itself has changed due to the influence of nouvelle cuisine.

Related Topics:
California cuisine - Haute cuisine

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Some chefs are still actively working in nouvelle cuisine; one of the most famous is Ferran Adrià. Though many modern chefs do not claim to practice nouvelle cuisine, its influence on fine food worldwide cannot be disputed.

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