The Florentine Factor in French Cuisine

"The Italians.... made the French acquainted with the art of dining well, the excesses of which so many of our kings tried to suppress. But finally it triumphed in the reign of Henry II, when the cooks from beyond the mountains came and settled in France, and that is one of the least debts we owe to that crowd of corrupt Italians who served at the court of Catherine de' Medici." The French Encylopedie, Vol. 4 (1754).

Ah, nothing like a backhanded compliment.

Catherine de' Medici (L'Italiene) was an influential member of the French court in the 15h century. Back then, the de Medici's tended to have that sort of impact on European affairs. While her story is intriguing (among other things she ordered the St. Batholomew Massacre) she’ll be remembered most as the patron of arts and education in France. Her classic de' Medici temperament and Florentine sensibilities greatly influenced Gaullic culture.

Italy was to Europe what the Orient and the Middle East was to Italy. In other words, gateways to knowledge. Through the Venetian Republic, they often were introduced to the advancements coming from the East - even small things we take for granted from playing cards to the use of forks by way of Constantinople. Once in Italy, the Italians often perfected and reinvented what was imported to fit the Italian mold. From here they dispersed what they learned to the rest of Europe.

Similarly, the United States stands today - like Renaissance Italy before it - as the guider and protector of modernity.

I would like to focus on culinary matters - An endeavour which the exhuberant Italians excelled in. No kidding; this was a society that was eating - with the aid of utensils - ravioli's covered with cinnamon while the rest of Europe was chomping down on rotten meat with their hands. Yuk.

As far as I can tell, Italian culinary history comes from two sources: Roman and Florentine. Bartolomeo Platina wrote De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine in 1474. In 1498, a rediscovery of Roman gastronomic texts left behind by Apicious served as a further model. Either way, Italians had a 50 years jump on their Latin cousins.

Catherine de' Medici, while appreciated by the sophisticated members of the French court such as Francis I, was looked upon suspiciously by the French. What would you think of a person who rides into your house bringing alien products such as forks, perfumes, sidesaddles, high-heeled shoes, acting troupes, spices, melons, truffles (which came from the Arabs), ice cream, iced aperitifs, artichoke, broccoli, Savoy cabbage and - mon dieu! - Pastry books! Pastries included zabaglione, custard cakes and tarts.

Heck, while we're at it we may as well mention that Catherine was also a feminist of sorts for she demanded French women - who often ate in private rooms - eat at the dinner table with the rest of her guests.

Much of what de' Medici introduced were initially looked upon derisively. Once the French caught on, what the Florentine's were doing eventually became hallmarks of French haute cuisine centuries later. Little things like fine tablecloths and printed menus were incorporated in the French way of doing things.

France being the great culture that it is, produced its own first great chef in La Varenne and he looked on astutely as he was to launch France's culinary revolution.

For the Italians in general, it did not stop there. With their own concept of la dolce vita Italians founded some of Paris’s greatest cafes.

I'll close with Jacob Burckhardt: "In the 16th century the Italians had all Europe for their pupils, both theoretically and practically, in every noble bodily exercise and in the habits and manners of good society."

Now you know how the mille feuille was born.

Next: Baldassare Castiglione