Cuisine refers to any style of cooking, including its practices, traditions and recipes. A cuisine is usually associated with a specific culture. It is mainly influenced by the ingredients that are available to that culture. Cooking methods, customs and ingredients together form meals that are unique to a particular region. When people talk about Italian cuisine, they are referring to the food that Italians are famous for. Cuisine is a French word that means "kitchen", but it originally comes from the Latin word "coquere", which means "to cook". 