Roux French cuisine, but may be lard or vegetable oil in other cuisines. The roux is used in three of the five mother sauces of classical French cooking: béchamel sauce, velouté sauce, and espagnole sauce. In Cajun cuisine, roux is made with bacon fat or oil instead of butter and cooked to a medium or dark brown color, which lends much richness of flavor, albeit less thickening power. Central European cuisine often uses lard (in its rendered form) or more recently vegetable oil instead of butter for the preparation of roux, which is called in Slovak, in Czech, in Polish, ()
French cuisine contrôlée" (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws. French cuisine was made important in the 20th century by Auguste Escoffier to become the modern haute cuisine; Escoffier, however, left out much of the local culinary character to be found in the regions of France and was considered difficult to execute by home cooks. Gastro-tourism and the "Guide Michelin" helped to acquaint people with the rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Gascon cuisine has also had great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations