Haute cuisine and shaping "haute cuisine", but their roles in the cuisine were what differentiated it from regular French cuisine. "Haute cuisine" was characterized by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe. The cuisine was very rich and opulent with decadent sauces made out of butter, cream, and flour, the basis for many typical French sauces that are still used today. The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne marked a change from cookery known in the Middle Ages, to
Cuisine of Gascony the leftover juices of pan-fried duck). Cuisine of Gascony The cuisine of Gascony is one of the pillars of French cuisine. Its originality stems from its use of regional products and from an age-old tradition, typical of the Aquitane and the Midi-Pyrenees, of cooking in fat, in particular goose and duck fat, whereas the cuisine of the south of France favours frying in oil and the cuisine of Normandy contains more dishes that are simmered or cooked in butter. The long life expectancy of Gascons, despite a rich diet, is a classic example of the French paradox. The cuisine of