Espagnole sauce end of the process, and the sauce is further reduced. "Espagnole" is the French word for "Spanish", but the sauce's origin story is argued by French cooks. According to Louis Diat, the creator of "vichyssoise" and the author of the classic "Gourmet's Basic French Cookbook": "There is a story that explains why the most important basic brown sauce in French cuisine is called "sauce espagnole", or Spanish sauce. According to the story, the Spanish cooks of Louis XIII's bride, Anne, helped to prepare their wedding feast, and insisted upon improving the rich brown sauce of France with Spanish tomatoes. This
French cuisine and created new combinations and pairings. Some have speculated that a contributor to nouvelle cuisine was World War II when animal protein was in short supply during the German occupation. By the mid-1980s food writers stated that the style of cuisine had reached exhaustion and many chefs began returning to the haute cuisine style of cooking, although much of the lighter presentations and new techniques remained. There are many dishes that are considered part of French national cuisine today. A meal often consists of three courses, "hors d'œuvre" or "entrée" (introductory course, sometimes soup), "plat principal" (main course), "fromage" (cheese