French cuisine across the country. Knowledge of French cooking has contributed significantly to Western cuisines. Its criteria are used widely in Western cookery school boards and culinary education. In November 2010, French gastronomy was added by the UNESCO to its lists of the world's "intangible cultural heritage". In French medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy. Multiple courses would be prepared, but served in a style called "service en confusion", or all at once. Food was generally eaten by hand, meats being sliced off in large pieces held between the thumb and two fingers. The sauces were highly seasoned and thick,
Haute cuisine Haute cuisine Haute cuisine (French: literally "high cooking", ) or grande cuisine refers to the cuisine of certain kitchens. It is characterized by meticulous preparation and presentation of food in the established French style. "Haute cuisine" developed out of political and social changes in France. The "high" cuisine represented a hierarchy in 17th century France as only the privileged could eat it. "Haute cuisine" distinguished itself from regular French cuisine by what was cooked and served such as foods like tongue and caviar, by serving foods such as fruit out of season, by making it difficult and time consuming to