Haute and Nouvelle Cuisines - Term Paper Example

Introduction: Haute and Nouvelle cuisine are French methods of food which have been adapted by various countries in the world. This is made possible because of globalization, which makes it food for various cultures across the world to interact socially, economically and politically. Nouvelle cuisine is a French word that denotes a new cuisine, and it is an approach of food presentation and cookery (Schweid, 2002). This new method of cooking food is characterized by delicate and light dishes, and emphasizes on proper presentation of the delicacy. This term, nouvelle cuisine was first used by Henri Gaulit, Andrew Gayot and Christian Millau in the 1960s. They were authors of the restaurant guide called Le Nouveau. Specifically, they were referring to the style of cooking developed by the students of Fernand point, notable being Paul Bocuse, Raymond Oliver, and Roger Verge (Rao and Durand, 2005). The contributing factor to this style of cooking was during the Second World War, and most specifically during the German occupation of France. During this period, there was a limited supply of animal products, forcing chefs to prepare light and delicate meals. Andrew Gayot and Christian Millau denote that this style of cooking is characterized by the use of fresh ingredients in making the meals, and the use of steaming as a method of cooking. The purpose of taking this approach was to preserve the natural flavors of the ingredients used (Pilcher, 2001). This style of cooking was also characterized by the innovation of chefs, who had the freedom of combining new and tested ingredients for purposes of meeting customers’ requirements. Gayot and Millau further denote that chefs, who embraced this style of cooking, ceased from using heavy sauces and strong marinade for purposes of seasoning meat. On this basis therefore, nouvelle cuisine integrated new styles of cooking, which were never used before the Second World War. Haute cuisine on the other hand is the preparation of expensive and elegant foods, whose target are people of the higher echelons of the society. When the food was served, it was accompanied by expensive wine. This type of food preparation, and service was found in expensive, and high class hotels, and restaurants. Its evolution dates back to 17th century, up to the present, and it was grounded on the need of replacing the serving of all meals at once, with serving them in courses (Morris, 2006). This paper analyzes the current trends of the haute and nouvelle cuisines. It also identifies the challenges this modes of food preparation and presentation face, highlighting the restaurants that practice these aspects of food preparation and presentation. On this basis therefore, the objective of this paper is identify the impact of these models of food preparation and presentation in satisfying the dietary needs of people. It seeks to identify whether the restaurants that prepare and serve such cuisines, are effective in meeting their objectives, such as customer satisfaction, and profit maximization. This paper takes a stand that nouvelle and haute cuisine are different forms of food preparation and presentation that restaurants prepare to serve different class and categories of people. The current trends of haute and nouvelle cuisine: In the current century, five star hotels such as London mandarin oriental have in their menu a combination of old and new recipes of haute cuisine. This hotel specializes in the production, and presentation of old age British food, which were served to influential people of their time, such as kings, knights, and nobles. For instance, it produces the flesh and rice delicacy of the 1390s, the savory porridge taken during the periods of 1660, and the spiced pigeon which was a delicacy prepared during the periods of 1780s. This hotel produces these delicacies, and at the same time it focuses on the production and presentation of expensive modern foods such as drown sparrows, taken with brandy. In the current century, chefs have realized the need of exploring nature, for purposes of identifying new ingredients for their delicacies (Klein, 2007). For instance, in 2009, a group of chefs came together a formed a brotherhood association called cook it raw. These chefs came from luxurious a hotel such as Noma, situated in Denmark, and was voted as the best restaurant in 2010. Other restaurants that participated in this movement are Ticketsbar in Barcelona, and Hibiscus restaurant in London (Gao, 2012). These chefs lost their interest in concentrating on the kitchen, and instead they sought to explore the natural world in search of flavor, tastes, fragrance and new cultures in relation to food production. Members of the cook it raw crew meet at a secluded area, and they explore the local vegetables and customs of the area, for the main purpose of developing luxurious cuisines for serving their customers. The first meeting by these chefs was in Copenhagen, followed by the Italian town of Colio, and thereafter the arctic Lapland region of Finland. Japan hosted the latest episode of cook it raw and it occurred in Ishikawa. This region has a beautiful landscape, and it is a home to most of Japanese fishermen, farmers and craftsmen. These chefs managed to learn the Japanese culture, and their methods of producing food. On this basis therefore, they managed to acquire great skills in the production of Japanese traditional and modern foods. During this last meeting, the chefs who participated in the outing used their new experience of the Japanese people, and knowledge they acquired in their culture to prepare new delicacies. For instance, Albert Adria, a chef at Ticketsbar produced a delicacy known as frustrated mackerel, while Rene Redzepi, a chef at Noma produced a delicacy known as sake-sake. This delicacy was prepared by a traditional Japanese beverage. In Germany, restaurants such as the Zenzakan specializes the production of Asian-European haute cuisine. Zenzakan was voted as the best restaurant that specializes in the production of foreign foods in Germany (Gao, 2012). In the production and presentation of this cuisine, the restaurant is motivated by the culinary ways of Asian countries such as China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. The chefs at this restaurant combine the traditional and modern ways of preparing these dishes, for purposes of satisfying the current nutritional needs of their customers. In Australia, the preparation of its haute cuisine is also characterized by the emergence of globalization. For instance, restaurants that specialize in the production and presentation of this type of food used flavors from organic and biodynamic foods (Freeman, 2006). There is also an interest in the traditional foods, such as the bush foods eaten by indigenous people of Australia, and delicacies imported from England. On this basis therefore, the preparation of haute cuisine in Australia, is a combination of old and new recipes, and this aspect is also witnessed in Germany, and the entire Europe. Just as in Germany, the production and presentation of haute cuisine in Australia integrates the various recipes and flavors around the world. On this basis therefore, the new trends in the production of haute cuisine is the integration of various flavors around the world, to produce a meal that satisfies the dietary needs of customers of the high end restaurants (Gao, 2012). To effectively achieve this objective, chefs of these luxurious hotels must seek knowledge and information on the culture and food eaten by people around the world. This is the reason as to why groups such as cook it raw emerged. This new method of acquiring knowledge on the various approaches of producing haute cuisine is made possible by globalization (Klein, 2007). This is because it is possible to share information, in a faster and more efficient manner through technology, and specifically through the agents of information technology such as the internet and the media (Gao, 2012). There are also modern day trends in the preparation and presentation of nouvelle cuisine. The preparation and presentation of the nouvelle cuisine is different, depending on the hotel/ restaurant an individual visits. This is because customers and chefs did not fully understand the concept of light meals, which is an integral part of nouvelle cuisine. But this concept does not mean serving customers with less food. For instances, in some major restaurants of Australia, you will find waiters serving their customers with low calorie meals, in small portions, and they are later told that the food was nouvelle cuisine. On this note therefore, the chefs under consideration would fail to effectively use spices and oil to create a good smell, flavor and texture of the meal under consideration. The preparation of food by using the concept of nouvelle cuisine is no longer a restaurant affair, because people in their homes have adopted the concept to prepare their own meals. Many people use low calorie food ingredients such as olive oil, fresh herbs and vinaigrette. On this basis therefore, these homes manage to prepare food that satisfies their dietary needs, and not just food that fills the stomach. There is also a new trend in France where by chefs use the concept of nouvelle cuisine to produced meals by using regional, traditional, and local ingredients. This concept was developed by Ronald Mazere, a chef at the Le Centanaire in Dordogne, France. This chef used the local ingredient called foie gras, and produced a light mousse (Gao, 2012). On this basis therefore, chefs and cooks have the ability to experiment with new recipes and ingredients in the process of preparing light meals. In the yesteryears, various restaurants had moved from the production and presentation of nouvelle cuisine meals, to the concept of fast foods. This is because they felt that these meals were not satisfying, and hence there was no need of spending a lot of money on them. This was mostly depicted among the young generation, in Europe and Australia. This led to the evolution of low priced hotels, which offered such kind of meals at negotiated prices. For instance, in France, the term bistro was used to refer to an old fashioned food establishment that offered meals at reasonable prices. In the current century, the term refers to small establishments that offer toned down food substances, at a bargain price (Ferguson, 2009). These restaurants are located at prestigious French settings, and the food they offer are prepared as per the requirements of the nouvelle cuisine. On this basis therefore, at the current time, the production of nouvelle cuisine is based on the mixture of traditional and modern nutritional and financial needs of its customers. On this basis therefore, the current trends in the evolution of nouvelle cuisine is based on modernity and globalization. This is because the modern culture is different from the traditional culture, and therefore the requirements of customers are different. Modernity has led to new trends in social eating, evolution of slow foods, and production of organic foods (Ferguson, 2009). On this basis therefore, restaurants are forced to change the manner in which they produce their foods for purposes of accommodating this new trends of food consumption. Despite the emergence of modern ways of food consumption, tradition still plays a major role in the consumption and production of food substances. On this basis, there is a co-existence between traditional and modern approaches in food preparation. On this grounds therefore, it is difficult for the trend of preparing food using the concepts of nouvelle cuisine to disappear. Challenges There are numerous challenges that face restaurants in their bid to develop cuisines that satisfy the dietary needs of their customers. One such challenge is the emergence of popular culture, where people choose the kind of foods they need to eat. For instance women are obsessed with losing weight, to improve their looks, and on this basis, they chose carefully the kind of foods they need to take. These are low fatty foods, with limited number of calorie present. This is a characteristic of nouvelle cuisine; however, this aspect does not necessarily mean that the food produced is an example of a nouvelle cuisine. This creates confusion amongst various chefs on what this type of food really is (Albala, 2004). On this basis therefore, customers are unable to get what they really want, and restaurants are unable to satisfy the objectives of their customers. Another major challenge is on the scarcity of the ingredients to be used in the preparation of the cuisines. For instance, nouvelle cuisine emerged because of scarcity of meat products during the Second World War (Albala, 2003). In the current century, many restaurant organizations have to travel over a long distance just to look for the ingredients needed for making the meals under their consideration. This is time consuming, and expensive. On this basis therefore, cutting on operational costs is a challenge to major restaurant establishment. Conclusion: In conclusion, haute and nouvelle cuisines emerged during different periods of French history. Despite this fact, many restaurants all over the world continue to prepare these meals for purposes of serving their customers. This is because modernity and tradition always interrelate, and people are not always willing to discard their traditions, and this is especially true during their old age. Despite their evolution from France, different countries in the world have adopted these styles of meal preparation and presentation. This is as witnessed in Germany, Denmark, Australia, and Asia, especially countries such as Japan and China. Take for instance the group of chefs that called themselves cook it raw. These people travelled in different destinations of Europe, and Asia just for the purpose of identifying different recipes and ingredients for their products. They realized that globalization has made it possible for different cultures to co-exist, and this was being manifested in the kinds of food that people ate. For instance in Australia, people ate the English foods, as well as the indigenous Australian food such as the bush fruits. On this basis therefore, globalization and modernization play a great role in the manner in which restaurants produce and present their food products. Bibliography: Albala, K. (2003). Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe by Melitta Weiss-Adamson . The Sixteenth Century Journal, 34(1), 261-262. Albala, K., & Cooperman, L. (2004). Gastrabulary: A Future Terminology of Eating. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 4(2), 110. Ferguson, P. (2009). Les cuisines de la critique gastronomique by Bénédict Beaugé, Sébastien Demorand. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 9(3), 84-85. Freeman, S. (2006). Culturing Food. Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, 6(4), 99- 107. Gao, G. (2012). 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