Knows Her Classics

Appears in
Nobody Does it Better: Why French Cooking is still the best in the world
Nobody Does it Better

By Trish Deseine

Published 2007

  • About
The French home cook knows her classics. By that I am not saying she can whirl into her kitchen and produce every one of the recipes in this chapter without glancing at a cookery book or ruffling her chignon. But, unlike all but the most informed foodie in Britain, she will know of and about almost all the dishes and will be intensely aware and proud of their Frenchness, for they are all around her, in some form or another, and always have been.

These dishes are the plat du jour at the bistro she passes by on her way to work; their three-starred re-interpretation by a famous chef has been reported in this morning’s Figaro newspaper; her grandmother used to cook most of them, and her mother complained about having to do just that; her best friend proudly produced ‘her version’ at the dinner party she held last night, and chances are it will be the main subject of conversation next time they meet.