IS HAUTE CUISINE DEAD? NOT BY A LONG SHOT!
By John Mariani
The death knell for haute cuisine has been sounded about as often as for the demise of Broadway, and a new book by Michael Steinberger carries the plaintive title Au Revoir to All That: Food, Wine, and the End of France, detailing how the decline in both standards and admiration for the glories of French cuisine have been long in coming, as Michelin star restaurants go empty and master chefs go global rather than stay in their kitchens cooking.
To which I answer that such assertions are looking at the issue from the wrong end: Haute cuisine as represented in ultra-expensive dining salons with crystal chandeliers and gold bathroom fixtures are indeed suffering from both a weak global economy and a certain stuffiness out of kilter with the way most people enjoy eating these days. But the true excellence of haute cuisine’s legacy is still very much intact; in fact, it is more widespread than ever, and, thank heavens, cheaper.