Mirabelle (Ms. Caitlin Cambra)

Since France is the location of so many culinary schools, it makes sense that French cuisine has had an effect on global culinary culture. French food is so important to the culture that, once a year, all the French schools participate in La Semaine de Gout, a week during which students are taught about classic French dishes and regional specialties. Chefs come to the classes and teach children how to taste, smell and, yes, cook.

Though the recipe for traditional croissants doesnt involve a lot of active work (about 1 hour if you know what youre doing), the recipe can take about 14 hours from start to finish. There are multiple stories as to the croissants origins but the most believable story is that an Austrian artillery officer founded a Viennese Bakery in Paris in approximately This bakery, which served Viennese specialties including the kipfel, or kipferl, and the Vienna loaf, quickly became popular and inspired French bakers. Throughout time, the kipfel was developed into what it is known now as the croissant.

Almost every country has its own version of the crepe, but it was in France's Brittany region where the tools and techniques were created and perfected, elevating the crepe to an art form. One evening, the Prince of Wales requested a crepe for dessert. Henri Charpentier raced to the kitchen and prepared a crepe with an orange sauce flambé. He named the Suzette in honor of the beautiful young lady who accompanied the Prince. The rest is history...the Crepe Suzette became the most celebrated French dessert. Crêpes are one of the best known French dishes and had been introduced into many other countries, including Japan where they are eaten as a dessert with ice cream and fruit.

Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. The wordquiche is from the German Kuchen, meaning cake. Quiche Lorraine is made with bacon and cheese, usually swiss, emmental, or gruyère. Some true Lorraines hold firm to a few ideas when it comes to their hallmark dish. While many reputable cookbooks and local brasseries call to replace half, and sometimes all, of the cream with milk, many true quiche defenders cry heresy at this attack on the quiche's richness. And to lay it on even thicker, many Lorraines specify that the cream should be stiff creme fraiche, not liquid cream.

Confit de canard is one of the dishes that emerged as a result of the discovery of a new way to preserve meat. It is duck cooked in its own fat, usually served hot. Strictly speaking its a specialty of the Gascony region but its very common in other parts of France including the Languedoc.

The origin of the coq au vin is unknown. There are two popular myths as to its source involving Napoleon and Caesar. Coq au Vin was traditionally made with a rooster but as most people in the modern world do not have access to whole roosters, it is primarily made with a chicken instead. What is known is that the recipe is very old (at least 400 years) but did not become popular until the early 1900s. Since then it has become one of the best known French recipes, both within and outside of France.

The word Ratatouille actually comes from the french term "touiller," which means to toss food. Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Nice. It was originally a meal made by poor farmer's (in essence it started out life as a peasant dish), and was prepared in the summer with fresh summer vegetables. Served either hot or cold, the full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise. The original and simplest form of Ratatouille used only courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes, green and red peppers (bell peppers), onions, and garlic. Eggplant is also added to this list.

Boeuf Bourguignon is thought to have originated as a peasant dish with the wine used to tenderize cheap cuts of beef. The recipe that most people still follow to make an authentic boeuf bourguignon was first codified by Auguste Escoffier. That recipe, however, has undergone subtle changes, owing to changes in cooking equipment, and available food supplies. Mastering the Art of French Cooking describes the dish as "certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man."

The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler whi ch means "to blow up" or more loosely "puff up"an apt description of what happens to this combination of custard and egg whites. It is far easier to make a soufflé sink in the middle than Id thought (its certainly not a myth, anyway). Though, the smaller the soufflé, the less gentle one must be.

The origins of chocolate mousse are relatively unknown. After being introduced to chocolate by the Spanish, French chefs have been cooking with chocolate since the early 17th century. Mousse, which means "foam", originated in France in the 18th century. It was only a matter of time until cooking with chocolate and making dishes with foamy textures came together for "mousse au chocolat. " Chocolate mousse is far easier to make than I think most people believe, if you find the right recipe.

It is unclear whether crème brûlées origins are French, English, or Spanish. Though, evidence suggests it is most likely French. Crème Brûlée is French for "Burnt Cream". If fact, neither the cream itself nor the sugar on top are "burnt", although both are cooked. Crème Brûlée is actually fairly easy to prepare. The only tricky thing is to judge when it is cooked enough.

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