A Chef’s Timeline of French Gastronomic History

Welcome to the ultimate reference timeline for chefs, gastronomes, and food-obsessed travelers who want to understand the roots of French cuisine—not through myths, but through real moments, people, and flavours that shaped it. This isn’t a dusty academic scroll. It’s a living, growing record of what made France taste like France—from Gaulish cervoise to modern bistronomie.

Hungry for more context? Explore our Origins of French Food tag for stories, chef essays, and in-depth explorations.

To make this Timeline of French Gastronomic History easy to navigate, click on one of the era’s below or scroll onwards to learn all the important french culinary dates you need.

Pre-Roman & Gallo-Roman Roots (c. 500 BC – 800 AD)

Everything starts before Rome, with Celtic barrels and beer, and transforms under the Roman touch. Mediterranean fusion isn’t new—it’s ancient.

• ~500 BC–50 BC (Pre-Roman Gaul): Celtic Gauls develop diversified agriculture; invention of wooden barrels for beer and wine transport (De l’Antiquité – Cuisine française); heavy consumption of meats, cereals, and beer (cervoise) noted by ancient sources (De l’Antiquité – Cuisine française) (De l’Antiquité – Cuisine française).
• 52 BC: Roman conquest of Gaul – beginning of Gallo-Roman cuisine fusion, introducing Mediterranean ingredients (wine, oil) to Gaul (De l’Antiquité – Cuisine française) (De l’Antiquité – Cuisine française).
• 1st–3rd c. AD: Roman Gaul prospers; cultivation of vineyards in Gaul (e.g. around Lugdunum/Lyon); Roman cookbook Apicius compiled, including dishes found in Gaul (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia). Amphorae of garum (fish sauce) and wine trade flourish in Gaulish cities.
• c.400–800 (Early Middle Ages): Decline of Roman urban luxury; Capitulare de Villis (c.800) under Charlemagne lists foods to be produced on royal estates (Au Moyen-Age – Cuisine française). Monasteries preserve viticulture and cheesemaking knowledge (Au Moyen-Age – Cuisine française).

Medieval Innovation & Monastic Preservation (c. 800 – 1450)

A world of scarcity and excess. From feasts fit for kings to the quiet preservation of food knowledge in monasteries.

• c.800–1100: Food scarcity alternates with feast tradition. Norman (Viking) influence introduces new fish curing techniques. Emergence of guilds for food trades in towns (butchers, bakers, etc.).
• 1200s: Trade revives, spices (pepper, cinnamon, etc.) become status symbols in cooking. Earliest French culinary text fragments (e.g. recipes in medical manuscripts).
• c.1300: Oldest surviving French cookbook recipes recorded (an anonymous manuscript later attributed to Le Viandier).
• 1380 (14th c.): Guillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent, royal chef, writes Le Viandier (Au Moyen-Age – Cuisine française) (Au Moyen-Age – Cuisine française), compiling recipes for court banquets – first major French cookbook, featuring medieval cooking techniques.
• 1393: Le Ménagier de Paris written – a bourgeois guide including cooking recipes, gives insight into both haute cuisine and simpler fasting-day dishes (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
• 1420:Chef Chiquart writes Du fait de cuisine for the Duke of Savoy (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia), documenting a grand two-day feast preparation (elaborate medieval feast planning).

Renaissance Meets The Fork (1450–1700)

Printing presses, Italian princesses, and the rise of refinement. Welcome artichokes, pastries, and the proto-modern cookbook.

• c.1450: Gutenberg’s printing press leads to printed books; early printed cookbook in French is Le Viandier (printed edition in the 1480s), broadening access to recipes (Au Moyen-Age – Cuisine française).
• 1492: Columbus “discovers” Americas – eventually leads to introduction of New World foods (turkey, beans, maize, tomato, potato, cocoa) into Europe, though adoption in France is slow (Cuisine, gastronomie et art de la table à la Renaissance).
• 1533: Catherine de Médicis marries the future Henri II; legend credits her with introducing Italian cooks, the fork, artichokes, broccoli, and refined table manners to France (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia) (A la Renaissance – Cuisine française). Myth or not, marks increased Italian influence.
• 1550: Platina’s Italian cookbook De honesta voluptate appears in French (Cuisine, gastronomie et art de la table à la Renaissance), spreading Renaissance culinary ideas. Nostradamus publishes his treatise on jams (confitures) (A la Renaissance – Cuisine française).
• 1570: First known turkeys served in France (a novelty at Charles IX’s court).
• 1600: Marie de Médicis (another Florentine) marries Henri IV; said to bring Italian confectioners who advanced French pastry arts (A la Renaissance – Cuisine française).
• 1604: Le Cuisinier François (not to be confused with La Varenne’s later book) by Lancelot de Casteau published in Liège – an early printed French cookbook blending medieval and Renaissance recipes.
• 1615: Chocolate introduced to French court by Anne of Austria.
• 1651: La Varenne publishes Le Cuisinier françois (Au Moyen-Age – Cuisine française) – milestone that launches modern French cuisine (uses butter in sauces, herbs over spices, etc.). Also in 1653 he publishes Le Pâtissier françois, first French dessert/pastry cookbook.
• 1660s: Coffee introduced in Paris (Turkish ambassador’s visit 1669 popularizes it). First Parisian café, Procope, opens 1686 (and still in operation today), serving coffee and ices.
• 1671: Death of François Vatel during preparations for a banquet at Chantilly – legendary incident showing the era’s high stakes in hospitality.
• 1680s: Fork usage becomes common at Louis XIV’s court (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia). Plates of porcelain and individual place settings become standard among nobility.
• 1691:François Massialot publishes Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois, indicating cuisine is spreading beyond court to wealthy bourgeois.

Enlightenment to Empire: Restaurants Are Born (1700–1815)

Spice routes fade into bourgeois cookbooks. The restaurant is invented. Canning emerges. Cuisine becomes culture.

• 1718: Massialot’s Dictionnaire de Cuisine, one of the first culinary dictionaries.
• 1746: Menon (pseudonym) publishes La Cuisinière Bourgeoise, focusing on simplified haute cuisine for middle-class homes – a bestseller that brought aristocratic cooking to general public.
• 1755: Menon’s Nouveau Traité de la Cuisine* includes the term “nouvelle cuisine” to describe contemporary lighter style, prefiguring later usage.
• 1765: Boulanger’s restaurant in Paris – according to tradition, the first “restaurant” where one could order off a menu at individual tables (A. Boulanger | French restauranteur | Britannica).
• 1770s: Other early restaurants, e.g., Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau opens venues; also Pascal’s ice cream café (a Neapolitan who sold ices in Paris).
• 1782: Antoine Beauvilliers opens La Grande Taverne de Londres in Paris – a true grand restaurant with fine service and cuisine.
• 1789: French Revolution – fall of monarchy leads to chefs of aristocrats opening businesses; guilds abolished (Le Chapelier Law), allowing anyone to cook for profit – restaurant boom begins.
• 1795: Appert’s canning – Nicolas Appert devises a method to preserve food in bottles with heat, winning a Napoleonic prize; foundation of canning industry which later influences availability of foods.
• 1801: Joseph Berchoux publishes the poem “Gastronomie”, coining the term and concept of gastronomy (Gastronomie/Gastronomy – INITIAL LOOK UP).
• 1803: Grimod de la Reynière releases first Almanach des Gourmands, the first restaurant and food guide (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia). Continues annually through 1812, establishing food criticism.
• 1804: Napoleonic Empire – Napoleon famously indifferent to fine food (ate quickly, simple dishes), but his foreign minister Talleyrand employs Carême to impress diplomats with lavish banquets, showing cuisine as political tool.

The Rise of the Chef: Haute Cuisine & Revolution (1820–1900)

From Carême to Escoffier, chefs gain status as artists and technicians. Michelin is born. Paris becomes the belly of the world.

• 1810:Marie-Antoine Carême rises to fame; publishes Le Pâtissier Royal Parisien (on pastry) in 1815, later L’Art de la Cuisine Française (5 vols, 1833, posthumously). Develops elaborate haute cuisine, standardizes mother sauces, and designs pièces montées.
• 1825: Brillat-Savarin publishes Physiologie du Goût – a foundational text of gastronomic philosophy and anecdotes (« Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai qui tu es » – Journal L’AGRAL).
• 1820s–30s: Era of Grand Restaurants in Paris (e.g., Véry, Véfour, Les Trois Frères Provençaux). Antonin Carême cooks across Europe, raises chef’s status to that of an artist.
• 1830: First cooking schools appear (e.g., Antonin Carême briefly ran a cooking school; later the 1895 founding of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris).
• 1836: Balthazar Grimod de la Reynière dies, leaving legacy as first food critic.
• 1840s: Railways begin – facilitating distribution of fresh produce and regional specialties to Paris (e.g., oysters from coast).
• 1846: Birth of Auguste Escoffier (will revolutionize modern restaurant cuisine).
• 1860s: Café Anglais in Paris at its apogee under chef Adolphe Dugléré (serves “Dinner of Three Emperors” in 1867).
• 1870: Siege of Paris (Franco-Prussian War) leads to extreme menus (zoo animals eaten) – a dark footnote showing food scarcity’s impact on cuisine.
• 1870s–1880s: Third Republic – Paris regains culinary leadership; regional cuisines migrate to Paris via chefs (e.g., Alsatian brasseries after 1871). Phylloxera blight in vineyards (1860s-70s) nearly destroys French wine industry, but it recovers via American rootstock grafting.
• 1883: Joseph Favre founds the Académie Culinaire de France, aiming to professionalize and elevate the science of cooking (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
• 1890s: Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel in London (1890–1898) and then Ritz Paris (1898) collaborates with César Ritz; creates famous dishes (Peach Melba c.1892) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).

Modern French Cuisine Evolves (1900–1980s)

Wars, stars, nouvelle cuisine, and global fame. Chefs become TV icons. French cuisine codifies and innovates.

• 1900: Michelin Guide first published (initially free, with travel tips and listings). Paris Exhibition features restaurants – global awareness of French dining.
• 1903: Escoffier publishes Le Guide Culinaire, codifying cuisine classique with thousands of recipes.
• 1907: Ali-Bab (Henri Babinski) publishes Gastronomie Pratique, another influential compendium.
• 1910s: Escoffier works at Carlton London until 1919; in 1912 creates Crêpe Suzette (by one story, accidentally flamed a sauce for the Prince of Wales) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
• 1914: Gringoire & Saulnier publish Le Répertoire de la Cuisine – a concise index of classic recipes for chefs (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
• 1914–1918: WWI – hardship but also cross-cultural exchanges (Allied soldiers taste French cooking, spread its repute).
• 1920: Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Sailland) dubbed “Prince of Gastronomes” by a magazine poll (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia). He and Marcel Rouff champion regional French cuisines, publish La France Gastronomique guides (1921-28) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia). Lyon named “capital of gastronomy” largely due to Curnonsky’s praise.
• 1926: Michelin Guide begins awarding stars (initially a single star, later up to 3 by 1931) – launching the era of competitive fine dining ratings.
• 1930s: Legendary restaurants like La Mère Brazier in Lyon earn 3 Michelin stars (chef Eugénie Brazier, one of the first women to do so, 1933).
  • Fernand Point establishes La Pyramide (2 stars by 1933) – mentors the next gen.
  • Prosper Montagné publishes Larousse Gastronomique (1938), encyclopedic reference (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
• 1939–1945: WWII – rationing and German occupation cause decline in gastronomy; many chefs flee or serve simple cuisine.
  • Le Cordon Bleu cooking school teaches US GIs in Paris after war (including Julia Child in 1940s).
• 1946: Post-war revival – 3-star ratings re-awarded by Michelin.
  • Paul Bocuse and peers train under Point in late 40s.
• 1950s: Rise of media: first French TV cooking shows (chef Raymond Oliver) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
• 1951: Elizabeth David writes French Country Cooking in English, popularizing French home cuisine abroad.
• 1961: Michelin Red Guide to France sells over a million copies annually – gastronomic travel popular.
• 1960s: Nouvelle cuisine pioneers begin breaking from tradition (Troisgros brothers serve revolutionary sorrel salmon in 1962).
• 1961: Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking (’61) and TV show (1963) bring French techniques to millions in North America.
• 1965: The term “nouvelle cuisine” is resurrected by Gault & Millau to describe Air France’s updated in-flight menu; catches on more widely after 1973 to describe the broader movement.
• 1970s: Nouvelle Cuisine formally takes off – Gault-Millau’s Ten Commandments of Nouvelle Cuisine published 1973, encouraging fresh ingredients, lighter sauces, brevity in menus, creativity. Chefs Bocuse, Chapel, Guérard, Senderens, Verge, Troisgros, etc. rise to fame.
  • Paul Bocuse achieves international celebrity (featured on Time magazine cover in 1975).
  • Michel Guérard creates Cuisine Minceur (1976 book) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia).
  • Roger Vergé at Moulin de Mougins brings Mediterranean lightness to haute cuisine.
• 1980s: French dominance in fine dining challenged by global cuisines but remains strong.
  • Joël Robuchon earns 3 stars (1984) and is celebrated for impeccable technique; later starts the global Atelier chain.
  • Alain Chapel and others continue Nouvelle principles.
• 1987:Bocuse d’Or culinary competition founded by Paul Bocuse – becomes the world’s top chef contest, highlighting culinary craft as sport/art.

Contemporary French Gastronomy (1990s–Today)

Molecular, bistronomy, food media, sustainability, and pandemic pivots. France reinvents without forgetting its table manners.

• 1990s: Molecular gastronomy conferences begin (first in 1992, Erice, Italy). Ferran Adrià in Spain dazzles world with “molecular” techniques – French chefs experiment in response. Bistronomy emerges (e.g. Chef Yves Camdeborde at La Régalade in 1992) making haute cuisine casual and affordable.
  
• 2000s: Globalization of French chefs – e.g. Alain Ducasse runs restaurants on three continents and holds multiple Michelin stars simultaneously in different countries. French cuisine incorporates more international flavors (sushi restaurants and fusion eateries thrive in Paris). Slow Food movement and locavore trends influence many French chefs to source locally and sustainably.
  
• 2010: UNESCO inscribes “Le repas gastronomique des Français” as Intangible Cultural Heritage (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia) (Histoire de la cuisine française — Wikipédia), recognizing the social and cultural importance of the French multi-course meal ritual.
  
• 2010s: Ongoing innovation – e.g. New Wave of Parisian chefs (Inaki Aizpitarte at Chateaubriand, Bertrand Grébaut at Septime) mix modernist and traditional techniques. Pastry revolution led by chefs like Pierre Hermé (modern macarons) and Dominique Ansel (cronut creator, blending French pastry with American trends). Rise of food media: France gets its own MasterChef and Top Chef shows, and social media spreads culinary trends quickly.
  
• 2020s: French gastronomy navigates health crises (COVID-19 led to temporary restaurant closures) by pivoting to takeaway haute cuisine and meal kits. Renewed focus on sustainability: many chefs embrace plant-based dishes and zero-waste cooking. Yet, classic French dining reaffirms its resilience as restaurants reopen – venerable institutions and new bistronomie alike are packed with gourmands valuing the French art de vivre at the table.

Conclusion: Why This Timeline Matters

This isn’t just a list of events—it’s a tool for understanding how French food became an identity, a global export, and an ever-evolving art form. Whether you’re a chef looking to trace culinary roots, a food writer chasing accuracy, or a gastronome with a curious palate, this timeline will keep growing with you.

Want more? Explore related stories in our Origins of French Food archive, or dive deeper into our French food history blog posts to taste the past, one story at a time.

Got a date or story to add? Leave a comment or email us at tours@eatlikethefrench.com. This is a living history.

Chef Tris

Food Tour Guide

From the bustling streets of Paris to the heat of a professional kitchen, my life has always revolved around food. A Brit who moved to France at 16, I trained as a chef in a Parisian palace kitchen at 18 and have spent decades cooking, eating, and living like the French.

By day, I run kitchens and events, but Eat Like The French is my side hustle—a way to share my passion for French food through writing and food tours. After a detour into tech recruitment, I returned to what I love most: cooking and storytelling—one dish, one tour, and one bite at a time.