text: Dorner's killing spree began with a package stating his complaints, sent to Anderson Cooper and arriving at CNN on February 1, 2013. After the first killings, Dorner's threats in his manifesto caused law enforcement to mount a widespread manhunt that spread from California to Nevada and Mexico. Protection details were set up for over 40 potential targets of Dorner, and thousands of police were assigned to patrol Southern California's highways. The LAPD also took patrol officers off motorcycles for their protection.


title: Christopher Dorner shootings and manhunt

text: Anderson Cooper received a package at his office containing a DVD that stated Dorner's case against the LAPD. The package also contained a bullet-riddled challenge coin issued by LAPD Chief William Bratton and a note inscribed with "1MOA" (one minute of angle), implying that the coin was shot at at a grouping of , boasting of his accuracy with a rifle.


text: During the evening hours in Irvine, California, 28-year-old Monica Quan and her fiancé, 27-year-old Keith Lawrence, were shot dead in Lawrence's parked white Kia Optima outside their condominium complex. Quan, a women's basketball assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, was the daughter of Randal Quan, a former LAPD captain and the lawyer who represented Dorner during his 2008 dismissal hearing. Lawrence was a campus public safety officer for the University of Southern California.


text: Dorner's "manifesto" was posted online, stating his motive for the shootings was to clear his name. He wrote, "I will not be alive to see my name cleared. That's what this is about, my name."


text: According to military sources, Dorner checked into Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, but skipped checkout procedures when leaving.


text: Dorner's manifesto specifically named Randal Quan and his family as targets, so on February 6, Irvine police named Dorner as the prime suspect in the murders of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence. The manifesto claimed Quan had failed to represent Dorner's interests in favor of those of the LAPD. Dorner reported specific acts of specific officers participating in the retaliation, but their names were redacted by media sources at the request of law enforcement who cited officer safety concerns.


text: Two LAPD officers were driving to a protection detail where they were assigned as security for one of the officers potentially targeted by Dorner, when they were flagged down by R.L. McDaniel at about . McDaniel reported seeing a man matching Dorner's description at a gas station in Corona. The officers investigated the report, and they were following a pickup truck when the driver stopped, got out, and fired a rifle at them, grazing the head of one officer.


text: About twenty minutes after the Corona shooting, two officers of the neighboring Riverside Police Department were ambushed and shot while stopped in their marked patrol unit at a red traffic light in that city. One officer, Michael Crain, died shortly after the shooting; the other was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition for surgery and survived.


text: About an hour and 25 minutes after the Riverside shooting, at approximately 3:00 am, a man matching Dorner's description tried to steal a boat in San Diego, telling the boat's captain that he would take the boat to Mexico. A federal criminal complaint was filed against Dorner this same day for allegedly fleeing California to avoid prosecution.


text: Hours later, the burning remains of Dorner's vehicle, a dark gray 2005 Nissan Titan truck, were found on a remote fire trail by a local, Daniel McGowan, near Big Bear Lake, about 80 miles (130 km) from Los Angeles. Investigators spread out to search for Dorner in the surrounding area, and about 125 officers went from door to door. All schools in the Bear Valley Unified School District were placed into a state of lockdown.


text: CNN reported that the Los Angeles Police Dept. was re-opening its investigation into Dorner's dismissal from the LAPD so as to reassure the public that the police were doing everything in their power to capture Dorner.


text: Authorities offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Dorner. For the first time, Dorner's actions were described as a form of "domestic terrorism". With Dorner believed to be hiding somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains, an unmanned aerial vehicle was deployed to aid the search from the air amid fears that Dorner would head for the Mexican border.


text: Later in the day, a Lowe's home improvement store in Northridge, Los Angeles was evacuated based on reports of a possible sighting of Dorner.


text: The Riverside District Attorney filed formal charges against Dorner for the murder of a police officer and the attempted murder of three other officers.


text: Police raided a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico, based on a tip that Dorner was there. Authorities also discovered surveillance footage of Dorner purchasing scuba diving gear at a sporting goods store in Torrance, California.


text: A message posted on February 12 to the Twitter account of the San Bernardino County district attorney's office said:


text: On February 12, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to a report of a carjacking of a white Dodge truck at 12:22 pm (PST) and began looking for the vehicle on the ground and from the air. The truck's driver had not been harmed. Fish and Game officers were the first to spot the vehicle and recognized Dorner as the driver. Officers from numerous agencies chased Dorner to a cabin near Big Bear Lake, California.


text: Dorner opened fire on two officers from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, hitting both. The officers were airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where Detective Jeremiah MacKay was pronounced dead.


text: The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department confirmed to the media that Dorner was barricaded in a cabin near the command center set up for the manhunt, in a mountainous rural area northeast of Angelus Oaks, California, and that the building was surrounded by law enforcement. The "Los Angeles Times" reported that there might be hostages in the cabin with Dorner. A three-mile (5 km) perimeter was set up around the cabin and residents were told to remain inside with their doors locked.


text: Police initially attempted to force Dorner out of the cabin by using tear gas and demanding over loudspeakers that he surrender. When Dorner did not respond, police used a demolition vehicle to knock down most walls of the building. They then shot pyrotechnic tear gas canisters into the cabin, which resulted in the cabin catching fire. Such devices are nicknamed "burners", as the heat generated by the pyrotechnic reaction often causes fires. Shortly thereafter, a single gunshot was heard from the cabin. As the fire continued, ammunition was exploding from within the cabin, making it dangerous for officials to try to put out the fire. Law enforcement experts differ on whether it was justified to use pyrotechnic devices to end the standoff, instead of waiting for Dorner to come out.


text: In the evening of February 12, LAPD and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office denied reports that a body believed to be that of Dorner had been recovered from the burned cabin. In a press conference, LAPD Commander Andrew Smith stated that no body had been removed from the site, adding that reports of a body being identified were untrue as the cabin area was "too hot to make entry".


text: On February 13, it was reported that human remains had been found in the search for Dorner's body in the cabin. A wallet with a California driver's license with the name "Christopher Dorner" was also found in the rubble of the cabin. That same day, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon disputed rumors that deputies had intentionally burned down the cabin. It was also revealed that deputies had knocked on the door of the cabin earlier during the search for Dorner, but moved on when they received no answer.


text: On February 14, medical examiners confirmed during an autopsy, using dental records, that the charred body found in the burned-out cabin was in fact that of Dorner.


text: On February 15, the sheriff's office announced the autopsy showed Dorner died from a single gunshot wound to the head, with evidence indicating that it was self-inflicted. At the same news conference, Sheriff John McMahon reiterated the claim that deputies had not deliberately set the cabin on fire. The Sheriff Department's Captain Gregg Herbert, who led the assault on the cabin, claimed that the canisters were a last resort, saying, "This was our only option," and adding that the potential for fire was considered.


text: In two separate incidents in the early morning hours of February 7, 2013, police fired on people who turned out to be unrelated to Dorner. Dorner was not present at either of the incidents.


text: At about 5:30 am (PST), at least seven LAPD officers on a protection detail of an unnamed LAPD official's residence in the 19500 block of Redbeam Street in the Los Angeles County city of Torrance opened fire on the back of a light blue Toyota Tacoma and shot its two occupants, Emma Hernandez, 71, and her daughter, Margie Carranza, 47, delivering newspapers for the "Los Angeles Times". The vehicle, according to officers, was spotted exiting a freeway and heading to the area of the residence that officers were protecting, was thought by police to match the description of Dorner's 2005 gray Nissan Titan and was moving without its headlights on. Hernandez was shot in the back and Carranza received wounds to her hand. Their attorney claimed police "had no idea who was in that vehicle" when they opened fire, and that nothing about his clients or their vehicle matched the descriptions given of the suspect or his truck. The two women stated that they were given no warning prior to being fired upon.


text: A neighbor said the truck was used every day to deliver newspapers, and the women who used it kept their headlights off so as to not wake people up. The two women were injured, but both survived. The LAPD started an internal investigation into the shooting committed by multiple officers. According to their attorney Glen Jonas, 102 bullets holes were found in the truck. The LAPD declined to confirm the total number of officers involved or how many bullets were fired or if any verbal warnings were given to the women before the shooting began.


text: Approximately 25 minutes after that incident, officers from the Torrance Police Department struck and opened fire on another vehicle. Like the first shooting, the incident involved a vehicle that police claimed resembled the description of Dorner's truck, but was later discovered to be a black Honda Ridgeline driven by a white male.


text: The victim of the second shooting by police was David Perdue, who was on his way to the beach for some early morning surfing before work. A Torrance Police Department police cruiser slammed into Perdue's pickup and Torrance police officers opened fire. Perdue was not hit by any of the bullets, but reportedly suffered injuries as a result of the car impact. Police claim that Perdue's pickup truck "matched the description" of the one belonging to Dorner. However, the "Los Angeles Times" reported that the vehicle involved was once again a different make and color to that of the suspect's, and that Perdue "looks nothing like" the suspect.


text: In April 2013 the Los Angeles Police Department paid a $4.2 million settlement to Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez, the two women who were mistakenly shot by police on the morning of February 7, 2013.


text: The city of Torrance initially offered a $500,000 settlement to David Perdue for ramming his pickup truck and then shooting at him on the morning of February 7, 2013. This was rejected and with the case set to go to trial in August 2014 they reached an agreement in July 2014 for a $1.8 million settlement paid by the city of Torrance to Perdue.


text: On February 4, 2014, LAPD chief Charlie Beck announced that eight officers had violated the LAPD's use-of-force policy and would be disciplined. Beck noted that California state law prevents him from disclosing the nature of the discipline publicly, but that discipline could range "from extensive retraining up to termination."


text: On February 10, 2013, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Dorner and, because the terms of the offer were not carefully stipulated, judges had to later decide how the reward would be divided. Ultimately the reward was divided four ways, with $800,000 going to James and Karen Reynolds, who were tied up by Dorner in their Big Bear cabin before he stole their vehicle, $150,000 to Daniel McGowan, and $50,000 to R.L. McDaniel.


text: There were online protests against the LAPD as well as a protest at police headquarters on February 16, 2013. Protestors stated that they objected to the manner in which Dorner's dismissal was handled, the reckless shooting of civilians by the LAPD during the manhunt, and the police intentionally setting fire to the cabin in which Dorner was hiding.


title: Date format by country

text: The legal and cultural expectations for date and time representation vary between countries, and it is important to be aware of the forms of all-numeric calendar dates used in a particular country to know what date is intended.


title: Date format by country

text: Writers have traditionally written abbreviated dates according to their local custom, creating all-numeric equivalents to day–month formats such as "" (, , or ) and month–day formats such as "" ( or ). This can result in dates that are impossible to understand correctly without knowing the context. For instance, depending on the order style, the abbreviated date "01/11/06" can be interpreted as "1 November 2006" for DMY, "January 11, 2006" for MDY, and "2001 November 6" for YMD.


title: Date format by country

text: The ISO 8601 format YYYY-MM-DD () is intended to harmonize these formats and ensure accuracy in all situations. Many countries have adopted it as their sole official date format, though even in these areas writers may adopt abbreviated formats that are no longer recommended.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: "gamma"-Hydroxybutyric acid (or γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter and a depressant drug. It is a precursor to GABA, glutamate, and glycine in certain brain areas. It acts on the GHB receptor and is a weak agonist at the GABA receptor. GHB has been used in the medical setting as a general anesthetic and as treatment for cataplexy, narcolepsy, and alcoholism. It is also used illegally as an intoxicant, as an athletic-performance enhancer, as a date-rape drug, and as a recreational drug.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: It is commonly used in the form of a salt, such as sodium γ-hydroxybutyrate (NaGHB, sodium oxybate, or Xyrem) or potassium γ-hydroxybutyrate (KGHB, potassium oxybate). GHB is also produced as a result of fermentation, and is found in small quantities in some beers and wines, beef, and small citrus fruits.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency is a disease that causes GHB to accumulate in the blood.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB is used for medical purposes in the treatment of narcolepsy and, more rarely, alcoholism, although there remains uncertainty about its efficacy relative to other pharmacotherapies for alcohol dependence. It is sometimes used off-label for the treatment of fibromyalgia. GHB is the active ingredient of the prescription medication sodium oxybate (Xyrem). Sodium oxybate is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cataplexy associated with narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) associated with narcolepsy.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB has been shown to reliably increase slow-wave sleep and decrease the tendency for REM sleep in modified multiple sleep latency tests.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: The FDA approved labeling for sodium oxybate suggests no evidence GHB has teratogenic, carcinogenic or hepatotoxic properties. Its favorable safety profile relative to ethanol may explain why GHB continues to be investigated as a candidate for alcohol substitution.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB is a central nervous system depressant used as an intoxicant. It has many street names. Its effects have been described as comparable with ethanol (alcohol) and MDMA use, such as euphoria, disinhibition, enhanced libido and empathogenic states. A review comparing ethanol to GHB concluded that the dangers of the two drugs were similar. At higher doses, GHB may induce nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, agitation, visual disturbances, depressed breathing, amnesia, unconsciousness, and death. One potential cause of death from GHB consumption is polydrug toxicity. Co-administration with other CNS depressants such as alcohol or benzodiazepines can result in an additive effect (potentiation), as they all bind to gamma-aminobutyric acid (or "GABA") receptor sites. The effects of GHB can last from 1.5 to 4 hours, or longer if large doses have been consumed. Consuming GHB with alcohol can cause respiratory arrest and vomiting in combination with unrousable sleep, which can lead to death.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Recreational doses of 1–2 g generally provide a feeling of euphoria, and larger doses create deleterious effects such as reduced motor function and drowsiness. The sodium salt of GHB has a salty taste. Other salt forms such as calcium GHB and magnesium GHB have also been reported, but the sodium salt is by far the most common.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Some prodrugs, such as γ-butyrolactone (GBL), convert to GHB in the stomach and blood stream. Other prodrugs exist, such as 1,4-butanediol (1,4-B). GBL and 1,4-B are normally found as pure liquids, but they can be mixed with other more harmful solvents when intended for industrial use (e.g. as paint stripper or varnish thinner).


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB can be manufactured with little knowledge of chemistry, as it involves the mixing of its two precursors, GBL and an alkali hydroxide such as sodium hydroxide, to form the GHB salt. Due to the ease of manufacture and the availability of its precursors, it is not usually produced in illicit laboratories like other synthetic drugs, but in private homes by low-level producers.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: A 2006 report commissioned by a UK parliamentary committee found the use of GHB to be less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol in physical harm, dependence and social harms.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB has been used as a club drug, apparently starting in the 1990s, as small doses of GHB can act as a euphoriant and are believed to be aphrodisiac. Slang terms for GHB include "liquid ecstasy", "lollipops", "liquid X" or "liquid E" due to its tendency to produce euphoria and sociability and its use in the dance party scene.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Some athletes have used GHB or its analogs because of being marketed as anabolic agents, although there is no evidence that it builds muscle or improves performance.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB became known to the general public as a date-rape drug by the late 1990s. GHB is colourless and odorless and has been described as "very easy to add to drinks". When consumed, the victim will quickly feel groggy and sleepy and may become unconscious. Upon recovery they may have an impaired ability to recall events that have occurred during the period of intoxication. In these situations evidence and the identification of the perpetrator of the rape is often difficult.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: It is also difficult to establish how often GHB is used to facilitate rape as it is difficult to detect in a urine sample after a day, and many victims may only recall the rape some time after its occurrence; however, a 2006 study suggested that there was "no evidence to suggest widespread date rape drug use" in the UK, and that less than 2% of cases involved GHB, while 17% involved cocaine, and a survey in the Netherlands published in 2010 found that the proportion of drug-related rape where GHB was used appeared to be greatly overestimated by the media.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: There have been several high-profile cases of GHB as a date rape drug that received national attention in the United States. In early 1999, a 15-year-old girl, Samantha Reid of Rockwood, Michigan, died from GHB poisoning. Reid's death inspired the legislation titled the "Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 2000". This is the law that made GHB a Schedule 1 controlled substance.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB can be detected in hair. Hair testing can be a useful tool in court cases or for the victim's own information. Most over-the-counter urine test kits test only for date-rape drugs that are benzodiazepines, and GHB is not a benzodiazepine. To detect GHB in urine, the sample must be taken within four hours of GHB ingestion, and cannot be tested at home.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In humans, GHB has been shown to reduce the elimination rate of alcohol. This may explain the respiratory arrest that has been reported after ingestion of both drugs. A review of the details of 194 deaths attributed to or related to GHB over a ten-year period found that most were from respiratory depression caused by interaction with alcohol or other drugs.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: One publication has investigated 226 deaths attributed to GHB. Of 226 deaths included, 213 had a cardiorespiratory arrest and 13 had fatal accidents. 71 deaths (34%) had no co-intoxicants. Postmortem blood GHB was 18–4400 mg/L (median=347) in deaths negative for co-intoxicants.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: One report has suggested that sodium oxybate overdose might be fatal, based on deaths of three patients who had been prescribed the drug. However, for two of the three cases, post-mortem GHB concentrations were 141 and 110 mg/L, which is within the expected range of concentrations for GHB after death, and the third case was a patient with a history of intentional drug overdose. The toxicity of GHB has been an issue in criminal trials, as in the death of Felicia Tang, where the defense argued that death was due to GHB, not murder.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB is produced in the body in very small amounts, and blood levels may climb after death to levels in the range of 30–50 mg/L. Levels higher than this are found in GHB deaths. Levels lower than this may be due to GHB or to postmortem endogenous elevations.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In multiple studies, GHB has been found to impair spatial memory, working memory, learning and memory in rats with chronic administration. These effects are associated with decreased NMDA receptor expression in the cerebral cortex and possibly other areas as well. In addition, the neurotoxicity appears to be caused by oxidative stress.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Addiction occurs when repeated drug use disrupts the normal balance of brain circuits that control rewards, memory and cognition, ultimately leading to compulsive drug taking.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB has also been associated with a withdrawal syndrome of insomnia, anxiety, and tremor that usually resolves within three to twenty-one days. The withdrawal syndrome can be severe producing acute delirium and may require hospitalization in an intensive care unit for management. Management of GHB dependence involves considering the person's age, comorbidity and the pharmacological pathways of GHB. The mainstay of treatment for severe withdrawal is supportive care and benzodiazepines for control of acute delirium, but larger doses are often required compared to acute delirium of other causes (e.g. > 100 mg/d of diazepam). Baclofen has been suggested as an alternative or adjunct to benzodiazepines based on anecdotal evidence and some animal data. However, there is less experience with the use of baclofen for GHB withdrawal, and additional research in humans is needed. Baclofen was first suggested as an adjunct because benzodiazepines do not affect GABA receptors and therefore have no cross-tolerance with GHB while baclofen, which works via GABA receptors, is cross-tolerant with GHB and may be more effective in alleviating withdrawal effects of GHB.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB withdrawal is not widely discussed in textbooks and some psychiatrists, general practitioners, and even hospital emergency physicians may not be familiar with this withdrawal syndrome.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Overdose of GHB can sometimes be difficult to treat because of its multiple effects on the body. GHB tends to cause rapid unconsciousness at doses above 3500 mg, with single doses over 7000 mg often causing life-threatening respiratory depression, and higher doses still inducing bradycardia and cardiac arrest. Other side-effects include convulsions (especially when combined with stimulants), and nausea/vomiting (especially when combined with alcohol).


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: The greatest life threat due to GHB overdose (with or without other substances) is respiratory arrest. Other relatively common causes of death due to GHB ingestion include aspiration of vomitus, positional asphyxia, and trauma sustained while intoxicated (e.g., motor vehicle accidents while driving under the influence of GHB). The risk of aspiration pneumonia and positional asphyxia risk can be reduced by laying the patient down in the recovery position. People are most likely to vomit as they become unconscious, and as they wake up. It is important to keep the victim awake and moving; the victim must not be left alone due to the risk of death through vomiting. Frequently the victim will be in a good mood but this does not mean the victim is not in danger. GHB overdose is a medical emergency and immediate assessment in an emergency department is needed.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Convulsions from GHB can be treated with the benzodiazepines diazepam or lorazepam. Even though these benzodiazepines are also CNS depressants, they primarily modulate GABA receptors whereas GHB is primarily a GABA receptor agonist, and so do not worsen CNS depression as much as might be expected.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Because of the faster and more complete absorption of GBL relative to GHB, its dose-response curve is steeper, and overdoses of GBL tend to be more dangerous and problematic than overdoses involving only GHB or 1,4-B. Any GHB/GBL overdose is a medical emergency and should be cared for by appropriately trained personnel.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: A newer synthetic drug SCH-50911, which acts as a selective GABA antagonist, quickly reverses GHB overdose in mice. However, this treatment has yet to be tried in humans, and it is unlikely that it will be researched for this purpose in humans due to the illegal nature of clinical trials of GHB and the lack of medical indemnity coverage inherent in using an untested treatment for a life-threatening overdose.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB may be quantitated in blood or plasma to confirm a diagnosis of poisoning in hospitalized patients, to provide evidence in an impaired driving, or to assist in a medicolegal death investigation. Blood or plasma GHB concentrations are usually in a range of 50–250 mg/L in persons receiving the drug therapeutically (during general anesthesia), 30–100 mg/L in those arrested for impaired driving, 50–500 mg/L in acutely intoxicated patients and 100–1000 mg/L in victims of fatal overdosage. Urine is often the preferred specimen for routine drug abuse monitoring purposes. Both γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol are converted to GHB in the body.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In January 2016, it was announced scientists had developed a way to detect GHB, among other things, in saliva.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Cells produce GHB by reduction of succinic semialdehyde via succinic semialdehyde reductase (SSR). This enzyme appears to be induced by cAMP levels, meaning substances that elevate cAMP, such as forskolin and vinpocetine, may increase GHB synthesis and release. Conversely, endogeneous GHB production in those taking valproic acid will be inhibited via inhibition of the conversion from succinic acid semialdehyde to GHB. People with the disorder known as succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, also known as γ-hydroxybutyric aciduria, have elevated levels of GHB in their urine, blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: The precise function of GHB in the body is not clear. It is known, however, that the brain expresses a large number of receptors that are activated by GHB. These receptors are excitatory, however, and therefore not responsible for the sedative effects of GHB; they have been shown to elevate the principal excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate. The benzamide antipsychotics—amisulpride, nemonapride, etc.—have been shown to bind to these GHB-activated receptors in vivo. Other antipsychotics were tested and were not found to have an affinity for this receptor.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In spite of its demonstrated neurotoxicity, (see relevant section, above), GHB has neuroprotective properties, and has been found to protect cells from hypoxia.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB is also produced as a result of fermentation and so is found in small quantities in some beers and wines, in particular fruit wines. The amount found in wine is pharmacologically insignificant and not sufficient to produce psychoactive effects.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB has at least two distinct binding sites in the central nervous system. GHB acts as an agonist at the inhibitory GHB receptor and as a weak agonist at the inhibitory GABA receptor. GHB is a naturally occurring substance that acts in a similar fashion to some neurotransmitters in the mammalian brain. GHB is probably synthesized from GABA in GABAergic neurons, and released when the neurons fire.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: GHB induces the accumulation of either a derivative of tryptophan or tryptophan itself in the extracellular space, possibly by increasing tryptophan transport across the blood–brain barrier. The blood content of certain neutral amino-acids, including tryptophan, is also increased by peripheral GHB administration. GHB-induced stimulation of tissue serotonin turnover may be due to an increase in tryptophan transport to the brain and in its uptake by serotonergic cells. As the serotonergic system may be involved in the regulation of sleep, mood, and anxiety, the stimulation of this system by high doses of GHB may be involved in certain neuropharmacological events induced by GHB administration.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: However, at therapeutic doses, GHB reaches much higher concentrations in the brain and activates GABA receptors, which are primarily responsible for its sedative effects. GHB's sedative effects are blocked by GABA antagonists.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: The role of the GHB receptor in the behavioural effects induced by GHB is more complex. GHB receptors are densely expressed in many areas of the brain, including the cortex and hippocampus, and these are the receptors that GHB displays the highest affinity for. There has been somewhat limited research into the GHB receptor; however, there is evidence that activation of the GHB receptor in some brain areas results in the release of glutamate, the principal excitatory neurotransmitter. Drugs that selectively activate the GHB receptor cause absence seizures in high doses, as do GHB and GABA agonists.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Activation of both the GHB receptor and GABA is responsible for the addictive profile of GHB. GHB's effect on dopamine release is biphasic. Low concentrations stimulate dopamine release via the GHB receptor. Higher concentrations inhibit dopamine release via GABA receptors as do other GABA agonists such as baclofen and phenibut. After an initial phase of inhibition, dopamine release is then increased via the GHB receptor. Both the inhibition and increase of dopamine release by GHB are inhibited by opioid antagonists such as naloxone and naltrexone. Dynorphin may play a role in the inhibition of dopamine release via kappa opioid receptors.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: This explains the paradoxical mix of sedative and stimulatory properties of GHB, as well as the so-called "rebound" effect, experienced by individuals using GHB as a sleeping agent, wherein they awake suddenly after several hours of GHB-induced deep sleep. That is to say that, over time, the concentration of GHB in the system decreases below the threshold for significant GABA receptor activation and activates predominantly the GHB receptor, leading to wakefulness.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Recently, analogs of GHB, such as 4-hydroxy-4-methylpentanoic acid (UMB68) have been synthesised and tested on animals, in order to gain a better understanding of GHB's mode of action. Analogues of GHB such as 3-methyl-GHB, 4-methyl-GHB, and 4-phenyl-GHB have been shown to produce similar effects to GHB in some animal studies, but these compounds are even less well researched than GHB itself. Of these analogues, only 4-methyl-GHB (γ-hydroxyvaleric acid, GHV) and a prodrug form γ-valerolactone (GVL) have been reported as drugs of abuse in humans, and on the available evidence seem to be less potent but more toxic than GHB, with a particular tendency to cause nausea and vomiting.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Other prodrug ester forms of GHB have also rarely been encountered by law enforcement, including 1,4-butanediol diacetate (BDDA/DABD), methyl-4-acetoxybutanoate (MAB), and ethyl-4-acetoxybutanoate (EAB), but these are, in general, covered by analogue laws in jurisdictions where GHB is illegal, and little is known about them beyond their delayed onset and longer duration of action. The intermediate compound γ-hydroxybutyraldehyde (GHBAL) is also a prodrug for GHB; however, as with all aliphatic aldehydes this compound is caustic and is strong-smelling and foul-tasting; actual use of this compound as an intoxicant is likely to be unpleasant and result in severe nausea and vomiting.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Both of the metabolic breakdown pathways shown for GHB can run in either direction, depending on the concentrations of the substances involved, so the body can make its own GHB either from GABA or from succinic semialdehyde. Under normal physiological conditions, the concentration of GHB in the body is rather low, and the pathways would run in the reverse direction to what is shown here to produce endogenous GHB. However, when GHB is consumed for recreational or health promotion purposes, its concentration in the body is much higher than normal, which changes the enzyme kinetics so that these pathways operate to metabolise GHB rather than producing it.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Alexander Zaytsev worked on this chemical family and published work on it in 1874. The first extended research into GHB and its use in humans was conducted in the early 1960s by Henri Laborit to use in studying the neurotransmitter GABA. It was studied in a range of uses including obstetric surgery and during childbirth and as an anxiolytic; there were anecdotal reports of it having antidepressant and aphrodisiac effects as well. It was also studied as an intravenous anesthetic agent and was marketed for that purpose starting in 1964 in Europe but it was not widely adopted as it caused seizures; as of 2006 that use was still authorized in France and Italy but not widely used. It was also studied to treat alcohol addiction; while the evidence for this use is weak, however sodium oxybate is marketed for this use in Italy.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In May 1990 GHB was introduced as a dietary supplement and was marketed to body builders, for help with weight control and as a sleep aid, and as a "replacement" for l-tryptophan, which was removed from the market in November 1989 when batches contaminated with trace impurities were found to cause eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, although eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome is also tied to tryptophan overload. In 2001 tryptophan supplement sales were allowed to resume, and in 2005 the FDA ban on tryptophan supplement importation was lifted. By November 1989 57 cases of illness caused by the GHB supplements had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with people having taken up to three teaspoons of GHB; there were no deaths but nine people needed care in an intensive care unit. The FDA issued a warning in November 1990 that sale of GHB was illegal. GHB continued to be manufactured and sold illegally and it and analogs were adopted as a club drug and came to be used as a date rape drug, and the DEA made seizures and the FDA reissued warnings several times throughout the 1990s.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: At the same time, research on the use of GHB in the form of sodium oxybate had formalized, as a company called Orphan Medical had filed an investigational new drug application and was running clinical trials with the intention of gaining regulatory approval for use to treat narcolepsy.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: A popular children's toy, Bindeez (also known as Aqua Dots, in the United States), produced by Melbourne company Moose, was banned in Australia in early November 2007 when it was discovered that 1,4-butanediol (1,4-B), which is metabolized into GHB, had been substituted for the non-toxic plasticiser 1,5-pentanediol in the bead manufacturing process. Three young children were hospitalized as a result of ingesting a large number of the beads, and the toy was recalled.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In the United States, GHB was placed on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in March 2000. However, used in sodium oxybate under an IND or NDA from the US FDA, it is considered a Schedule III substance but with Schedule I trafficking penalties, one of several drugs that are listed in multiple schedules.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: On 20 March 2001, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs placed GHB in Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In the UK GHB was made a class C drug in June 2003. In October 2013 the ACMD recommended upgrading it from schedule IV to schedule II in line with UN recommendations. Their report concluded that the minimal use of Xyrem in the UK meant that prescribers would be minimally inconvenienced by the rescheduling. This advice was followed and GHB was moved to schedule 2 on 7 January 2015.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In Hong Kong, GHB is regulated under Schedule 1 of Hong Kong's Chapter 134 "Dangerous Drugs Ordinance". It can only be used legally by health professionals and for university research purposes. The substance can be given by pharmacists under a prescription. Anyone who supplies the substance without prescription can be fined HK$10,000. The penalty for trafficking or manufacturing the substance is a HK$150,000 fine and life imprisonment. Possession of the substance for consumption without license from the Department of Health is illegal with a HK$100,000 fine or five years of jail time.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In Canada, GHB has been a Schedule I controlled substance since 6 November 2012 (the same schedule that contains heroin and cocaine). Prior to that date, it was a Schedule III controlled substance (the same schedule that contains amphetamines and LSD).


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In New Zealand and Australia, GHB, 1,4-B, and GBL are all Class B illegal drugs, along with any possible esters, ethers, and aldehydes. GABA itself is also listed as an illegal drug in these jurisdictions, which seems unusual given its failure to cross the blood–brain barrier, but there was a perception among legislators that all known analogues should be covered as far as this was possible. Attempts to circumvent the illegal status of GHB have led to the sale of derivatives such as 4-methyl-GHB (γ-hydroxyvaleric acid, GHV) and its prodrug form γ-valerolactone (GVL), but these are also covered under the law by virtue of their being "substantially similar" to GHB or GBL, so importation, sale, possession and use of these compounds is also considered to be illegal.


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: In Norway and in Switzerland, GHB is considered a narcotic and is only available by prescription under the trade name Xyrem (Union Chimique Belge S.A.).


title: Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

text: Sodium oxybate is also used therapeutically in Italy under the brand name Alcover for treatment of alcohol withdrawal and dependence.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Constantine Alexander Payne (; born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for the films "Citizen Ruth" (1996), "Election" (1999), "About Schmidt" (2002), "Sideways" (2004), "The Descendants" (2011), "Nebraska" (2013) and "Downsizing" (2017). He is noted for his dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne is a two-time winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a three-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director. In 2017, Metacritic ranked Payne 2nd on its list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Peggy and George Payne, restaurant owners. He is the youngest of three sons and grew up in the Dundee neighborhood.


title: Alexander Payne

text: He is of Greek ancestry. Payne's paternal grandfather, Nicholas "Nick" Payne, anglicized the last name from "Papadopoulos". His family comes from three areas in Greece: the island of Syros, Livadia, and Aegio.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne's family was part of the fabric of Omaha, which he refers to as part of his upbringing. His grandfather was a founder of The Virginia Cafe, with Payne's father taking over the restaurant. Payne went there regularly as a child. The restaurant was destroyed in a fire in 1969; the W. Dale Clark Library was later built on the site.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne's paternal grandmother, Clara Payne (née Hoffman), was from a German Nebraska family from Lincoln, Nebraska.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In Omaha, Payne attended Brownell-Talbot School, Dundee Elementary School, and Lewis and Clark Junior High. He graduated from Creighton Prep for high school in 1979. At Prep, Payne wrote a humor column for his high school newspaper and was the editor of the high school yearbook.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne then attended Stanford University, where he majored in Spanish and History. As a part of his Spanish degree, he studied at Spain's University of Salamanca. He later lived a few months in Medellin, Colombia, where he published an article about social changes between 1900 and 1930. Payne received his MFA in 1990 from the UCLA Film School.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In the 1960s, Payne's father received a Super 8mm projector from Kraft Foods as a loyalty reward, and eventually passed it on to his son when Alexander was about 14 years old.


title: Alexander Payne

text: A short time after getting his MFA from UCLA Film School—and after his successful thesis film, "The Passion of Martin" had attracted industry attention—Payne got a writing/directing deal with Universal Pictures. The ensuing screenplay, which was turned down, would ultimately become "About Schmidt". He says that he cleared about $60,000, which was enough to fund his simple lifestyle at the time for about five years.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne has said he sees his talent as being one of learned economy, referring to the essay written by Tennessee Williams on "The Catastrophe of Success."


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne worked in various capacities on films and television before he co-wrote and directed his first full-length film, "Citizen Ruth" (1996). The film is a satirical black comedy revolving around the issue of abortion rights. The film stars Laura Dern as a dim witted woman with substance abuse issues who happens to get pregnant. She unexpectedly becomes a pawn of figures from both sides of the abortion debate. The film co-stars Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, and Tippi Hedren. The film premiered at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival where it received favorable reviews.


title: Alexander Payne

text: His second film, "Election", starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, which takes aim at politics and education in America, attracted attention when "New Yorker" film critic David Denby named it the best film of 1999. Payne received his first Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay nomination for "Election". Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four, praising Witherspoon and Payne, and saying, "...here is a movie that is not simply about an obnoxious student, but also about an imperfect teacher, a lockstep administration, and a student body that is mostly just marking time until it can go out into the world and occupy valuable space". The film became a cult classic with "Election" is ranking #61 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies" and #9 on "Entertainment Weekly"'s list of the "50 Best High School Movies", while Witherspoon's performance was ranked at #45 on the list of the "100 Greatest Film Performances of All Time" by "Premiere". According to Payne, it is also President Barack Obama's favorite political film.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2002, Payne's film "About Schmidt", about a recently retired widower who embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, was released. The film starred Jack Nicholson as the title character, Warren Schmidt, and its script was based on the novel of the same name by Louis Begley. The film also co-starred Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb, and Kathy Bates. The film premiered at the 55th Cannes Film Festival to rave reviews, with critics highlighting Nicholson's performance. Payne received a Golden Globe for the screenplay, which was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. To the surprise of many who kept track of Hollywood news, Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor were not nominated for an Oscar for the "About Schmidt" screenplay.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2004, Payne followed "About Schmidt" with "Sideways", a film about two middle aged men who embark on a week-long road trip to Santa Barbara County wine country to celebrate Jack's upcoming wedding. The film stars Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church as the two friends with Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it received rave reviews. Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film four stars, saying: "what happens during the seven days adds up to the best human comedy of the year – comedy, because it is funny, and human, because it is surprisingly moving." Payne won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe in 2005 for Best Adapted Screenplay, while the film also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. In total, "Sideways" received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne returned to directing in 2011 after a seven-year hiatus with the film "The Descendants", a film about a man dealing with the aftermath of a boating accident involving his wife, leaving her in a coma. The film starred George Clooney, Shaliene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Forster. The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival where it received near universal praise ending up on many critics top 10 list of the year. Payne also co-wrote the screenplay along with Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash who all won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne's "Nebraska" starred veteran character actor Bruce Dern and "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Will Forte. It was released on November 15, 2013.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne has said that during his seven-year hiatus between "Sideways" (2004) and "The Descendants" (2011), he, along with working partner Jim Taylor, were developing the satire "Downsizing", which Payne has described as "a large canvas, science-fiction social satire" and "an epic masterpiece." The film, about an impoverished married couple who decide the way ahead lies in shrinking themselves, was to star Paul Giamatti and Reese Witherspoon, but was superseded by "The Descendants" and "Nebraska." In March 2016, Witherspoon was replaced by Kristen Wiig and Giamatti by Matt Damon. Hong Chau, Christoph Waltz, Udo Kier, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jason Sudeikis also starred. Paramount Pictures released the film on December 22, 2017. It has received mixed reviews, with many critics describing it as the weakest film of Payne's career.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In June 2021, it was announced that Payne will direct Paul Giamatti in the David Hemingson-scripted film "The Holdovers" for Miramax.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne executive produced the short film "Run Fast". Anna Musso, his long-time assistant and protege, wrote and directed the film, which shot in March 2014. The project was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2000, Payne completed an uncredited polish-up of the screenplay for the comedy film "Meet the Parents". In 2001, Payne wrote a draft of "Jurassic Park III".


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne served as an executive producer on the films "King of California" and "The Savages". He also collaborated once again with writing partner Jim Taylor to write a draft of the screenplay for the film "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", a comedy directed by Dennis Dugan, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Payne disliked the final product, stating that Adam Sandler rewrote so much of the story that almost all of what Payne and Taylor wrote was gone.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne was also executive producer of the acclaimed 2014 film "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter" directed by David Zellner.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 1999, it was reported that Payne was in talks to direct "Esquivel", a biopic starring John Leguizamo as Mexican musician Juan García Esquivel. In 2000, it was reported that Payne was to co-write and direct an untitled film inspired by Oscar Wilde’s "The Picture of Dorian Gray"


title: Alexander Payne

text: In November 2010, it was reported that Payne would possibly direct the film adaptation of Daniel Clowes's graphic novel "Wilson". Then in November 2011, Payne confirmed that he was to direct "Wilson" next after "Nebraska" (2013). However, Payne officially confirmed in a 2014 interview with "Parade" that he was no longer attached to the "Wilson" project.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2012, it was reported that Payne and Jim Taylor wrote a script titled "The Lost Cause." That project is said to be an expansion of Taylor’s 2004 short film of the same name.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In November 2013, Payne was in talks to direct a film titled "The Judge's Will" for Fox Searchlight Pictures. The project was to have been based on a "New Yorker" article written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala about an elderly judge from Delhi who wants to make sure his much younger wife will be taken care of after his death. In May 2018, it was reported that James Ivory would write the screenplay of the project for Payne. In June 2018, it was reported that Payne will possibly shoot "The Judge's Will" in Chicago.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In February 2016, it was announced that Payne was to direct a film titled "My Saga", which is based on a pair of articles written by Karl Ove Knausgård and published by "The New York Times Magazine". The articles cover Knausgård tracing the Vikings' voyages in North America. The film was to have been distributed by Netflix and star Mads Mikkelsen. In October 2019, the production was cancelled a week before filming was to begin due to Knausgard objecting to his life story being turned into a feature film.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In March 2018, Payne was in talks to direct a legal drama film for Amazon Studios titled "The Burial". The project was to have been based on the true story of Mississippi-based lawyer Willie Gary, who takes on the case of Jeremiah O'Keefe, an owner of a chain of funeral homes who claimed he was swindled by a major funeral parlor conglomerate.


title: Alexander Payne

text: It was reported in February 2019 that Payne was attached to direct a comedy horror film titled "The Menu" for Gary Sanchez Productions. The plot concerns a young couple that attends an exclusive restaurant in a tropical island only to experience some "shocking surprises." By April 2019, Emma Stone and Ralph Fiennes were set to star in the film. By May 2020, Mark Mylod replaced Payne on "The Menu".


title: Alexander Payne

text: In December 2019, it was announced that Payne was attached to direct an American remake of the 1987 Oscar-winning Danish film "Babette's Feast". Payne's version is said to be set in Minnesota.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Also in December 2019, it was announced that Payne was going to direct the HBO miniseries "Landscapers". However, in October 2020, it was announced that Payne dropped out of the project due to a schedule conflict and was replaced by Will Sharpe.


title: Alexander Payne

text: It was also announced in the 2010s that Payne was going to direct a film titled "La Vida Norteña". The project was to have been about a Latin music promoter who befriends a Nebraskan mayor.


title: Alexander Payne

text: It has also been reported that Payne was to direct a film titled "Fork in the Road". That project was to have been an adaptation of a novel by Denis Hamill.


title: Alexander Payne

text: He has set many of his films in Omaha, his hometown. His films sometimes include scenes of historical landmarks, black and white photographs, and museums, and he often uses amateur actors for minor roles.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2005, he became a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Directors Branch).


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne married Canadian actress Sandra Oh on January 1, 2003, after dating her for three years, and collaborating with her in "Sideways". On March 12, 2005, a publicist announced their separation. The divorce was officially finalized on December 22, 2006, although the former couple took more than two years to settle their finances. In 2015, Payne married Maria Kontos, a Greek philologist he met while visiting the Aigio region of Greece where some of his ancestors originated. Kontos is 27 years his junior. He became a father for the first time at the age of 56 in 2017. In 2022 he received Greek citizenship.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne is on the Board of Directors of an Omaha non-profit film theater, Film Streams. He maintains a passion for preservation. In recent years, he helped preserve a historic film theater in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne was co-owner (along with friend Ann Beeder) of King Fong (now permanently closed), a Chinese restaurant in Omaha.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Payne is a long-time supporter of the Nebraska Coast Connection, a social networking organization that meets monthly in Culver City, California. In November 2013, he held a special screening of "Nebraska" for the group's members at the Sherry Lansing Theatre on the Paramount Studios lot.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In a 2018 interview with Ronan Farrow, actress Rose McGowan accused a "prominent” man in Hollywood of statutory rape but she did not name the person in question. In August 2020, McGowan said it was Payne and that he committed the act sometime in 1988 or 1989, when McGowan was 15 years old and Payne was about 28 years old. Payne responded to McGowan's allegation by writing a guest column in "Deadline Hollywood" in which he admitted to a consensual relationship with her, but denied any impropriety, alleging that they had met in 1991 when she was over the age of consent, which is 18 in California. Payne ended his statement writing, "While I cannot allow false statements about events 29 years ago to go uncorrected, I will continue to wish only the best for Rose".


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2012, he was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. His 2013 film "Nebraska" was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. With his Academy Award nomination for "Nebraska" in 2014, Payne has been nominated seven times, winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay twice.


title: Alexander Payne

text: In 2014, The Location Managers Guild of America honored Alexander with their inaugural Eva Monley Award for his masterful use of location as another character.


title: Alexander Payne

text: Levinson, Julie, ed. Alexander Payne Interviews. University Press of Mississippi, 2014. http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1941


title: Alexander Payne

text: Levinson, Julie, ed. "Alexander Payne Interviews". University Press of Mississippi, 2014. http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1714


title: French cuisine

text: French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the regions and colonies of France.


title: French cuisine

text: In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote "Le Viandier", one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In the 17th century, chefs François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême spearheaded movements that shifted French cooking away from its foreign influences and developed France's own indigenous style.


title: French cuisine

text: Cheese and wine are a major part of the cuisine. They play different roles regionally and nationally, with many variations and "appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws.


title: French cuisine

text: Culinary tourism and the "Guide Michelin" helped to acquaint commoners with the "cuisine bourgeoise" of the urban elites and the peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations across the country.


title: French cuisine

text: Knowledge of French cooking has contributed significantly to Western cuisines. Its criteria are used widely in Western cookery school boards and culinary education. In November 2010, French gastronomy was added by the UNESCO to its lists of the world's "intangible cultural heritage".


title: French cuisine

text: In French medieval cuisine, banquets were common among the aristocracy. Multiple courses would be prepared, but served in a style called "service en confusion", or all at once. Food was generally eaten by hand, meats being sliced off in large pieces held between the thumb and two fingers. The sauces were highly seasoned and thick, and heavily flavored mustards were used.


title: French cuisine

text: Pies were a common banquet item, with the crust serving primarily as a container, rather than as food itself, and it was not until the very end of the Late Middle Ages that the shortcrust pie was developed.


title: French cuisine

text: Meals often ended with an "issue de table", which later changed into the modern dessert, and typically consisted of "dragées" (in the Middle Ages, meaning spiced lumps of hardened sugar or honey), aged cheese and spiced wine, such as hypocras.


title: French cuisine

text: The ingredients of the time varied greatly according to the seasons and the church calendar, and many items were preserved with salt, spices, honey, and other preservatives. Late spring, summer, and autumn afforded abundance, while winter meals were more sparse. Livestock were slaughtered at the beginning of winter. Beef was often salted, while pork was salted and smoked. Bacon and sausages would be smoked in the chimney, while the tongue and hams were brined and dried. Cucumbers were brined as well, while greens would be packed in jars with salt. Fruits, nuts and root vegetables would be boiled in honey for preservation. Whale, dolphin and porpoise were considered fish, so during Lent, the salted meats of these sea mammals were eaten.


title: French cuisine

text: Artificial freshwater ponds (often called "stews") held carp, pike, tench, bream, eel, and other fish. Poultry was kept in special yards, with pigeon and squab being reserved for the elite. Game was highly prized, but very rare, and included venison, boar, hare, rabbit, and fowl.


title: French cuisine

text: Kitchen gardens provided herbs, including some, such as tansy, rue, pennyroyal, and hyssop, which are rarely used today. Spices were treasured and very expensive at that time—they included pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and mace. Some spices used then, but no longer today in French cuisine are cubebs, long pepper (both from vines similar to black pepper), grains of paradise, and galengale.


title: French cuisine

text: Sweet-sour flavors were commonly added to dishes with vinegars and "verjus" combined with sugar (for the affluent) or honey. A common form of food preparation was to thoroughly cook, pound, and strain mixtures into fine pastes and mushes, something believed to be beneficial to make use of nutrients.


title: French cuisine

text: Visual display was prized. Brilliant colors were obtained by the addition of, for example, juices from spinach and the green part of leeks. Yellow came from saffron or egg yolk, while red came from sunflower, and purple came from "Crozophora tinctoria" or "Heliotropium europaeum".


title: French cuisine

text: Gold and silver leaf were placed on food surfaces and brushed with egg whites. Elaborate and showy dishes were the result, such as "tourte parmerienne" which was a pastry dish made to look like a castle with chicken-drumstick turrets coated with gold leaf. One of the grandest showpieces of the time was roast swan or peacock sewn back into its skin with feathers intact, the feet and beak being gilded. Since both birds are stringy, and taste unpleasant, the skin and feathers could be kept and filled with the cooked, minced and seasoned flesh of tastier birds, like goose or chicken.


title: French cuisine

text: The most well known French chef of the Middle Ages was Guillaume Tirel, also known as Taillevent. Taillevent worked in numerous royal kitchens during the 14th century. His first position was as a kitchen boy in 1326. He was chef to Philip VI, then the Dauphin who was son of John II. The Dauphin became King Charles V of France in 1364, with Taillevent as his chief cook. His career spanned sixty-six years, and upon his death he was buried in grand style between his two wives. His tombstone represents him in armor, holding a shield with three cooking pots, "marmites", on it.


title: French cuisine

text: Paris was the central hub of culture and economic activity, and as such, the most highly skilled culinary craftsmen were to be found there. Markets in Paris such as "Les Halles", "la Mégisserie", those found along "Rue Mouffetard", and similar smaller versions in other cities were very important to the distribution of food. Those that gave French produce its characteristic identity were regulated by the guild system, which developed in the Middle Ages. In Paris, the guilds were regulated by city government as well as by the French crown. A guild restricted those in a given branch of the culinary industry to operate only within that field.


title: French cuisine

text: There were two groups of guilds—first, those that supplied the raw materials: butchers, fishmongers, grain merchants, and gardeners. The second group were those that supplied prepared foods: bakers, pastry cooks, sauce makers, poulterers, and caterers. There were also guilds that offered both raw materials and prepared food, such as the "charcutiers" and "rôtisseurs" (purveyors of roasted meat dishes). They would supply cooked meat pies and dishes as well as raw meat and poultry. This caused issues with butchers and poulterers, who sold the same raw materials.


title: French cuisine

text: The guilds served as a training ground for those within the industry. The degrees of assistant cook, full-fledged cook and master chef were conferred. Those who reached the level of master chef were of considerable rank in their individual industry, and enjoyed a high level of income as well as economic and job security. At times, those in the royal kitchens did fall under the guild hierarchy, but it was necessary to find them a parallel appointment based on their skills after leaving the service of the royal kitchens. This was not uncommon as the Paris cooks' guild regulations allowed for this movement.


title: French cuisine

text: During the 16th and 17th centuries, French cuisine assimilated many new food items from the New World. Although they were slow to be adopted, records of banquets show Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589?) serving sixty-six turkeys at one dinner. The dish called cassoulet has its roots in the New World discovery of haricot beans, which are central to the dish's creation, but had not existed outside of the Americas until the arrival of Europeans.


title: French cuisine

text: "Haute cuisine" (, "high cuisine") has foundations during the 17th century with a chef named La Varenne. As author of works such as "Le Cuisinier françois", he is credited with publishing the first true French cookbook. His book includes the earliest known reference to roux using pork fat. The book contained two sections, one for meat days, and one for fasting. His recipes marked a change from the style of cookery known in the Middle Ages, to new techniques aimed at creating somewhat lighter dishes, and more modest presentations of pies as individual pastries and turnovers. La Varenne also published a book on pastry in 1667 entitled "Le Parfait confitvrier" (republished as "Le Confiturier françois") which similarly updated and codified the emerging "haute cuisine" standards for desserts and pastries.


title: French cuisine

text: Chef François Massialot wrote "Le Cuisinier roïal et bourgeois" in 1691, during the reign of Louis XIV. The book contains menus served to the royal courts in 1690. Massialot worked mostly as a freelance cook, and was not employed by any particular household. Massialot and many other royal cooks received special privileges by association with the French royalty. They were not subject to the regulation of the guilds; therefore, they could cater weddings and banquets without restriction. His book is the first to list recipes alphabetically, perhaps a forerunner of the first culinary dictionary. It is in this book that a marinade is first seen in print, with one type for poultry and feathered game, while a second is for fish and shellfish. No quantities are listed in the recipes, which suggests that Massialot was writing for trained cooks.


title: French cuisine

text: The successive updates of "Le Cuisinier roïal et bourgeois" include important refinements such as adding a glass of wine to fish stock. Definitions were also added to the 1703 edition. The 1712 edition, retitled "Le Nouveau cuisinier royal et bourgeois", was increased to two volumes, and was written in a more elaborate style with extensive explanations of technique. Additional smaller preparations are included in this edition as well, leading to lighter preparations, and adding a third course to the meal. Ragout, a stew still central to French cookery, makes its first appearance as a single dish in this edition as well; prior to that, it was listed as a garnish.


title: French cuisine

text: Shortly before the French Revolution, dishes like "" gained prominence. Essentially royal cuisine produced by the royal household, this is a chicken-based recipe served on "vol-au-vent" created under the influence of Queen Marie Leszczyńska, the Polish-born wife of Louis XV. This recipe is still popular today, as are other recipes from Queen Marie Leszczyńska like "consommé à la Reine" and "filet d'aloyau braisé à la royale". Queen Marie is also credited with introducing Polonaise garnishing to the French diet.


title: French cuisine

text: The French Revolution was integral to the expansion of French cuisine, because it abolished the guild system. This meant anyone could now produce and sell any culinary item they wished.


title: French cuisine

text: Bread was a significant food source among peasants and the working class in the late 18th century, with many of the nation's "people" being dependent on it. In French provinces, bread was often consumed three times a day by the "people" of France. According to Brace, bread was referred to as the basic dietary item for the masses, and it was also used as a foundation for soup. In fact, bread was so important that harvest, interruption of commerce by wars, heavy flour exploration, and prices and supply were all watched and controlled by the French Government. Among the underprivileged, constant fear of famine was always prevalent. From 1725 to 1789, there were fourteen years of bad yields to blame for low grain supply. In Bordeaux, during 1708–1789, thirty-three bad harvests occurred.


title: French cuisine

text: Marie-Antoine Carême was born in 1784, five years before the Revolution. He spent his younger years working at a "pâtisserie" until he was discovered by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord; he would later cook for Napoleon Bonaparte. Prior to his employment with Talleyrand, Carême had become known for his "pièces montées", which were extravagant constructions of pastry and sugar architecture.


title: French cuisine

text: More important to Carême's career was his contribution to the refinement of French cuisine. The basis for his style of cooking was his sauces, which he named mother sauces. Often referred to as fonds, meaning "foundations", these base sauces, "espagnole", "velouté", and "béchamel", are still known today. Each of these sauces was made in large quantities in his kitchen, then formed the basis of multiple derivatives. Carême had over one hundred sauces in his repertoire.


title: French cuisine

text: In his writings, soufflés appear for the first time. Although many of his preparations today seem extravagant, he simplified and codified an even more complex cuisine that existed beforehand. Central to his codification of the cuisine were "Le Maître d'hôtel français" (1822), "Le Cuisinier parisien" (1828) and "L'Art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle" (1833–5).


title: French cuisine

text: Georges Auguste Escoffier is commonly acknowledged as the central figure to the modernization of "haute cuisine" and organizing what would become the national cuisine of France. His influence began with the rise of some of the great hotels in Europe and America during the 1880s-1890s. The Savoy Hotel managed by César Ritz was an early hotel in which Escoffier worked, but much of his influence came during his management of the kitchens in the Carlton from 1898 until 1921. He created a system of "parties" called the brigade system, which separated the professional kitchen into five separate stations.


title: French cuisine

text: These five stations included the "garde manger" that prepared cold dishes; the "entremettier" prepared starches and vegetables, the "rôtisseur" prepared roasts, grilled and fried dishes; the "saucier" prepared sauces and soups; and the "pâtissier" prepared all pastry and desserts items.


title: French cuisine

text: This system meant that instead of one person preparing a dish on one's own, now multiple cooks would prepare the different components for the dish. An example used is "oeufs au plat Meyerbeer", the prior system would take up to fifteen minutes to prepare the dish, while in the new system, the eggs would be prepared by the "entremettier", kidney grilled by the "rôtisseur", truffle sauce made by the "saucier" and thus the dish could be prepared in a shorter time and served quickly in the popular restaurants.


title: French cuisine

text: Escoffier also simplified and organized the modern menu and structure of the meal. He published a series of articles in professional journals which outlined the sequence, and he finally published his "Livre des menus" in 1912. This type of service embraced the "service à la russe" (serving meals in separate courses on individual plates), which Félix Urbain Dubois had made popular in the 1860s. Escoffier's largest contribution was the publication of "Le Guide Culinaire" in 1903, which established the fundamentals of French cookery. The book was a collaboration with Philéas Gilbert, E. Fetu, A. Suzanne, B. Reboul, Ch. Dietrich, A. Caillat and others. The significance of this is to illustrate the universal acceptance by multiple high-profile chefs to this new style of cooking.


title: French cuisine

text: "Le Guide Culinaire" deemphasized the use of heavy sauces and leaned toward lighter "fumets", which are the essence of flavor taken from fish, meat and vegetables. This style of cooking looked to create garnishes and sauces whose function is to add to the flavor of the dish, rather than mask flavors like the heavy sauces and ornate garnishes of the past. Escoffier took inspiration for his work from personal recipes in addition to recipes from Carême, Dubois and ideas from Taillevent's "Le Viandier", which had a modern version published in 1897. A second source for recipes came from existing peasant dishes that were translated into the refined techniques of "haute cuisine".


title: French cuisine

text: Expensive ingredients would replace the common ingredients, making the dishes much less humble. The third source of recipes was Escoffier himself, who invented many new dishes, such as "pêche Melba". Escoffier updated "Le Guide Culinaire" four times during his lifetime, noting in the foreword to the book's first edition that even with its 5,000 recipes, the book should not be considered an "exhaustive" text, and that even if it were at the point when he wrote the book, "it would no longer be so tomorrow, because progress marches on each day."


title: French cuisine

text: This period is also marked by the appearance of the "nouvelle cuisine". The term "nouvelle cuisine" has been used many times in the history of French cuisine which emphasized the freshness, lightness and clarity of flavor and inspired by new movements in world cuisine. In the 1740s, Menon first used the term, but the cooking of Vincent La Chapelle and François Marin was also considered modern. In the 1960s, Henri Gault and Christian Millau revived it to describe the cooking of Paul Bocuse, Jean and Pierre Troisgros, Michel Guérard, Roger Vergé and Raymond Oliver. These chefs were working toward rebelling against the "orthodoxy" of Escoffier's cuisine. Some of the chefs were students of Fernand Point at the "Pyramide" in Vienne, and had left to open their own restaurants. Gault and Millau "discovered the formula" contained in ten characteristics of this new style of cooking.


title: French cuisine

text: 2. The cooking times for most fish, seafood, game birds, veal, green vegetables and pâtés was greatly reduced in an attempt to preserve the natural flavors. Steaming was an important trend from this characteristic.


title: French cuisine

text: 6. They stopped using heavy sauces such as "espagnole" and "béchamel" thickened with flour based ""roux"" in favor of seasoning their dishes with fresh herbs, quality butter, lemon juice, and vinegar.


title: French cuisine

text: 8. New techniques were embraced and modern equipment was often used; Bocuse even used microwave ovens.


title: French cuisine

text: Some have speculated that a contributor to "nouvelle cuisine" was World War II when animal protein was in short supply during the German occupation. By the mid-1980s food writers stated that the style of cuisine had reached exhaustion and many chefs began returning to the "haute cuisine" style of cooking, although much of the lighter presentations and new techniques remained.


title: French cuisine

text: When the French colonized Vietnam, one of the most famous and popular dishes, Pot-au-feu was subsequently introduced to the local people. While it didn't directly create the widely recognizable Vietnamese dish, Pho, it served as a reference for the modern-day form of Pho.


title: French cuisine

text: A meal often consists of three courses, "hors d'œuvre" or "entrée" (introductory course, sometimes soup), "plat principal" (main course), "fromage" (cheese course) or "dessert", sometimes with a salad offered before the cheese or dessert.


title: French cuisine

text: French regional cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity and style. Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine.


title: French cuisine

text: Paris and Île-de-France are central regions where almost anything from the country is available, as all train lines meet in the city. Over 9,000 restaurants exist in Paris and almost any cuisine can be obtained here. High-quality Michelin Guide-rated restaurants proliferate here.


title: French cuisine

text: Game and ham are popular in Champagne, as well as the special sparkling wine simply known as "Champagne". Fine fruit preserves are known from Lorraine as well as the quiche Lorraine. As region of historically Allemanic German culture Alsace has retained Elements of German cuisine, especially similar to those from the neighboring Palatinate and Baden region, but has implemented French influences since France first took control of the region in the 17th century. As such, beers made in the area are similar to the style of bordering Germany. Dishes like "choucroute" (French for "sauerkraut") are also popular. Many ""Eaux de vie"" (distilled alcohol from fruit) also called schnaps are from this region, due to a wide variety of local fruits (cherry, raspberry, pear, grapes) and especially prunes (mirabelle, plum).[9]:259,295


title: French cuisine

text: The coastline supplies many crustaceans, sea bass, monkfish and herring. Normandy has top-quality seafood, such as scallops and sole, while Brittany has a supply of lobster, crayfish and mussels.


title: French cuisine

text: Normandy is home to a large population of apple trees; apples are often used in dishes, as well as cider and Calvados. The northern areas of this region, especially Nord, grow ample amounts of wheat, sugar beets and chicory. Thick stews are found often in these northern areas as well.


title: French cuisine

text: The produce of these northern regions is also considered some of the best in the country, including cauliflower and artichokes. Buckwheat grows widely in Brittany as well and is used in the region's "galettes", called "jalet", which is where this dish originated.


title: French cuisine

text: High-quality fruits come from the Loire Valley and central France, including cherries grown for the liqueur "Guignolet" and "Belle Angevine" pears. The strawberries and melons are also of high quality.


title: French cuisine

text: Fish are seen in the cuisine, often served with a "beurre blanc" sauce, as well as wild game, lamb, calves, Charolais cattle, "Géline" fowl, and goat cheeses.


title: French cuisine

text: Young vegetables are used often, as are the specialty mushrooms of the region, "champignons de Paris". Vinegars from Orléans are a specialty ingredient used as well.


title: French cuisine

text: Burgundy and Franche-Comté are known for their wines. Pike, perch, river crabs, snails, game, redcurrants, blackcurrants are from both Burgundy and Franche-Comté.


title: French cuisine

text: Amongst savorous specialties accounted in the "Cuisine franc-comtoise" from the Franche-Comté region are ', ', trout, smoked meats and cheeses such as Mont d'Or, Comté and Morbier which are best eaten hot or cold, the exquisite ' and the special dessert '.


title: French cuisine

text: Charolais beef, poultry from Bresse, sea snail, honey cake, Chaource and Epoisses cheese are specialties of the local cuisine of Burgundy. Dijon mustard is also a specialty of Burgundy cuisine. "Crème de cassis" is a popular liquor made from the blackcurrants. Oils are used in the cooking here, types include nut oils and rapeseed oil.


title: French cuisine

text: The area covers the old province of Dauphiné, once known as the "larder" of France, that gave its name to "gratin dauphinois", traditionally made in a large baking dish rubbed with garlic. Successive layers of potatoes, salt, pepper and milk are piled up to the top of the dish. It is then baked in the oven at low temperature for 2 hours.


title: French cuisine

text: Fruit and young vegetables are popular in the cuisine from the Rhône valley, as are wines like Hermitage AOC, Crozes-Hermitage AOC and Condrieu AOC. Walnuts and walnut products and oil from Noix de Grenoble AOC, lowland cheeses, like St. Marcellin, St. Félicien and Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage.


title: French cuisine

text: Poultry from Bresse, guinea fowl from Drôme and fish from the Dombes, a light yeast-based cake, called Pogne de Romans and the regional speciality, "Raviole du Dauphiné", and there is the short-crust "Suisse", a Valence biscuit speciality.


title: French cuisine

text: Lakes and mountain streams in Rhône-Alpes are key to the cuisine as well. Lyon and Savoy supply sausages while the Alpine regions supply their specialty cheeses like Beaufort, Abondance, Reblochon, Tomme and Vacherin.


title: French cuisine

text: "Mères lyonnaises" are female cooks particular to this region who provide local gourmet establishments. Celebrated chefs from this region include Fernand Point, Paul Bocuse, the Troisgros brothers and Alain Chapel.


title: French cuisine

text: The Chartreuse Mountains are the source of the green and yellow Digestif liquor, Chartreuse produced by the monks of the Grande Chartreuse.


title: French cuisine

text: Since the 2014 administrative reform, the ancient area of Auvergne is now part of the region. One of its leading chefs is Regis Marcon.


title: French cuisine

text: High-quality produce comes from the region's hinterland, especially goat cheese. This region and in the Vendée is grazing ground for "Parthenaise" cattle, while poultry is raised in Challans.


title: French cuisine

text: The region of Poitou-Charentes purportedly produces the best butter and cream in France. Cognac is also made in the region along the river Charente.


title: French cuisine

text: Limousin is home to the Limousin cattle, as well as sheep. The woodlands offer game and mushrooms. The southern area around Brive draws its cooking influence from Périgord and Auvergne to produce a robust cuisine.


title: French cuisine

text: Bordeaux is known for its wine, with certain areas offering specialty grapes for wine-making. Fishing is popular in the region for the cuisine, sea fishing in the Bay of Biscay, trapping in the Garonne and stream fishing in the Pyrenees.


title: French cuisine

text: The Pyrenees also has lamb, such as the "", as well as sheep cheeses. Beef cattle in the region include the "Blonde d'Aquitaine", "", "", and "".


title: French cuisine

text: Free-range chicken, turkey, pigeon, capon, goose and duck prevail in the region as well. Gascony and Périgord cuisines includes "pâtés", "terrines", "confits" and "". This is one of the regions notable for its production of "foie gras", or fattened goose or duck liver.


title: French cuisine

text: The cuisine of the region is often heavy and farm based. Armagnac is also from this region, as are prunes from Agen.


title: French cuisine

text: Gers, a department of France, is within this region and has poultry, while La Montagne Noire and Lacaune area offer hams and dry sausages.


title: French cuisine

text: White corn is planted heavily in the area both for use in fattening ducks and geese for foie gras and for the production of "", a cornmeal porridge. Haricot beans are also grown in this area, which are central to the dish "cassoulet".


title: French cuisine

text: The finest sausage in France is "saucisse de Toulouse", which also part of "cassoulet" of Toulouse. The Cahors area produces a specialty "black wine" as well as truffles and mushrooms.


title: French cuisine

text: This region also produces milk-fed lamb. Unpasteurized ewe's milk is used to produce Roquefort in Aveyron, while in Laguiole is producing unpasteurized cow's milk cheese. Salers cattle produce milk for cheese, as well as beef and veal products.


title: French cuisine

text: The volcanic soils create flinty cheeses and superb lentils. Mineral waters are produced in high volume in this region as well. Cabécou cheese is from Rocamadour, a medieval settlement erected directly on a cliff, in the rich countryside of .


title: French cuisine

text: This area is one of the region's oldest milk producers; it has chalky soil, marked by history and human activity, and is favourable for the raising of goats.


title: French cuisine

text: Restaurants are popular in the area known as "Le Midi". Oysters come from the Étang de Thau, to be served in the restaurants of Bouzigues, Mèze, and Sète. Mussels are commonly seen here in addition to fish specialties of Sète, "", "" and "rouille de seiche".


title: French cuisine

text: In the Languedoc "jambon cru", sometimes known as "jambon de montagne" is produced. High quality "Roquefort" comes from the "brebis" (sheep) on the Larzac plateau.


title: French cuisine

text: The Les Cévennes area offers mushrooms, chestnuts, berries, honey, lamb, game, sausages, "pâtés" and goat cheeses. Catalan influence can be seen in the cuisine here with dishes like "brandade" made from a purée of dried cod wrapped in mangold leaves. Snails are plentiful and are prepared in a specific "Catalan" style known as a "cargolade". Wild boar can be found in the more mountainous regions of the "Midi".


title: French cuisine

text: The Provence and Côte d'Azur region is rich in quality citrus, vegetables, fruits and herbs; the region is one of the largest suppliers of all these ingredients in France. The region also produces the largest amount of olives, and creates superb olive oil. Lavender is used in many dishes found in "Haute Provence". Other important herbs in the cuisine include thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, savory, fennel, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, and bay leaf. Honey is a prized ingredient in the region.


title: French cuisine

text: Seafood is widely available throughout the coastal area and is heavily represented in the cuisine. Goat cheeses, air-dried sausages, lamb, beef, and chicken are popular here. Garlic and anchovies are used in many of the region's sauces, as in "Poulet Provençal", which uses white wine, tomatoes, herbs, and sometimes anchovies, and Pastis is found everywhere that alcohol is served.


title: French cuisine

text: The cuisine uses a large amount of vegetables for lighter preparations. Truffles are commonly seen in Provence during the winter. Thirteen desserts in Provence are the traditional Christmas dessert, e.g. quince cheese, biscuits, almonds, nougat, apple, and "fougasse".


title: French cuisine

text: Rice is grown in the Camargue, which is the northernmost rice growing area in Europe, with Camargue red rice being a specialty. Anibal Camous, a Marseillais who lived to be 104, maintained that it was by eating garlic daily that he kept his "youth" and brilliance. When his eighty-year-old son died, the father mourned: "I always told him he wouldn't live long, poor boy. He ate too little garlic!"


title: French cuisine

text: Goats and sheep proliferate on the island of Corsica, and lamb are used to prepare dishes such as "", "ragouts" and roasts. Cheeses are also produced, with "brocciu" being the most popular.


title: French cuisine

text: Chestnuts, growing in the Castagniccia forest, are used to produce flour, which is used in turn to make bread, cakes and "polenta". The forest provides acorns used to feed the pigs and boars that provide much of the protein for the island's cuisine. Fresh fish and seafood are common.


title: French cuisine

text: The island's pork is used to make fine hams, sausage and other unique items including "coppa" (dried rib cut), "" (dried pork fillet), "" (smoked and dried liverwurst), "salumu" (a dried sausage), "salcietta", "Panzetta", bacon, and "" (farmer's ham).


title: French cuisine

text: Clementines (which hold an AOC designation), lemons, nectarines and figs are grown there. Candied citron is used in nougats, while and the aforementioned "brocciu" and chestnuts are also used in desserts.


title: French cuisine

text: Corsica offers a variety of wines and fruit liqueurs, including Cap Corse, Patrimonio, Cédratine, Bonapartine, "", "vins de fruit", , and "eau-de-vie de châtaigne".


title: French cuisine

text: French Guianan cuisine or Guianan cuisine is a blend of the different cultures that have settled in French Guiana. Creole and Chinese restaurants are common in major cities such as Cayenne, Kourou and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. Many indigenous animal species such as caiman and tapir are used in spiced stews.


title: French cuisine

text: French cuisine varies according to the season. In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular because they are refreshing and produce is inexpensive and abundant. Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruits and vegetables at lower prices if needed, rather than see them rot in the heat. At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful and appear in stews throughout France. The hunting season begins in September and runs through February. Game of all kinds is eaten, often in elaborate dishes that celebrate the success of the hunt. Shellfish are at their peak when winter turns to spring, and oysters appear in restaurants in large quantities.


title: French cuisine

text: With the advent of deep-freeze and the air-conditioned "hypermarché", these seasonal variations are less marked than hitherto, but they are still observed, in some cases due to legal restrictions. Crayfish, for example, have a short season and it is illegal to catch them out of season. Moreover, they do not freeze well.


title: French cuisine

text: French regional cuisines use locally grown vegetables, such as "pomme de terre" (potato), "blé" (wheat), "haricots verts" (a type of French green bean), "carotte" (carrot), "poireau" (leek), "navet" (turnip), "aubergine" (eggplant), "courgette" (zucchini), and "échalotte" (shallot).


title: French cuisine

text: French regional cuisines use locally grown fungi, such as "truffe" (truffle), "champignon de Paris" (button mushroom), "chanterelle ou girolle" (chanterelle), "pleurote (en huître)" (oyster mushrooms), and "cèpes" (porcini).


title: French cuisine

text: Common fruits include oranges, tomatoes, tangerines, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, plums, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackberries, grapes, grapefruit, and blackcurrants.


title: French cuisine

text: Varieties of meat consumed include "poulet" (chicken), "pigeon" (squab), "canard" (duck), "oie" (goose, the source of foie gras), "bœuf" (beef), "veau" (veal), "porc" (pork), "agneau" (lamb), "mouton" (mutton), "caille" (quail), "cheval" (horse), "grenouille" (frog), and "escargot" (snails). Commonly consumed fish and seafood include cod, canned sardines, fresh sardines, canned tuna, fresh tuna, salmon, trout, mussels, herring, oysters, shrimp and calamari.


title: French cuisine

text: Eggs often eaten as: omelettes, hard-boiled with mayonnaise, scrambled plain, scrambled "haute cuisine" preparation, "".


title: French cuisine

text: Herbs and seasonings vary by region, and include "fleur de sel", "herbes de Provence", tarragon, rosemary, marjoram, lavender, thyme, fennel, and sage.


title: French cuisine

text: Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat, can be purchased either from supermarkets or specialty shops. Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; some towns have a more permanent covered market enclosing food shops, especially meat and fish retailers. These have better shelter than the periodic street markets.


title: French cuisine

text: "Le petit déjeuner" (breakfast) is traditionally a quick meal consisting of "tartines" (slices) of French bread with butter and honey or jam (sometimes brioche), along with "café au lait" (also called "café crème"), or black coffee, or tea and rarely hot chicory. Children often drink hot chocolate in bowls or cups along with their breakfasts. "Croissants", "pain aux raisins" or "pain au chocolat" (also named "chocolatine" in the south-west of France) are mostly included as a weekend treat. Breakfast of some kind is always served in cafés opening early in the day.


title: French cuisine

text: There are also savoury dishes for breakfast. An example is "le petit déjeuner gaulois" or "petit déjeuner fermier" with the famous long narrow bread slices topped with soft white cheese or boiled ham, called "mouillettes", which is dipped in a soft-boiled egg and some fruit juice and hot drink.


title: French cuisine

text: Another variation called "le petit déjeuner chasseur", meant to be very hearty, is served with "pâté" and other "charcuterie" products. A more classy version is called "le petit déjeuner du voyageur", where delicatessens serve gizzard, bacon, salmon, omelet, or "croque monsieur", with or without soft-boiled egg and always with the traditional coffee/tea/chocolate along fruits or fruit juice. When the egg is cooked sunny-side over the "croque-monsieur", it is called a "croque-madame".


title: French cuisine

text: In "Germinal" and other novels, Émile Zola also reported the "briquet": two long bread slices stuffed with butter, cheese and or ham. It can be eaten as a standing/walking breakfast, or meant as a "second" one before lunch.


title: French cuisine

text: In the movie "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis", Philippe Abrams (Kad Merad) and Antoine Bailleul (Dany Boon) share together countless breakfasts consisting of "tartines de Maroilles" (a rather strong cheese) along with their hot chicory.


title: French cuisine

text: "Le déjeuner" (lunch) is a two-hour mid-day meal or a one-hour lunch break . In some smaller towns and in the south of France, the two-hour lunch may still be customary . Sunday lunches are often longer and are taken with the family. Restaurants normally open for lunch at noon and close at 2:30 pm. Some restaurants are closed on Monday during lunch hours.


title: French cuisine

text: In large cities, a majority of working people and students eat their lunch at a corporate or school cafeteria, which normally serves complete meals as described above; it is not usual for students to bring their own lunch to eat. For companies that do not operate a cafeteria, it is mandatory for employees to be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee benefits. These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets and "traiteurs"; however, workers having lunch in this way typically do not eat all three courses of a traditional lunch due to price and time constraints. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their workplaces to return home for lunch. Also, an alternative, especially among blue-collar workers, is eating sandwiches followed by a dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets at budget prices.


title: French cuisine

text: "Le dîner" (dinner) often consists of three courses, "hors d'œuvre" or "entrée" (appetizers or introductory course, sometimes soup), "plat principal" (main course), and a cheese course or dessert, sometimes with a salad offered before the cheese or dessert. Yogurt may replace the cheese course, while a simple dessert would be fresh fruit. The meal is often accompanied by bread, wine and mineral water. Most of the time the bread would be a baguette which is very common in France and is made almost every day. Main meat courses are often served with vegetables, along with potatoes, rice or pasta. Restaurants often open at 7:30 pm for dinner, and stop taking orders between the hours of 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm. Some restaurants close for dinner on Sundays.


title: French cuisine

text: In French cuisine, beverages that precede a meal are called "apéritifs" (literally: "that opens the appetite"), and can be served with "amuse-bouches" (literally: "mouth amuser"). Those that end it are called "digestifs".


title: French cuisine

text: The "apéritif" varies from region to region: Pastis is popular in the south of France, Crémant d'Alsace in the eastern region. Champagne can also be served. Kir, also called "Blanc-cassis", is a common and popular "apéritif"-cocktail made with a measure of "crème de cassis" (blackcurrant liqueur) topped up with white wine. The phrase "Kir Royal" is used when white wine is replaced with a "Champagne" wine. A simple glass of red wine, such as Beaujolais nouveau, can also be presented as an "apéritif", accompanied by "amuse-bouches". Some "apéritifs" can be fortified wines with added herbs, such as cinchona, gentian and vermouth. Trade names that sell well include Suze (the classic gentiane), Byrrh, Dubonnet, and Noilly Prat.


title: French cuisine

text: "Digestifs" are traditionally stronger, and include Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, "Eau de vie" and fruit alcohols.


title: French cuisine

text: A typical French Christmas dish is turkey with chestnuts. Other common dishes are smoked salmon, oysters, caviar and "foie gras". The Yule log ("bûche de Noël") is a very French tradition during Christmas. Chocolate and cakes also occupy a prominent place for Christmas in France. This cuisine is normally accompanied by Champagne. Tradition says that thirteen desserts complete the Christmas meal in reference to the twelve apostles and Christ.