Subscribe to our newsletter. Get your site now Origins of Haute Cuisine Elizabeth Heer Think of fine food, and undoubtedly the French come to mind.
Haute cuisine enjoys the reputation of being considered the finest cuisine in the world.
The influence of Italian-born Catherine de Medici brought about the development of the culinary arts in France. Arriving in 1533, she had her staff introduce delicacies previously unknown to the French. Over the next couple of centuries, the royal families employed chefs who developed and prepared the finest cuisine, and dining became an art form. Through the efforts of the great French chefs, haute cuisine first came to the attention of the rest of the world at the time of the French Revolution. Before 1789, chefs were employed by the richest families to prepare food similar to what was being served at court.