Provence's sunny vegetable stew, where aubergine, courgette, peppers and tomatoes simmer slowly in olive oil until they melt together.
France's most famous savoury tart: crisp buttery pastry filled with smoky cured meat and a silky egg-and-cream custard.
Thin, lacy-edged, buttery French crêpes that work just as well with sugar and lemon as with cheese and egg.
The Burgundian classic of chicken slowly braised in red wine with mushrooms, pearl onions and smoked meat, with an alcohol-free grape juice option.
The Parisian classic of slowly caramelized onions simmered in beef stock and topped with toasted bread and bubbling melted cheese.
The legendary Parisian café sandwich: bread filled with smoked turkey and Gruyère, topped with béchamel and cheese and baked until golden.
The silky French vanilla custard under a crackly caramelized sugar crust, made at home without a blowtorch using your oven's grill.
Thinly sliced potatoes slowly baked in garlicky milk and cream until meltingly tender under a golden crust, in the classic cheese-free French style.
France's most famous beef stew, slowly braised with mushrooms, pearl onions and carrots, given here in an alcohol-free version.
Nice's colourful, filling Mediterranean salad of tuna, boiled eggs, tomatoes, olives and fresh vegetables dressed with olive oil.
The famous French upside-down tart: apples cooked in caramel in a pan, covered with pastry, baked and flipped to reveal a glossy caramel top.
Small, buttery, lemon-scented French cakes baked in shell-shaped moulds, with their signature hump on the back.
The classic French soufflé: a cheesy béchamel lightened with whipped egg whites that puffs up in the oven, golden outside and soft within.
French cooking has a written history reaching back to the Middle Ages; the best-known cookbook of that era is "Le Viandier", attributed to the royal cook known as Taillevent. Food was then heavily spiced and rich. In the 17th century, François Pierre de La Varenne's "Le Cuisinier françois" came to symbolise a new approach that moved away from heavy spicing and let ingredients taste of themselves.
In the 19th century, Marie-Antoine Carême systematised sauces and spectacular pastry work. In the early 20th century, Auguste Escoffier simplified recipes in "Le Guide culinaire" and popularised the kitchen brigade system still used in professional kitchens today. In the 1970s, nouvelle cuisine turned a new page with lighter sauces, shorter cooking times and elegant plating. The gastronomic meal of the French was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2010.
France's real wealth lies in its regions. Normandy is known for cream, butter and apples; Burgundy for dishes braised in wine; Provence for olive oil, garlic and herbs. Alsace shows the influence of neighbouring Germany, the southwest is famous for duck and cassoulet, and Brittany for its crêpes and buckwheat galettes.
Butter, cream, wine, fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, tarragon), shallots and good cheese are the cornerstones. French cooking is also a school of technique: knife cuts, thickening with a roux, deglazing a pan to build a sauce, and emulsified sauces such as mayonnaise and hollandaise form the basis of culinary training worldwide.
Start with a French omelette: it teaches you to control heat and pan. Then try a vinaigrette, ratatouille and crêpes