Bon appetit!

French cuisine developed throughout the centuries influenced by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to its own food traditions on the long western coastlines of the Atlantic, the Channel and of course, inland. French cuisine was made important in the 20th century by Auguste Escoffier to become the modern haute cuisine; Escoffier, however, left out much of the local culinary character to be found in the regions of France and was considered difficult to execute by home cooks.