The omission of the author’s name when books were published by women, and the use of a masculine voice, even when books were directed at a female audience.

What questions remain for you; with which points do you disagree?
I disagree with the extensive use of police reports in this paper to prove that the culinary scene in France was dominated by men. 

How does the content relate to your own knowledge and experience?
I think that the association of male cooks and chefs with elite and luxurious cooking is still something that rings true even today. While there are definitely more female cooks and chefs than ever before, it is often the case whereby men are more associated with chef positions, whereas women are more associated with cook positions and this relationship between femininity and simplicity and masculinity and elite precision continues. 

What thoughts, ideas, examples does the reading trigger for you?
The importance of potatoes during the revolutionary era, symbolizing a new economic order and the consequent naming of a potato and leek soup after Antoine Parmentier, a pharmacist and social reformer who encouraged the use of potatoes in France during times of shortage. The incorporation of his name into a potato based dish reflects many other French dishes which often incorporate historical, geographical or other cultural connotations. 

·         Despite it being an industry where still dominated by men, the importance of women in the culinary world was beginning to be recognised in literature. There was an association between women and economical cooking.

·         Women were important in the creation of the republican cuisine. 

·         Exclusive guilds were disbanded; women began to have roles in the kitchens and dining rooms of Paris. ‘Public cooks’. 

 

·         The content displays quite typical views generally associated with this era of time, and I wonder when it was that women like Brazier became accepted in French society as belonging in the upper echelons of gastronomy. How great were the change in attitudes between the end of the French Revolution and her meteoric rise?  

·         Roland Barthes on food- “It is not only a collection of products that can be used for statistical or nutritional studies…it is also… a system of communication, a body of images, a protocol of usage, situations and behaviour.

·         As a generalisation, national dishes begin at the apex of social hierarchy and work downwards. 

·         Food allows for distinguish between societies and groups of people, eg Spaniards could differentiate themselves from natives due to their consumption of wheat. 

·         Immigration can cause changes in the demands of a countries foodstuffs, as in the case of Costa Rica, although rice had been cultivated since the 16th century. The influx of Chinese, Italian and Afro-Caribbean’s in the 19th century, helped to turn it into a daily staple.  

·         Gallo Pinto can be used as an example of a dish that can differentiate classes in society. With variation coming from the non-basic ingredients used in the cooking process. 

Main key points:

- National cuisine or national diet as a product of social, cultural, economic, and historic situation of the respective region (similar discourse in regards to French food culture). The consumption of rice and bean as Costa Rican’s national diet is strongly influenced by the economic accessibility as well as the shortages of other crops during the early 19th century. 

- Rice was initially harvested as a supplementary agriculture program but soon became the impetus for Costa Rican’s change of dietary patterns, creating a new and hybrid universe of food habits that all mestizo decendents of Europeans, Native Americans and Africans seemed to enjoy. By the end of the first decade of the 20th century, rice was the leading import in the country. 

o Gallo Pinto was initially created and consumed by Afro-Caribbean migrants at the bottom of the social hierarchy but became high-in-demand due to the appropriation of the new dish by the middle classes. 

·         Begin with a woman stripping off into a bikini, before moving on to some more scenic and historical monuments of Spain.

·         Cutting edge medical technology and beautifying treatment.  

·         More scenic imagery (mostly water/pool related).

·         Luxury spa treatments and massages. 

·         Bath therapy. 

• Paris is entering another culinary golden age, only this time with influences as diverse as its people 

• Gollner’s life in 1990s Paris where Paris was struggling to integrate its booming immigrant population 

• Now, integration is everywhere, at least on the plate 

o Many French chefs are incorporating foreign ingredients into their cuisines which produce more creativity and confidence for innovation

o The parisian food now is starting to reflect its true spirit: unabashedly pluraliste 

• Purveyors of La Gastronomie Française was anti-foreign, but  now prides itself in embracing different cultures to innovate 

o Inaki Aizpitarte of Le Chateaubriand—characterizes his cooking style as “cuisine métissée” (mixed up and miscegenated) 

• Integration can be seen in many contemporary French tastemakers and French restaurants. Now days, French tastemakers have incorporated many of its own original heritage and culture into a traditional French cuisine. 

o “Paris begins to decolonize its attitude (culinary & otherwise)” 

o There is a sense of pride in the way different cultures are finding a legitimate place in mainstream food