French food finds its cool again

The martinis are cold the oysters endless and every table sounds like a dinner party Lately going out for martinis fries and oysters has become the night-time version of matcha and froyo a ritual a little luxury But when did our savory treats become so French From West Village bistros to London brasseries French cuisine once dismissed as too heavy or too fussy is suddenly what s on everyone s lips After years of small plates and coastal Mediterranean we re saying oui to butter b arnaise and bistro lifestyle French is back and this time it s cool Related To Gen Z Obama-era nostalgia tastes like froyo According to Yelp content searches for Parisian restaurants are up in the past three months compared to last with steak frites up and even French grocery stores up French butter that darling of TikTok bakers is having its own viral moment up in searches French food really is the cuisine of the moment says London chef and French Classics author Matthew Ryle The last couple years all the restaurants opening seem to be French It s a shift that s been building for months In New York classic spots like Le Veau d Or once the kind of hushed dining room your grandparents dressed up for are being revived by Gen-Z tastemakers like A in the form of Cherry Lane Theater s new restaurant Wild Cherry Libertine Le Coucou and Ch teau Royale pack in diners who want the mood of Paris with the volume of a party People want to brush up against one another a bit more now noted Caf Kestral owner Dennis Spina to Eater I want it to feel festive Craving comfort So why the sudden appetite for French The answer might be less about extravagance than ease Studies show that in times of stress our bodies crave comfort calorie-dense nostalgic meals that promise both physical and psychological relief It s a very nostalgic food a lot of people have nice memories tied to French food says Ryle It s reliable and wholesome If you go to a French restaurant you know you re going to leave full and have a good feeling French cuisine absolutely fits the bill for comfort After a long day I find myself wishing I could curl up with French onion soup or tuck into a perfectly pink steak frites Now after years of economic anxiety and bad news cycles that comfort has become cool A sort of status symbol among diners who want to prove they can not only pronounce bouillabaisse but also know what s in it French food offers an indulgence that s classic rather than chaotic a small buttery rebellion against burnout heritage It s what chosen might call the edible version of quiet luxury rich yes but never flashy People aren t necessarily going out to eat as much Ryle adds but if they do they want to make sure they re going somewhere they know they re in for a good meal Want more great food writing and recipes Sign up for Salon s free food newsletter The Bite Bringing back bistro lifestyle Bistro society is also having a social resurgence Long chatty meals over wine and p t fit perfectly into a post-pandemic craving for connection especially among Gen-Z The new French spots aren t stuffy temples of gastronomy where you re scared to tap the fork too hard on your plate they re loud martini-soaked rooms full of French s and friends arguing over the last fry It s casual says food writer and journalist Michael Ruhlman but again to my mind there s no better cuisine than French cuisine It tastes good it s so satisfying to eat It s the best kind of food to share and have a glass of wine amongst your friends and family He calls it a small renaissance one that s about more than technique or trend It s an appreciation of classic dishes that have been around for centuries he says They re tradition Across cities like New York and London that tradition has evolved into a modern kind of rustic luxe homey duck confit and steak au poivre served under soft lighting and mismatched furniture The end feels less like fine dining and more like eating at a very chic friend s apartment one who happens to know how to make a perfect b arnaise We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in the current era to aid Salon s progressive journalism It s just a chicken stew French cooking hasn t dependably been this approachable A large number of have tried largest part notably Julia Child in the s and s to convince home-chefs that as Chef Gusteau says anyone can cook but Ryle thinks his method of meeting young people where they re at chronically online is how Gen-Z can adopt French cuisine in their own kitchens I think wrongly so it has a stereotype for being hard to do Ryle says Chefs have purposefully made it feel unachievable When you strip it back it s all from peasant cookery people were cooking it on farms around fires Since its opening in Ryle s restaurant Maison Fran ois has been lauded as one of the best French brasseries outside of France both for its food and design This year Maison Fran ois made the list of top restaurants in the UK for the National Restaurant Awards and it was awarded the platinum star and Epicurean Excellence award from the International Culinary Union Following the success of the restaurant he started posting more recipes and kitchen tips online His Instagram has over two million followers and his TikTok has more than His new book French Classics and TikTok tutorials aim to re-educate people on the roots of those dishes If I tell my mom to make coq au vin she ll say Oh no I can t do that he laughs But it s just chicken stew It s really just making people aware of the roots French cooking in other words has in the end shaken off its starched-white-tablecloth reputation You can learn to confit duck legs in your Air Fryer or make a hollandaise before work Ruhlman notes that the key is just to start simple make a hollandaise or confit duck legs and work your way up Even Julia Child s shadow looms differently now The OG home chef made French cuisine feel doable for Americans Ryle s generation is taking it one step further making it feel lighthearted and casual People just need to cook more French food at home he says Everyone knows these flavors and these dishes but it s just got a fancy French name so trying to compare it to something that everyone is already aware of is how we make it accessible But tonight Pass the butter Ruhlman has seen this all before It was the cuisine of America in the s he says and it was considered very high-end and chic Then it became too stuffy and sort of fell out of favor By the s bad cooks ruined French cuisine he says until it started coming back in the s Chefs like Thomas Keller Charlie Trotter Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Eric Ripert to name a sparse are responsible for reviving the prestige and reputation of French flavors and technique in America in the s Now with a new generation of chefs reclaiming its simplicity and social media rewarding elegant minimalism the pendulum has swung back again It s fitting that French food s comeback isn t about trend chasing but timelessness As Ruhlman puts it Food is in constant evolution and right now the pendulum is swinging towards mirepoix hollandaise and cassoulet For now it s all about steak frites and martinis In a moment where everything feels uncertain French food offers something grounded food that knows exactly what it is As Ryle puts it In French food the future is the past The ferris wheel will turn again of class But tonight Pass the butter Read more about this topic From TikTok to Make it Fancy Brandon Skier s mission to demystify fine dining for home cooks Wasteful beyond control A Michelin-starred chef on fine dining s sustainability dilemma What Americans get wrong about French cooking The post French food finds its cool again appeared first on Salon com