Regions with livestock have foods that contain many meets and exquisite cheeses while other areas prepare dishes composed greatly of fresh vegetables. Smoked fish is also at the heart of many French dishes. When visiting a city such as Paris one will find great variety along with an explicit choice of fine breads and pastries. .
The beginnings of French cuisine can be traced back to the Italians. As the 15th century was approaching, the highest of Renaissance culture flourished at Florence. Prosperity had reached France and lent itself to the becoming of dining as entertainment, in which common foods were decorated and flavored not for the purpose of hiding food which was turning bad as it was before, but for emphasizing those flavors allowed by improved storage techniques and new discoveries in food preparation. See French cuisine had at one time been not too well and consisted of over-spiced foods. .
Mushrooms, truffles, garlic, and infrequently used vegetables appeared with the newfound abilities to grow food - some of them were even carved artistically - while pasta creations became filled and layered (lasagna, ravioli, manicotti, etc), all of it accompanied, especially among the wealthy, with an expensive show of table finery: Venetian glassware, porcelain, and precious metals. An incredible assortment of pastries and sweet things would then follow these feasts. .
Catherine de Medici, daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, arrived in France in the 1540's and is often regarded as the mother of French cooking. She eventually became the mother of 3 kings and she required cooks skilled in the ways of Florence. She brought with her also the expectation that ladies would be in regular attendance at large feasts, and would dress .
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in fashionable attire when doing so. Dinner, in France, was to become Theater, drama, a big event!.
In 1954 Catherine de Medici encouraged further development of French cuisine.
