If French is the language of love then Gallic cuisine can be taken as proof that the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. Legend has it that French cuisine seduced the world when the chefs of the aristocracy found their contracts terminated along with their guillotined employers following the French Revolution and touted their services around the capitals of Europe.
True or not, it was a Frenchman who kickstarted the London restaurant revolution when Auguste Escoffier arrived here at the end of the 19th century. Escoffier developed the kitchen brigade system, codified the five great French sauces (béchamel, velouté, espagnole, hollandaise and tomato) and invented such fabled dishes as peach Melba during his time at The Savoy.
