Madame de La Fayette at the table

At the table of the nobility under Louis XIV, the meal is not ordered as starter-main course-dessert but in several "services" laid out all together on the tablecloth, symmetrically. It begins with soups, followed by entrées (fricassées, stews), then the roast (roasted meats), finally the entremets and dessert (jams, fruits, creams). Guests help themselves to the dishes within reach: profusion and arrangement matter as much as taste. This is the era when La Varenne founded modern "cuisine françoise" in the salons frequented by Madame de La Fayette.

The great turning point of the 17th century: the medieval flood of Oriental spices is abandoned for fresh butter, light liaisons, and fine herbs from the garden (parsley, spring onion, thyme, bay leaf in a bouquet). Verjus—green grape juice—provides the lively acidity that awakens sauces. It is this restrained elegance, neither too spicy nor rustic, that defines the table where she entertained.