The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern

By Luke Barr

From the New York Times bestselling author of Provence, 1970, a lively, dramatic account of the spectacular rise of French "nouvelle cuisine," and the renegade chefs of the 1960s and 1970s who revolutionized modern cooking.

In The Secret History of French Cooking, Luke Barr takes readers inside the culinary rebellion that upended the staid French food world and reinvented the role and cultural importance of chefs and restaurants. The very idea of the chef as creator--as innovator, artist, auteur--can be traced back to the legendary Paul Bocuse, Michel Guérard, and the Troisgros brothers, among other colorful characters. The book also tells the largely unknown story of a group of women chefs who fought for recognition in the all-male culinary establishment of the 1970s, and the villainous, powerful food critic who cast a shadow over the era.

A tale of rivalries; global success; and a ferocious backlash, of celebrity, money, politics, and incredibly delicious food, The Secret History of French Cooking is also the story of the birth of modern food and restaurant culture, the way we eat today.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1524744735
• ISBN13: 9781524744731
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Dutton
• Length: 352 Pages