Where does modern kitchen culture come from? How can the cooking of the Troisgros family in Roanne, France, be a distant cousin of the cooking at Momofuku? This course will focus on a number of important French chefs, beginning with Fernand Point at La Pyramide, and will explain his vast and continuing influence over today's restaurant scene, even in New York (and beyond). We will focus on pivotal moments in French cuisine, and touch briefly on other issues such as gender in historical kitchens. Assumes little to no experience with culinary history.