The legacy of Henri Gault and Christian Millau lies not in rigid rules, but in changing the way of thinking. They showed that respecting tradition does not mean rejecting change, and that gastronomy becomes truly influential when it can renew itself without abandoning its fundamental values.
Their fundamental principles, published in 1973, forever transformed French cuisine. Because these 10 commandments were not merely reform proposals, but a manifesto, the beginning of a revolution that would go on to influence gastronomy worldwide.
The Cradle of Gastro-Revolution
In the early '70s, French cuisine seemed to have stepped out of a time machine: everything proceeded exactly as it had in the era of Auguste Escoffier (also known as: the King of Chefs), except the cooks' white hats grew ever taller and the sauces ever heavier. Fine dining was almost a theatrical performance, where the guest was merely a spectator and the chef a kind of high priest working from the sacred book of ancient recipes. It was into this world that nouvelle cuisine emerged, as if a fresh breeze had swept through the kitchens.
Henri Gault (on the right in the cover photo) and Christian Millau (on the left) – two journalists who began their gastronomic writing careers at Paris-Presse – founded their own restaurant guide, Gault&Millau, in 1965, and then published the ten commandments of nouvelle cuisine, or the new culinary art, in 1973.
The principles were simple, yet revolutionary:
1. Do not overcook
2. You will use only high quality, fresh products
3. You will simplify your menu
4. You will not be resolutely modernist
5. You will strive to learn from new techniques
6. You will avoid marinating, aging, fermenting etc
7. You will eliminate rich sauces.
8. You won’t ignore nutrition
9. You won’t fake your presentations
10. You will be inventive
A New Perspective
The 10 commandments of nouvelle cuisine were not simply a culinary technical reform, but an entire worldview. Gault and Millau provided concrete guidelines for their new direction – such as "don't overcook the food" or "use fresh ingredients" – but they saw a bit further when they elevated the chefs' mindset to the level of fundamental principles, for example, that the chef should not be a slave to past traditions nor blindly follow modern trends. The emphasis on natural flavors, lightness, and seasonal ingredients all conveyed the message that cooking is not a word-for-word copying of traditions, but a creative, living process.
Nouvelle cuisine therefore brought change not only to the plate, but also to the kitchen and to minds. The chefs – until then almost invisible background figures – suddenly found themselves in the spotlight, their names became known, their personalities, ideas, and experimental spirit became the new standard.
The chef stepped up from executioner status and became a creator who decides for himself what and how to prepare.
Paul Bocuse, Michel Guérard and the Others
The spirit of nouvelle cuisine was already lurking in the kitchens of a few young chefs in the early seventies. Paul Bocuse, Michel Guérard, Alain Chapel, Jean and Pierre Troisgros – all were advocates of lightness, freshness, and naturalness. Even before Gault&Millau's 10 commandments, they were already experimenting with simplifying classical recipes, restraining sauces, leaving vegetables crisp, and not overcooking meats. Gault and Millau were more like the spokesmen of a new culinary movement than its founders: they voiced what many were already thinking – and gave it a name, a set of principles, and the spotlight.
Gault and Millau were pioneers in this regard: they gave nouvelle cuisine its name, framework, and philosophy. In their articles, restaurant guide, and the 10 commandments, they articulated what makes something new, fresh, and contemporary. This is how nouvelle cuisine became a movement that both chefs and diners rallied behind.
Movement and Evolution
Over the decades, gastronomy did not stop at nouvelle cuisine. In the '90s, molecular gastronomy emerged, with Hervé This and his Hungarian-born research partner Miklós Kürti, along with Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adrià launching another revolution. In the 2000s, due to globalization, French cuisine also became international, while sustainability and local sourcing came to the forefront. Today we speak of bistronomy, when haute cuisine techniques are applied in everyday settings. Chefs share their innovations through social media, and during the pandemic, even home delivery entered the world of fine dining.
Interestingly, the sixth commandment of nouvelle cuisine – "avoid fermented foods" – has become completely obsolete today. René Redzepi's Noma restaurant became legendary precisely through the art of fermentation, and today we find fermented elements in every major kitchen. This is not a failure of nouvelle cuisine, but natural evolution: as food sciences developed, culinary arts also recognized that fermentation not only enriches flavor profiles but also brings health benefits.
Neither Henri Gault nor Christian Millau suspected that their formulated nouvelle cuisine ten commandments would reshape generations' understanding of cooking.
Today's chefs no longer view the 10 commandments as dogma, but as inspiration. The emphasis on freshness, natural flavors, and creativity remain fundamental values, but the palette of techniques has expanded significantly.