Lyonnaise cuisine facts for kids
Lyonnaise cuisine is a special way of cooking that comes from the city of Lyon in France. It's known for being simple, high-quality, and super delicious! Lyon is often called the "world capital of gastronomy" (which means the art of good eating) because of its amazing food traditions.
In the 16th century, a queen named Catherine of Medici brought cooks from Italy to France. These cooks mixed their skills with the fresh ingredients found in different parts of France. This helped create unique regional dishes, and Lyon became a hub where many different cooking styles met. Imagine fresh vegetables from nearby farms, game (like wild birds) from the Dombes area, fish from lakes in Savoy, and fruits from Drôme and Ardèche. Plus, there were great wines from Beaujolais and the Rhône Valley!
Later, in the 19th century, many women from the middle class, known as the "Lyonnaise mothers," started their own cooking businesses. They created new dishes based on their family recipes, making Lyon's food even more famous. Today, Lyon has over a thousand restaurants, showing just how much people there love good food!
Contents
How Lyon's Food History Began
Ancient Times: Roman Flavors
The story of Lyon's food goes way back to ancient times when the city was called Lugdunum. It was an important place for trading wine. People brought in oil and salty sauces from places like Africa and Spain. Even before the Romans arrived, wine was traded here.
When Roman settlers came, they brought new Mediterranean tastes and food habits. Wines from Italy were popular, then Greek wines from islands like Rhodes and Chios (which was very expensive!). Later, wines from other parts of Roman Gaul (ancient France) also arrived.
A famous cook named Septimanus lived in Lugdunum around the 3rd and 4th centuries. He had an inn and was known for cooking pork and game birds perfectly.
Renaissance: Food for Everyone
During the Renaissance, there were two main types of cooking: "bourgeois" (for richer people) and "common" (for everyone else). The common cooking often used cheaper cuts of meat, like offal (parts of animals like tripe). The writer François Rabelais even wrote about this in his book Gargantua, where a character is born after eating lots of "skewered tripe."
Rabelais's books, which were first published in Lyon, often mentioned Lyonnaise food. They listed many dishes like sausages, ham, wild boar, stuffed lamb, and various cakes and jellies.
Even famous thinkers like Erasmus hired chefs from Lyon. He said, "It is better at home than when we are at a hotel in Lyon… the Lyonnaise mother comes first to greet you, begging you to be happy and to accept food.” Lyon even had streets named after food, like "Cheese Shop Street" and "Poulterer Street," showing how important food was!
From the 18th Century to Today
In the 18th century, ice cream came to Lyon thanks to an Italian named Spreafico. Lyon's modern food fame really grew when a poem by Joseph de Berchoux praised the local cooking. His poem, Gastronomie ou l'homme des champs à table, helped spread the idea of "eating well" and introduced the word "gastronomy" into French culture.
This idea of "eating well" became a big part of French middle-class society in the 19th century. A book called La cuisinière bourgeoise (The Bourgeois Cook) published in 1783, created many famous Lyonnaise recipes.
The first modern restaurants appeared in Lyon around this time. Also, the "Lyonnaise mothers" started their businesses. These women were expert meat cutters and cooks. Mother Brigousse, who opened her shop in 1759, became famous for preparing pike fish.
In 1837, the writer Stendhal visited Lyon and wrote about its food. He said, "One eats admirably well there, and in my opinion, better than in Paris. Vegetables especially are divinely prepared." He even noted 22 different ways to prepare potatoes in Lyon!
The "Lyonnaise mothers" became so famous that in 1934, a well-known food critic named Curnonsky declared Lyon the "capital of gastronomy." He believed Lyon's food showed the city's values, like honesty and balance. Even famous chef Paul Bocuse said he loved the "honest and healthy Lyonnaise dish."
The idea that good food was for everyone in Lyon, not just the rich, became popular. Even the puppet Guignol, a famous weaver, often dreamed of a good meal!
Local Ingredients and Flavors
Lyon's location means it gets influences from both the North (like Alsace) and the South (like Provence). This mix brings in different cooking styles: butter and cream from the North, and fresh vegetables and olive oil from the South. In the 15th century, Lyon was also a major center for spices brought from the East by Italian traders.
Many farms and regions around Lyon supply fresh products to the city:
- North of Lyon: Charolais provides beef, and the Saône River offers whitebait (small fish). The Beaujolais region is famous for its wines. As one writer said, Lyon is served by "a third river, the Beaujolais, which never dries up and is never muddy," meaning it always has wine!
- North-East of Lyon: Bresse is known for its high-quality Bresse chicken, which has a special protected name. Bresse also provides corn for soups. The nearby Bugey region offers wine and crayfish from Nantua Lake, which are used to make Nantua sauce for dishes like quenelles. The Dombes area, with its many ponds, supplies frogs and various fish like carp and pike.
- South of Lyon: The Rhône Valley grows fruits, vegetables, and wines. The Ardèche region is known for chestnuts, used in traditional Christmas turkey dishes. The Dauphiné region provides pork products and cheeses like Saint-Felicien and Saint-Marcellin. Also, 48 towns produce rigotte de Condrieu, a soft goat cheese.
- West of Lyon: The Monts du Lyonnais (Lyonnais mountains) are a source of delicious cured meats, like rosette de Lyon (a pink cured sausage) and jésus de Lyon (a large sausage shaped like a baby). These farms also produce other pork products, terrines, pâtés, and small cheeses made from cow or goat milk. Many market gardeners from this region sell their fresh produce at Lyon's markets. For example, the town of Thurins is known as the raspberry capital of France!
Famous Cooking Traditions
The Mères Lyonnaises
The "Mothers of Lyon" (Mères lyonnaises) were female cooks who made Lyon's food reputation what it is today. Their story began in the mid-19th century when women who worked as cooks for wealthy families decided to open their own restaurants. Many more joined during the Great Depression when they lost their jobs.
At first, they served working-class people, but their delicious meals soon attracted famous people, business owners, and politicians. Their restaurants offered simple but refined menus, usually with four or five traditional dishes, creating a welcoming atmosphere.
The first known Mère was Mère Guy in 1759. Her restaurant by the Rhône River was famous for matelote d'anguilles, a dish of stewed eels. Later, her granddaughters continued her legacy, even serving the Empress Eugénie!
Mère Fillioux (1865–1925) became famous far beyond Lyon. Her restaurant had a simple, unchanging menu with her own creations, like volaille demi-deuil (fowl in half-mourning). This dish was a fattened hen with truffle slices under its skin, making it look black and white, like "half-mourning" clothes.
In 1933, Mère Bourgeois became one of the first women to receive 3 stars from the Michelin Guide, a famous restaurant rating system.
Also in 1933, Mère Brazier (1895–1977) received 3 Michelin stars for two of her restaurants, giving her a total of 6 stars! She was trained by Mère Fillioux and became Lyon's most famous chef of her time. Even the mayor of Lyon and celebrities like singer Édith Piaf ate at her restaurants.
Paul Bocuse, one of the most famous chefs in Lyon and a long-time holder of 3 Michelin stars, learned to cook from Mère Brazier. He, and many other great chefs from Lyon, credit their success to the training they received from these amazing Mères.
Other famous Mères included Mère Castaing, Mère Blanc (grandmother of chef Georges Blanc), Mère Vittet, and Mère Léa. Mère Léa was known for her dishes like tablier de sapeur (pan-fried tripe) and choucroute au champagne (sauerkraut with Champagne). She was also famous for her loud opinions and a sign on her market cart that read, "Beware! Weak woman, strong voice!"
Many other Mères like Mère Pompom, Mère Charles, and Tante Paulette also contributed to Lyon's rich food history.
Delicious Dishes of Lyon
When you visit Lyon, you'll find many traditional dishes, often served with local Beaujolais red wine in small restaurants called bouchons. Lyon is also known for its morning snacks, called mâchons, which silk workers used to eat. These are usually local cured meats.
Here are some traditional dishes you might find:
- Rosette lyonnaise: A famous cured sausage.
- Saucisson de Lyon: Another type of sausage.
- Andouillette: A sausage made from coarsely cut tripe.
- Saucisson brioché: Sausage baked in a brioche (a type of sweet bread).
- Coq au vin: Chicken cooked in wine.
- Gras double: Tripe cooked with onions.
- Salade lyonnaise: A salad with lettuce, bacon, croutons, and a poached egg.
- Marrons glacés: Candied chestnuts.
- Coussin de Lyon: A sweet candy made of chocolate and marzipan.
- Cardoon au gratin: A vegetable similar to artichoke hearts, baked with cheese.
- Cervelle de canut: A cheese spread made from fresh cheese, herbs, and seasonings. Its name means "silk worker's brains"!
- Lyonnaise potatoes: Potatoes sliced and pan-fried with onions.
- Sauce lyonnaise: A sauce made with onions, white wine, and vinegar.
- Sabodet: A type of pork sausage.
- Tablier de sapeur: Pan-fried tripe, often served with a Gribiche sauce.
- Quenelle: A light dumpling made from creamed fish, chicken, or meat, often served with a creamy sauce. Lyon is famous for its pike quenelles.
- Tacos lyonnais: A fast-food dish invented in the early 2000s, now famous worldwide.
- Bugnes: A type of fried pastry, similar to doughnuts.
- Praline rose: Pink-colored pralines, often used in desserts.
Images for kids
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Gargantua and "Pilgrims eaten in salads," illustration by Gustave Doré, 1873.
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The author Stendhal.
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Quenelle in Nantua Sauce
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Saint-Felicien cheese
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Saint-Marcellin cheese
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Rigottes de Condrieu cheese
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Rosette de Lyon sausage
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Chef Paul Bocuse
