the bulk of what is considered french cuisine is a wide array of dishes recorded since the middle ages - there were great developments during the age of discovery, when the european powers brought home ingredients from the rest of the world, bringing forth great transformation to their respective gastronomies.

french cuisine is somewhat divided into the traditional dishes and the haute cuisine - haute cuisine is what is mostly associated with france, but remains a rather recent invention, codified by auguste escoffier during the early 20th century.  

contrary to traditional meals those from haute cuisine, a term which means 'high cooking', is characterized by overly elaborate dishes served in small portions.

generally speaking french cuisine features a generous use of local vegetables and fruit, like potatoes, wheat, tomatoes, shallot, tangerines or grapes, along with fungi, like truffles and mushrooms, which mix things up a bit.