Catherine de Medici..."The Italian woman"

She had brought along a retinue of cooks (called capi cuochi) with her to France, and now they comforted her with the delicacies of her homeland-sorbets, macaroons, frangipane tarts, and zabaglione. They introduced vegetables never before seen in France-broccoli, green beans, peas, truffles, artichokes, and melons. Guinea hens, as well as veal made an appearance. And most importantly, these Italian cooks taught the French how to move past the medieval preferences for meats prepared with dry rubs of strong spices, but instead how to employ delicate sauces.

Catherine brought nicety to the table in the area of manners--she brought along the fork and table etiquette. In this, the French were a bit slower to adopt the fashion--not for another hundred years would the fork take hold, and table manners would be scoffed at as effeminate until the reign of the Sun King (Louis XIV).

Her cousin, Marie de Medici, would also marry into the French royal family in 1600, and continued the tradition of bringing culinary innovation with her. Her contribution was the puff pastry-or more accurately, the method of making a puff pastry that would rise greatly while maintaining an exquisite flakiness. It is this method (which depends on treating the fat in the dough as layers themselves) that led to the development of the croissant, and the fruit pastries so associated with France today.

The Florentine cooks who went with her brought the secrets of Italian cooking to France, including peas and beans, artichokes, duck in orange (canard a l’orange), and carabaccia (onion soup). But especially the pastry makers, as Jean Orieux (a biographer of Caterina) wrote, demonstrated their innovative genius with sorbets and ice creams, marmalades, fruits in syrup, pastry making, and pasta. A certain Sir Frangipani gave his name to the custard and the tart known in France as Frangipane.


Catherine is also known as the person who started Ballet through her love for dancing and brought many famous Italian dance masters to France and throwing grand Spectacles of Court. Around 1530, Aglio, the Count of Savoy prepared and acted Ballets with the Prince's and Princesses of his Court. The main experiment in Ballet came from the court of France when Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) along with Henry II (r.1547-1559) brought a dance master in from Italy by the name of Baitazarini. On 10/15/1581, Catherine would hold the first Ballet called the "Ballet Comique de la Reine," for the Duc de Joyeux's marriage. A violinist named Beujoyeux who would later become the Valet De Chambre (dance master) designed this Ballet.

Catherine began feeling insecure in regards to facing the "splendid" French Court. In desperation, she sought the aid of an ingenious Florentine artisan.  He removed the clunky wooden soles from Catherine's shoes and replaced it with a slender padded four-inch heel. As necessity is the mother of invention, Catherine de Medici is the mother of the modern high-heeled shoe.  
In her taste for art and her love of magnificence and luxury, Catherine was a true Medici; her banquets at the Royal Palace of Fontainebleau in 1564 were famous for their sumptuousness. In architecture, especially, she was well versed, and Philibert de l'Orme (Philibert of the Elm) relates that she discussed with him the plan and decoration of her palace of the Tuileries.

Not only did she bring fine cuisine - she brought the Italian banking system, theatrical comedy, and ballet.

( Caterina brought with her to the French table new protocol, such as the separation of salty and sweet dishes, at a time when all over Europe sweets were still consumed together with meat and fish in the style of the medieval times. Everyone in France was amazed by the Florentine elegance Caterina introduced: gracious table setting and dining, embroidery and handkerchiefs, light perfumes and fine lingerie, as well as luxurious silverware and glasses.)