The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern

by Luke Barr

From the New York Times bestselling author of Provence, 1970, a lively, dramatic account of the spectacular rise of French “nouvelle cuisine,” and the renegade chefs of the 1960s and 1970s who revolutionized modern cooking.

In The Secret History of French Cooking, Luke Barr takes readers inside the culinary rebellion that upended the staid French food world and reinvented the role and cultural importance of chefs and restaurants. The very idea of the chef as creator—as innovator, artist, auteur—can be traced back to the legendary Paul Bocuse, Michel Guérard, and the Troisgros brothers, among other colorful characters. The book also tells the largely unknown story of a group of women chefs who fought for recognition in the all-male culinary establishment of the 1970s, and the villainous, powerful food critic who cast a shadow over the era.

A tale of rivalries; global success; and a ferocious backlash, of celebrity, money, politics, and incredibly delicious food, The Secret History of French Cooking is also the story of the birth of modern food and restaurant culture, the way we eat today.

Genres: Food, History, France, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Food and Drink, Cooking

352 pages, Hardcover

Published March 17, 2026

About the author

Luke Barr is the author of THE SECRET HISTORY OF FRENCH COOKING (March 2026), RITZ & ESCOFFIER, and the New York Times bestseller PROVENCE, 1970. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, architect Yumi Moriwaki, and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step inside the rebellious kitchens of 1960s and 70s France with The Secret History of French Cooking by Luke Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Provence 1970.

This lively, dramatic account reveals how a group of daring chefs including Paul Bocuse, Michel Guérard, and the Troisgros brothers upended the staid French culinary world and invented what we now know as modern cuisine. From rivalries to celebrity chefs, from creative innovation to incredibly delicious dishes, this is the story of food like you’ve never tasted it before.

The book also uncovers the largely unknown contributions of women chefs fighting for recognition in a male-dominated culinary scene and the critic who shaped and sometimes threatened this culinary revolution.

Whether you’re a food lover, a history buff, or someone who loves a good drama behind the kitchen doors, this book is a feast for the mind and imagination 🍷🥖

[Stefan Nordin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If tbe band of Bocouse were the Beatles of french cooking Bocouse was their John Lennon. With that I mean he was a talented asshole and a misogynist who probably should have been punched in the face far more often than he was.

[Xine Segalas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern by Luke Barr to be an interesting and informative read, though not one that fully held my attention throughout. If I hadn't been reviewing it, I'm not sure I would have finished it.
It’s a fascinating look at the rise of French nouvelle cuisine and the chefs who reshaped the culinary world. What stood out most is that the book focuses far more on the chefs—their personalities, rivalries, and careers—than on the food itself. There are plenty of amusing and memorable stories that bring these figures to life, and I especially appreciated learning more about the women who contributed to this movement and the challenges they faced in what was traditionally a male-dominated profession.
At the same time, the book goes beyond just individual chefs. It also explores the evolution of the cuisine itself—the rise and eventual decline of nouvelle cuisine, as well as the influence of American tastes and the broader globalization of food. That wider historical context adds real depth and makes it more than just a collection of chef profiles.
I did enjoy Barr’s writing style—it’s engaging and approachable, and it made a more niche topic easier to read. Even so, I found myself putting it down often. While I love cooking and appreciate French cuisine, I think I was hoping for more focus on the food itself. Not surprisingly, those were the sections that pulled me in the most.
It’s also rich in historical context beyond just the chefs, which adds depth and makes it a worthwhile read—particularly for those interested in culinary history. That said, I’ll admit I likely wouldn’t have finished it if I weren’t reviewing it.
This book is more for the most serious foodies, culinary history enthusiasts, chefs, and those in the industry—readers who will appreciate the depth and personalities behind the movement. For that audience, this is certainly a 4-star read.
Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Publication Date: March 17, 2026

My first introduction to the writing of Luke Barr was when I came across Provence, 1970: MFK Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard and the Reinvention of American Taste. It was about the tumultuous times of the late 1960s into the next decade when the country was ripe for a food revolution. In this book, Luke Barr gives a beautiful history of his great-aunt, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, one of our most beloved and preeminent food writers and living in Napa, California at the time.

And now, Luke Barr has done it again in his latest book, The Secret History of French Cooking: The Outlaw Chefs Who Made Food Modern. It is in this book that he chronicles the rise of nouvelle cuisine and the renegade chefs of the 1960s and 1970s who revolutionized modern cooking. Inside this culinary rebellion, were renowned chefs such as Paul Bocuse and his core of young chefs who congregated around him since they were young and many training at the same restaurants. They were the new generation, they were the “Bande a Bocuse.” These young innovative chefs included brothers, Jean and Pierre Troisgros and Michel Guerard. As the movement caught on it was clear that this was a boy’s club, but throughout France there was a growing number of women chefs fighting for recognition in the culinary establishments in France in the 1970s. Theirs would be a women’s club. They called it the Association des Restauratrices-Cuisinières—the Association of Women Chefs. And it seemed that Nouvelle cuisine was under attack from all sides. The tide was turning. This was a colorful and rich history of this movement, certainly well-researched and beautifully told by Luke Barr.

I would like to thank the publisher Dutton and Net Galley for an advanced reading copy.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good. I love gossipy historical journalism. My biggest takeaway was--wow, Paul Bocuse was a Prick.

My dad loved to cook and when I developed an interest in cooking, he wanted, as a lifelong francophile, to guide me toward French cuisine. He had weird attitudes about a lot of things, like a real chef can separate an egg with one hand. I can, but who cares?

A victim of second wave feminism, Daddy wanted me to be a Real chef and pointed out to me that while in the US women do most of the cooking, in France the Real chefs were men. I'm quite sure he was unaware of the concerted efforts of the Enfants Terribles of Nouvelle Cuisine to ensure women could not train as chefs, would not be hired in kitchens and could not get funding for restaurants of their own. Seriously, f**k Paul Bocuse and all of his little friends.

Luke Barr's very nuanced take on the importance of Nouvelle Cuisine and how it created the celebrity chef and changed the nature of the restaurant experience--and at what cost, was fascinating. The push back from the female chefs who really seriously had no time for the boys in their midst, but just wanted to be given access to opportunities without being sexually harassed or insulted, was a lovely counterpoint.

Add in the unexpected aging N*zi collaborator shaking things up and Secret History is a fun read.

[Myles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this volume less interesting and enlightening than Barr's earlier books, most particularly his book on Escoffier and Ritz.

While the sidebar on the food critic who had been a collaborator with the Nazis during WWII was of some interest, I found it took away from the story of the actual chefs.

I now understand the differences between classic French cooking and nouvelle cuisine, and even cuisine minceau and for that I am grateful.

The story of the rise of female chef was also somewhat interesting. That women were not admitted to the kitchens of the top restaurants was interesting. But part of this story should most certainly have been the bizarre and masochistic behavior of some of these chefs. These kitchens were and to this day are still very stressful places to work, as I understand.

That is a story still to be told, "Yes, Chef!!"

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

To understand where we are today with food culture: the celebrity chef, the cooking shows, the influencer, we must look to the story of nouvelle cuisine.

Led by the cowboy French chefs, the staid culture was turned on its head, beginning in the 1960s. Luke Barr's account contains all the drama and politics, the dishy behind the scenes history. The chefs, the critics, the PR reps, the celebrities.

It wasn't all fun and games. The gender bias was crippling to the female chefs, not allowed to join the men's culinary organizations. The critics brought their own baggage to their writings. The food itself became less of a focus and the whole movement faced backlash.

The Secret History of French Cooking is a fascinating read that lays it all out there, the good and the not so good.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub. date 3/17/2026)

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of nouvelle cuisine, a genre of food I have mostly known as artful looking food on a large plate. TLDR: The French culinary scene was mostly men. At least one chef (Bocuse) was a male chauvinist pig. One food critic (Courtine) was a Vichy collaborator and straight up published anti-Semite. Some women chefs were pissed off and started their own culinary association. We learn about the rise of the celebrity chef. And my favorite surprise was that Bocuse and other chefs were the creators of French dining at EPCOT center.

The story was interesting and makes for a gossipy read. I felt like perhaps more could have been done to connect with larger social movements like women’s lib or post colonialism that may have been related

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at French chefs, how they changed the idea of restaurants and French cuisine (for example, the introduction of nouvelle cuisine and the pushback by traditionalists), and how women fought their way into professional kitchens. The most fascinating part for me was the detailed, well-sourced look at France's attempts to grapple those who collaborated with the Nazi and Vichy regimes during World War 2 and appropriate punishment post-war. I dipped in and out of chapters that interested me most (the association of women chefs, World War 2) rather than reading straight through. Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for the eARC.

[Melanie Zitzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so interesting. I love visiting France and really like eating their food so to learn some of the history about what brought French cooking to what it is today was enlightening.

I will admit I wish there was more about the food that was created. I live to read about food and descriptions of it all, but this book was more about the chefs that create the food than the food itself. Still very interesting but just not quite what I thought it was going to be when I picked it up!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

[Aging Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great look at culinary revolution in that most culinary of countries, La Belle France.
It travels from the regimented (but necessary) cuisine of Escoffier through the creation of the chef as celebrity of Paul Bocuse. It finished through the rise and fall of nouvelle cuisine and the rise of the acceptance of women as chefs.
It’s interlaced with chefs, publicists and critics of the times, with a dark underside of a nation moving away from the shame of collaborationist France during World War Two.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written story, full of colorful characters that were instrumental in the rise of French “nouvelle cuisine.” I think that it will be a very engaging read for those truly interested in culinary arts. Personally, I discovered that I don’t care enough about that topic so it was a bit too much for me - but it says more about me than about this book.

Thanks to the publisher, Dutton, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Andi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this arc.

If you’re interested in culinary history, I recommend taking a gander at The Secret History of French Cooking. This book discusses the French “nouvelle” cuisine and the stories of various chefs that contributed to the history of French food. I found it very engaging and interesting as I knew very little about French cuisine before this read!

5 ⭐️

[Angie Boyter]

I did not finish this book and therefore will not give it a rating, BUT that was not the fault of the author or publisher. I misinterpreted the writeup and expected more about the FOOD and how it changed rather than the history of the chefs and creators who introduced "nouvelle cuisine". These were interesting people who took a LOT of risks! If such history interests you, then I think you will enjoy the book a lot.
PS When the food itself was the topic, the book was quite enjoyable for me!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

TY to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

For those who love cooking and French cooking in particular, this book follows how and with whom French cooking became what is considered exceptional. The stories about the different chefs were fascinating and make one appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that go into fine cuisine.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke Barr knows people as well as he knows food. He makes the history of the introduction of the so-called nouveau cuisine as exiting as an adventure novel. Tradition vs. Innovation, the shattering of ancient norms (especially involving women chefs), and the rise of the celebrity chef make for great reading.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love cooking & biographies & this book was fun & engaging.

I enjoyed reading about the different French chefs & hearing a bit of their stories. I found the book to be fascinating.

Thanks to the author, publisher & Netgalley for the ARC read. All opinions are my own.

[Sanjuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read. Exactly what I was hoping for. While this book is mostly about nouvelle cuisine and the rise of new chefs and a new era of French cooking in the 1960s and 70s, the book also says just enough about the food to leave one inspired.

[Cwelshhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and interesting overview, but it tries to take on a lot of threads, and I wanted more detail

[Steve Herring · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting history of French cooking, though I never fully bought the “secret history” framing since so much of it was from media accounts of the time. I liked the way the book hints that French cooking movement more or less “jumps the shark” once it several acclaimed chefs open Chefs de France restaurant at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. That detail connected with me personally.

I did this on audio, and the narration was incredibly flat, so this feels like one that would have worked better on the page.