In France cooking is a serious art form and a national sport. I think the French enjoy the complication of the art form and the cooking for cooking's sake. You can talk with a concierge or police officer about food in France as a general rule. It is not the general rule here. Classical cuisine, which I hope we are going back to, means certain ways of doing things and certain ways of not doing things. If you know classical French cooking you can do anything. If you don't know the basics, you turn out slop.
Julia ChildModeration. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health.
Julia ChildAlways remember: If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know?
Julia Child