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Why did Julia Child object to the lightly cooked meats and vegetables of nouvelle cuisine?
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nouvelle cuisine
Grilled dry-aged Wagyu rib eye steak with asparagus and charred onions.
Julia Child, a prominent advocate for traditional French cooking, objected to the nouvelle cuisine movement because she believed it was an affront to the logic and grandeur of classic French haute cuisine.1
Specifically, she criticized the movement's penchant for serving barely cooked meat and vegetables. Child maintained that this style of preparation failed to properly develop the essential taste of the ingredients. Furthermore, she was wary of the movement's aggressive promotion, accusing its proponents of browbeating restaurants that did not conform to the nouvelle cuisine ethos.1