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At all levels of society, diet was changing as swiftly as the seasons. Jean de la Quintinye, named Director of Royal Fruit and Vegetable Gardens by
King Louis XIV, wrote ‘Instruction pour les Jardins Fuitiers et Potagers’ in 1690, a directory on how to tend gardens with an enormous variety of plants to supply all the year
round fresh fruit and vegetables for the table. Aside from the changes in cuisine brought about by the trade in spices which spread through all levels of society, through this
commerce, there was also open communication and diplomacy between different courts. On searching for new routes to Asia, by chance America was discovered and many
‘foods of the gods’ such as cocoa and tomatoes through to corn and potatoes. The news of exotic and exciting tastes on the continent spread quickly.
