MICHEL GUERARD'S CUISINE MINCEUR

By this time you've heard of cuisine minceur. The florid Roy Andries de Groot trumpeted it (Revolutionizing French Cooking, p. 870); Aulicino Armand, a far less ostentatious chef, adapted its methods to the dishes of all Europe (The New French Cooking, p. 865). But this is from the horse's mouth: Guerard is the celebrity chef of the hour, the most daring practitioner, some say the inventor of cuisine minceur. His joyous battle cry is away with butter, cream, and heavy pastry crusts. Less is more: enhance the natural taste of foods by simmering them in their own juices, seasoning with the freshest garden herbs. Be it said that while chefs and food moguls will experience paroxysms of joy, the family cook and bottle-washer may have reservations. Lobster recipes abound; frogs legs and song thrushes (for song thrush soup), lamb's brain's and truffles are not easily come by. As simple a dish as spinach puree with pears may cause gastronomic consternation. And not all of this is minceur--Guerard gives directions for all the classic French sauces before getting into his slimmer versions, bound with vegetable purees, yogurt, or fromage blanc. As to desserts--there are few of them, which is just as well: many will recoil from Guerard's liberal use of artificial sweeteners in favor of plain fruits. But there is much that is ingenious here and Guerard's vivacity and enthusiasm are contagious. The heavy promotion will do the rest.