An hour is not nearly long enough to do justice to the glorious history of French cooking but cultural historian Andrew Hussey has a pretty good try in France on a Plate (BBC4, 10.25pm). It’s a whirlwind tour of Gaullish grub, from the political and royal hub of Versailles, where haute cuisine was invented, to the designer-led nouvelle style where the look of the dish took prominence over the taste. Hussey chats to some iconic French chefs en route and explores why food is of such national importance to our cousins across the Channel.