Bifteck

Red meats are usually served with dark sauces and red wines. But contrary to this general principle, steaks are often presented with a light Béarnaise sauce. This famous dish is usually called Tournedos Henry IV, an indication of the fact that it was created to soothe the palate of the great Bourbon king from Béarn.

Debates have long raged among culinary historians as to whether or not the Béarnaise sauce really originated in the province of Béarn. Some have pointed out that Béarn does not specialize in beef and that in most of its specialties, oil rather than butter is used as a base. Such circumstantial evidence leads the protagonists of this school of thought to seek elsewhere for the origins of Tournedos Henry IV.