nouvelle cuisine

noun (sometimes initial capital letters) French.

1. a modern style of French cooking that emphasizes the use of the finest and freshest ingredients simply and imaginatively prepared, often with fresh herbs, the artful arrangement and presentation of food, and the use of reduced stocks in place of flour-thickened sauces.

noun

1. a style of preparing and presenting food, often raw or only lightly cooked, with light sauces, and unusual combinations of flavours and garnishes

style of cooking emphasizing freshness and presentation, 1975, French, literally “new cooking.”