Christine Dabney > wrote in
:

> I should remind all of you, that bechamel did NOT originate in France,
> but in Italy. It was brought to France by Catherine di Medici's
> cooks, when she married the King of France. It was then adopted by
> the French.

There is another, more plausible, story of origin for the béchamel.

It was created by Louis de Béchameil, Marquis de Nointel, maître d'hÔtel of
Louis XIV, and a renowned gourmet.

It is said he perfected a smaller sauce developed by François Pierre de la
Varenne, cook to the Marquis d'Uxelles, which itself was a development of
the cream based Tuscan "salsa colla" brought to France by Catherine de
Médicis in the 17th century.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauce_b%C3%A9chamel

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