Florentine refers to Florence, Italy, and the term would translate into something like “in the manner of Florence.” The origin of the term comes from a French queen named Catherine de Médicis, who was born in Florence and, in 1533, married Henri (Henry), the second son of King Francois I. Henry was the heir-apparent to the French throne, known as the dauphin in those days. When Francois I died in 1547, Catherine became the Queen of France. Quite ruthless, and justifiably paranoid, she imported her own cooks from Florence, and also is said to have brought along spinach seeds to grow. Se had her cooks make dishes with spinach, and this practice became popular enough that it came to be known as spinach à la Florentine, to denote the origin of the vegetable, and then eventually simply Florentine. Catherine is also claimed to have introduced many aspects of table etiquette to France, and to have introduced the fork to that country.