Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) is a delicate annual herb of the carrot family, grown for its lacy, fern-like, pale-green leaves and a gentle aroma that reads as parsley laced with a whisper of anise. One of the four classic French fines herbes, it is the most fragile of the group — its volatile oils fade within hours of cutting and collapse under heat — so it is treated as a finishing herb, snipped raw over eggs, fish, young vegetables and cream sauces at the very last moment. Sometimes called French parsley or gourmet parsley, it is a quiet, refined flavour rather than a bold one, prized in French cooking precisely because it lifts a dish without overwhelming it.