Aero: Kelsey Castro – France 2015 – Food and Dining

Aero: Kelsey Castro – France 2015 – Food and Dining
Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

Aero: Kelsey Castro – France 2015 – Food and Dining

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Kelsey Castro

Food and dining…this was my biggest fear about traveling to France! I was really unsure if I would find things I am able to eat, and so I came prepared with a suitcase full of protein/meal replacement bars just in case. Luckily, I didn’t need to resort to living off of them. Finding food suitable for me was much less of a hassle than I thought it would be.

While we were in Paris, we went to two public markets in walking distance from our hotel. It was a really fun experience. I was able to get some of the best fresh fruit and yogurt I have ever consumed at these markets. The individual yogurts were sold in very nice re-sealable glass jars, something that I will always remember. There were many, many bakeries with a plethora of delicious treats in Paris.

Breakfast was definitely my favorite meal of the day in France. My host family always had many options for breakfast. Every morning, the table included a basket of homemade toasted bread, butter, nutella, honey, two types of jam, croissants, pain au chocolate, yogurt, applesauce, orange juice, pomegranate juice, tea, and coffee. There were two tables in my host family’s home. A smaller one used for breakfast and dinner, and a large table used for lunch. Lunch is the largest meal of the day in France, unlike the United States where the largest meal is dinner. My host family always eats lunch together on Wednesdays because students have half days of school, and both of my host parents are teachers. They have three course lunches every Wednesday, as well as on the weekends. They told me that eating together is very important, and they try to as much as possible. It is pretty well known that the French say “bon appetite” before eating. My host family asked me what Americans say before eating. I told them that some people who are religious pray before meals, but other than that we don’t really say anything. They found it very strange that we didn’t say something like “good meal” before eating together. The first course of their lunch is often just a plate of plain shredded carrots eaten with a fork and knife. I found this to be very interesting, as it isn’t something you would ever see eaten alone in the United States. Wine was always served with both lunch and dinner. Dinner was always pretty small with my host family, and they typically ate a small snack afterwards as well. French people do not seem to snack between meals like Americans do, but they will have a snack directly after a meal.

I noticed a big difference between the atmospheres of a restaurant in France vs. the United States. In France, after you are seated and order, the server leaves you alone unless you summon them. In contrast, in the U.S. the server will constantly come over the check on your meal and see how you are doing, etc. A big part of this difference is due to the fact that in France, waiters/waitresses are paid a full salary, and tipping is not customary. In France, there is also much less focus on getting customers in and out of a restaurant/café as soon as possible to create the highest turnover. The French see dining as something that should be enjoyed to the highest possible degree, and it isn’t an uncommon occurrence to spend hours in a restaurant, even if you only ordered one thing that whole time!

ML@FLCC France 2015 Flickr Photo Gallery

One of my most memorable experiences dining in Paris was when I unknowingly had my food set on fire. The group split up for dinner that night, and Ayla and I (the two people in the group with the least knowledge of French) went to a creperie alone. We both ordered the same thing, a caramel apple crepe. We were both served our crepes, and out of nowhere the server came back over and poured a liquid onto mine, and then set it on fire and walked away! I had no idea what to do, and was thinking to myself “do I blow it out? Do I let it burn?” In a moment of panic, I decided to blow out my flaming crepe fearing it would burn to a crisp. I took a bite and immediately tasted rum. Why was my crepe drenched in rum and set on fire and Ayla’s wasn’t? We ordered the same exact thing. This I suppose will always be a mystery (and an incredibly funny memory).

Kelsey Castro
LEAF Contributor