French Food Guide: An Overview

You’d better be serious when it is mealtimes! For the French, the essence of life is about eating - you could partake of this essence with a light meal at an informal café or brasserie, or a more elaborate three-course meal at a gourmet restaurant. The perennial love affair of the French with food is reflected in the fact that almost every other word that is associated with fine dining in the English language originates from French!

A French breakfast would typically include croissants that just melt in your mouth (nobody can make croissants like the French do!), and strong coffee or a glass of fruit juice. Bread, cheese, pate and soup (potage) are the staple main courses of French cuisine. A popular combination is steak and french fries. A picnic could include ham, cheese or pate. Don’t worry, if at any point during your French holiday, you are hard-put to find some delicious French bread, in the immortal words of the impetuous French queen Marie Antoinette, "just eat cake"! There is a mind-boggling array of baked goodies, pies and pastries in French bakeries, so calculate on staying a lot of days in order to do full justice to your sweet tooth. No food guide on France would be complete without a mention of the incredible variety of cheeses produced here – an alleged total of 365 varieties, including such all-time favourites as Camembert, Brie and various types of blue cheese.

The popular drinks offered are– freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, mineral or soda water, tea and of course, wines and champagnes of the finest quality.