The Paris Effect
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Press

The Mistaken Identity of French Food

12/2/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Recently I served up a classic Boeuf Bourguignon to a few
friends who weren't too familiar with French cooking.
  It's a
reliable dish that can be prepared in advance, imparting a soup spoon
of comfort while magically impressing guests with its French label.
  While we broke bread and enjoyed the wine and cognac infused stew,
I started thinking about the sometimes negative perception of French food.

Several comments were made during the course of the dinner, mostly fostering
the perception that French food is heavy and loaded with richly convoluted sauces.
Many people, not having the opportunity to savor the culinary genius
  firsthand, harbor misconceptions about la cuisine francaise.

  In this new progressive age of eating, many discerning diners will likely
avoid French food if they buy into the myth that the cuisine
is uniformly heavy and old fashioned, a pleasurable but
  guilty gut-wrenching exercise limited to special occasions only.
Far from the truth, that's a black eye that's totally undeserved.

We've all heard the old wives' tale warning us not to
walk underneath a ladder for fear of bad luck.
  That's not too far from the delusional myth that French food is for gluttons only.
  Admittedly, I've never met a goose liver I didn't like -- but not all French
feasting is related to foie gras and elaborate sauces from froufrou
chefs wearing tall toques and medals pinned to their chests.

This unfair characterization of French food is not new.
  Food crazes come and go.
  It's an industry not unlike fashion -- you're in one day and the next day you're out.  But great chefs know, there are kitchen basics and there are rules worth breaking.
There is hard work along with fertile fields blessed with abundance from God.
  And I can personally attest, France is gifted year after year with all of the above.

Great chefs are born in France and great chefs travel the world
  for the golden opportunity to cook in fabled France.
  There's an inspiration and a legacy here that fuels the imagination and artistry
of any firebrand who enjoys the creativity and challenge of the food industry. 
Chefs know --- the mistaken identity of la cuisine francaise is like honey to a bee.  These chefs go out of their way to gather the best of the best and make the most of it.

They do it like they were born to it.

Picture
Even UNESCO puts a big gold badge on French cuisine.
  Their scrupulous officials have heaped praise on the gastronomic meal of France. "The gastronomic meal emphasizes togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature."
That declaration just about sums up French cooking in a nutshell.

  La Cuisine Francaise is on the same plane with family & friends.
  La Cuisine Francaise = pleasure in the form of taste, smell and presentation.
  La Cuisine Francaise translates to a careful nurturing of the planet
and a magnified reverence for Mother Nature.
In return, the land, the chef, the food delivers.

France celebrates her legendary cuisine with
a bounty of food festivals practically year round.
  There's a festival for wine, truffles, ham, black pudding, snails, chocolate,
goat cheese, strawberries, oysters, melons, pate, rice, garlic, almonds,
lavender, bread, beer, salt, chestnuts, lemons, onions honey,
herring, carrots...... too many to enumerate.
 
Carrots, really?

 Who gets excited over a carrot?
The French, of course.
  Prized carrots can make a dish.
Ever tasted a daube de boeuf aux carottes?
You're sure to gain a new appreciation of the much maligned tuber.

  That's one festival I'd like to attend -- a day of devotion, hail to the orange.
Perhaps a carrot parade coupled with dancing in the street and
a carrot eating competition..... hopefully, served with wine.
However they choose to celebrate this annual event, it's very telling that
they celebrate a vegetable as simple as a carrot.
No tasteless carrot sticks covered in peanut butter,
it's a French Revolution I can believe in.

 Food is adored in France -- quality celebrated and appreciated.
Food is national pride, a patriotism that everyone can believe in.

Picture
If your mouth isn't watering and you still have a nagging worry
over old fashioned, sauce-heavy black tie cuisine, then consider this.

Every region has a different approach to food -- their own claim to fame.
  Across the board, the starting gate looks like this:
Menus are based on what's available fresh at market on any given day.
  Whether it's oysters, melons or mushrooms, each department in France
creates its own "Best of" list -- and they're not shy about promoting it.

  Whether it's asparagus, anchovies or anise,
there's a region and a season that's feted to the nth degree.
  If it's fresh and regional, you'll see it on nearly every menu
of every restaurant you encounter in a particular city.
 
If you desire comfort food, you'll find it --- tartiflette, cassoulet,
blanquette du veau.... Should you prefer a lighter touch,
go for moules marineres,  piperade, fish soup or ratatouille.
Humble origins best describe crêpes, pot au feu and choucroute garnie.
  And don't discount France's haute cuisine if your pocketbook allows -- soufflé,
sole meuniere, pan seared foie gras, escargot -- all worthy of the haughty name.

  Even the joyless prune is celebrated in France.
  Don't laugh, unless you've tried an Agen prune, you haven't really tasted a prune.
 Regional cuisines each have a specialty for each course,
always based on the riches of the terra firma.
  Cherry clafoutis from the Limousin (yes, including the pits),
coq au vin in Burgundy, Calvados in Normandy.
  Cherries, local chicken and apples are the foundation for each delectable taste.
Don't even try to separate food from drink.

In the U.S., we lazy cooks look for chicken tenders instead of the whole bird.
  That's the perfect description of insanity. 
The chicken, though humble, is far more characterful when served unabbreviated.
  A plastic chicken tender is just a stinky little piece of pectoral muscle that cooks up fast and tastes like whatever seasoning you use to forgive its blandness.
  A whole chicken, on the other hand (as the French would choose), has
layers of flavor and goodness right down to the bone.

  Some people absurdly refuse to eat meat on the bone.
 They want their food fileted and barren of anything that resembles the animal.
Not so the french. 
They want their cheese raw and alive
(though sadly, the EU is making that harder to find).
  They demand that their food -- whether meat, dairy or grain -- taste
of its essence, its purity and full character intact.
  Sure, they season, sometimes they sauce, other times they bake, broil, grill or
serve up raw -- but still, the most important element of the dish is its in-bred quality.

Picture
Family bistros, wine bars, food trucks, 24-hour-brasseries, no frills cafés,
Michelin-starred temples of haute cuisine -- it's all there and it's yours to choose.

  Plan on a variety of tastes.
  Admittedly, I'm very fond of "grandma's cooking"  --  boeuf bourguignon
  or duck confit --- as well as the assimilated cuisines of the former
French colonies --- couscous royale (Algeria) or ca kho to (Vietnam).
 The delights of the kitchen are many and I always look for new tastes on each visit. 

A trip to Provence brings on a hunger for fresh vegetables and aioli.
  A week in Alsace makes me long for tarte flambée and choucroute garnie.
  The Pyrenees yield fresh trout and the many pleasures of Basque cuisine 
while the sunny skies of the Poitou-Charentes region deliver
  incredibly fresh seafood and produce to build a lifetime of food memories.
Start with a glass of Pineau and end with a tumbler of Cognac -- and in between,
sink your teeth into the Marennes oysters and Ile de Re potatoes, salicornia
from the salt marshes and mojhette beans from the Marais Poitevin.
  The options are endless.

Picture
"Watch a French housewife as she makes her way slowly along the loaded stalls...searching for the peak of ripeness and flavor...What you are seeing is a true artist at work, patiently assembling all the materials of her craft, just as the painter squeezes oil colors onto his palette ready to create a masterpiece."

- Keith Floyd, endearing British celebrity chef who
  enjoyed diverse cuisines and a good slurp of wine
.
Picture
Picture
The same country that invented the Michelin Guide taught locally born
Jacques Pepin to cook for Presidents -- both French & American.
   Monsieur Pepin cooked for die-hard traditionalist Charles de Gaulle 
and went on to cook for the American middle class at Howard Johnson! 
If he could graduate from vol-au-vent in France to fried clams under
  the big orange roof --- giving and getting pleasure in the effort ---
  then we ought to give up our preconceived notion of snooty French food.

The world has benefited from the school of French cooking.
  Ever since Escoffier first developed the idea of cooking stations,
still valued 100 years later -- we've been enlightened. 
Published in 1903,"Le Guide Culinary" had Escoffier gifting us
with new techniques and lighter, more refined cooking.
Yet some still cling to old myths.

Then there's Paris.
  Always Paris.
   From tête de veau (traditional) to stripped down, raw, pickled or smoked nasty
bits and pieces (young & cool), you'll discover the real French cuisine.
If you want a pastrami sandwich, you can find one in Paris.
  True, that's not remotely French -- but that's my point.
  France celebrates good food.  Period.
Although personally, I'd save the pastrami for a trip to New York.
  Try the truffled scrambled eggs instead. 

Most importantly, don't let food guilt enter your mind
when you have the opportunity to eat "French". 
No one has ever gotten pregnant or gone to jail for eating a delicious steak tartare.

"Seize the moment."
  "Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart."
- Erma Bombeck

Picture
Picture
Picture
My dining doppelganger, Mademoiselle Piggy
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    AUTHOR
    MICHELLE MOGGIO

    Thanks for visiting  my blog!

    I've been experiencing the joys of Paris since the ripe old age of eleven.
    As a big fan of duck fat, raw oysters and bad French movies, my long career in advertising helped pave the way for drinking at lunch. When not living la vie en rose, my husband Gary and I live in Brentwood, TN, where we stay busy planning our next travel adventure and offering unsolicited advice to our daughter.

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014


    RSS Feed

    Click below to buy
    The Paris Effect 
    book today
    Enter your email address to receive blog updates -
    Subscribe Now
    Buy Now

    Categories

    All
    100th Blog
    20th Arrondissement
    Abbaye De Fontfroide
    Absinthe
    Academie De La Grande Chaumière
    Adrian Leeds
    Aix-en-Provence
    Albi
    Aligot
    Alsace
    Ambassade D'Auvergne
    Amboise
    American History
    American Revolution
    Amphitheatre
    Antibes
    Apartments
    Aperitif
    April In Paris
    Arc De Triomphe Du Carrousel
    Architecture
    Arena De Nimes
    Ariége
    Armenian Cathedral Of Paris
    Art
    Art Deco
    Artistic Paris
    Artlover
    Art Museum
    Art Nouveau
    Atonement Chapel
    Auray
    Avenue Foch
    Avenue Frochot
    Avignon
    Baccarat
    Baden-Baden
    Baguette
    Basque
    Bayeux Tapestry
    B&B
    Benjamin Franklin
    Bénodet
    Bercy Village
    Biarritz
    Biot
    Biot France
    Bistros
    Bonbons
    Books Set In France
    Boulangerie
    Brassaï
    Brittany
    Brittany American Cemetery
    Burgundy
    Cagnes-sur-Mer
    Cakes
    Canal Du Midi
    Candy
    Cap D'Antibes
    Caracalla Spa
    Caramels
    Catalan France
    Cathars
    Cathedral
    Cathedrale St-Just
    Cemetière De Passy
    Cemetière Saint-Vincent
    Chantilly
    Chapelle Expiatoire
    Chapelle Saint Vincent De Paul
    #Chapel Of Hospice Saint-Jean
    Charles Aznavour
    Charles Trenet
    Chartreuse Du Val-de-Benediction
    Chateau
    Chateau De Clisson
    Chateau De Foix
    Chateau De Fougeres
    Chateau De Malmaison
    Chateau Grimaldi
    Cheese
    Chinon
    Chocolate
    Choice Vs. Chance
    Christian Constant
    #Church Of Saint-Volusien
    Cimiez
    Cité Des Fleurs
    Cité De Trevise
    Claude Monet
    Clisson
    Cocktail
    Coco Chanel
    Cognac
    Cointreau
    Cole Porter
    Comedie-Francaise
    Cote D'Azur
    Coulon
    Cours Mirabeau
    Cours Saleya
    Coussin De Lyon
    Crêpes
    Dessert
    Dijon
    Dreams
    Duck-confit
    Eating In France
    Ecole Des Beaux-Arts
    Ed Clark
    Edith-piaf
    Eglise Notre Dame De Clisson
    Eglise Sainte-Trinité
    Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Prés
    Elsa Maxwell
    Entrevaux
    Environmental Challenges
    Eric Kayser
    Eugene Delacroix
    Fabergé Museum
    Falling For Paris
    Famous-faces
    Fashion History
    Fauchon
    Fernand Léger
    Fete De La Transhumance
    Fête De Vendanges
    Fish Specialties
    Foix
    Folies Bergère
    Fontainebleau
    Fontaine Du Palmier
    Food Markets
    Fougeres
    Fragrance
    France
    Francois-premier
    Free Museums
    French Atlantic Coast
    French Bread
    French Cuisine
    French Food
    French-food
    French History
    French-islands
    French Musee D'Art Moderne De La Ville De Paris
    French Music
    French Resistence
    French Revolution
    #FrenchRiviera
    French Riviera
    French Slave Trade
    Friedrichsbad Spa
    Fun Fair Museum
    Genevieve De Gaulle-Anthonioz
    Genièvre
    George Sand
    Germaine Tillion
    Germany
    Gertrude Stein
    Gordes
    Grand Mosque Of Paris
    Grand Palais
    Grasse
    Guerlain
    Gustave Moreau
    Harvest Festival
    Haut-de-Cagnes
    Healthy Travel
    Hediard
    Henri Le Roux
    Henri Matisse
    Holocaust
    Hometown Memories
    Hotel Belles Rives
    Hôtel De Soubise
    Hotel Dieu
    Hotels
    Ile De Bréhat
    Ile De Ré
    Isadora Duncan
    Jacques Genin
    Janet Flanner
    Jardin Samuel-de-Champlain
    Jay Z
    Jazz A Juan
    Jean Seberg
    Jewelry
    Josephine Baker
    Josephine Bonaparte
    Juan-les-Pins
    Keith Haring
    La Campagne A Paris
    La Couveroitade
    Lafayette
    La Jourrnée San Voiture
    Lalique
    Language Skills
    Languedoc
    La Rochelle
    La Verrerie De Biot
    Lavinia Wine Store
    Le Bonbon Au Palais
    Le Bon Georges
    Le Capitole
    Le Carrousel Des Mondes Marins
    Le Clos Lucé
    Le Cochon à L'Oreille
    Le Coq Rico
    Legendary Lovers
    Le Grand Véfour
    Le Musée Montmartre
    Leonardo Da Vinci
    Le Rostand
    Les Cocottes
    Les Fauves
    Les Invalides
    Les Machines De L'Ile
    Les Sept Iles
    Lichtentaler Allee
    Lille
    Little Gourmand
    Loire Atlantique
    Luberon
    Luxembourg Gardens
    Maison Carrée
    Malmaison
    Man Ray
    Marais Poitevin
    Marc Chagall
    Marché Beauvau
    Marché D'Aligre
    Marché President Wilson
    Marché Victor Hugo
    Marie Curie
    Market Street
    Marquis De Lafayette
    Matisse
    Maurice Utrillo
    Medieval Festival
    Medieval France
    Memorial De L'Abolition De L'Esclavage
    Memorial De La Shoah
    MFK Fisher
    Minervois Wine
    #ModernArt
    Monolithic Church
    Montmartre
    Montmartre Museum
    Montparnasse
    Montparnasse Cemetery
    Montpellier
    Movies Set In France
    Musee Carnavalet
    Musée De La Chasse Et De La Nature
    Musée Des Arts Decoritifs
    Musée Des Arts Forains
    Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Dijon
    Musee D'Orsay
    Musée D'Orsay
    Musee L'Orangerie
    Musée Marc Chagall
    Musee Marmottan Monet
    Musée Matisse Nice
    Musée Picasso
    Musée Yves Saint Laurent
    Museum
    Museum Of Decorative Arts
    Museum Of Hunting & Nature
    Museum Of Modern Art City Of Paris
    Nancy
    Nantes
    Napoleon Bonaparte
    Napoleon III Apartments
    Narbonne
    Nashville
    Natalie Portman
    Nazi Atrocities
    Nice
    Nice France
    Nimes
    Normandy
    Not-far-from-paris
    Not-far-from-paris
    Notre Dame De Lorette
    Notre Dame De Paris
    Occitanie
    #Occitanie
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Off-the-tourist-track
    Opera-garnier
    Operation Dragoon
    Oradoursurglane
    Our Lady Of Paris
    Palais Lascaris
    Palais Royal
    Paloma Beach
    Pancake
    Pancake Pantry
    Parade
    Parc De Bercy
    Paris
    Paris 1968
    Paris Arrondissements
    Paris Art Museum
    Paris Art Schools
    Paris At Home
    Paris Cafes
    Paris Fashion
    Paris Friend
    Paris Markets
    Paris Metro
    Paris Neighborhoods
    Paris Parks
    Paris Patisseries
    Paris Pets
    Paris Predestination
    Paris Retail Therapy
    Paris Travel
    Parks
    Passage Boudin
    Passerelle Simone De Beauvoir
    Pastis
    Patisserie
    Patricia Wells
    Paul Cezanne
    Perfume
    Pernes-les-Fontaines
    Pet Cemeteries
    Petit Palais
    Photography
    Picpus Cemetery
    Pinching Pennies
    Pink Granite Coast
    Place De Furstenberg
    Place De La Concorde
    Place Des Vosges
    Place Masséna
    Place Stanislaus
    Place Vendome
    Ploumanac'h
    Poilane
    Ponr Alexandre III
    Poster Art
    Promenade Des Anglais
    Provence
    #Provence
    Provence Markets
    Puffins
    Pyrenees-Orientales
    Rambouillet
    Raoul Dufy
    Regional Cooking
    Rennes
    Renoir
    Robert Doisneau
    Robert Wuhl
    Roquefort
    Rue Cler
    Rue Cremieux
    Rue De L'Eole Du Medecine
    Rue De Nil
    Rue Dénoyez
    Rue Des Ecoles
    Rue Des Martyrs
    Rue Irenee Blanc
    Rue Jules Siegfried
    Ruelle Des Chats
    Rue Montorgeuil
    Ruth
    Saintdenis
    Saint-Emilion
    Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
    Saint-Etienne-du-Mont
    Sainteustache
    Saint-Goustan
    Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert
    Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
    Saint-Malo
    Saint-Medard Church
    Saint-Paul-de-Mausole
    Saint-Remy-de-Provence
    Saint-Vincent Cemetery
    Sculpture
    Senlis
    Serendipity
    Shopping
    Sliceoflife
    Slice Of Life
    Small Paris Pleasures
    Small Town Saturday Night
    Social Media
    So-Pi
    Springtime In Paris
    Square Des Peupliers
    Square Montsouris
    St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral
    Street Food
    Suzanne Valadon
    Suzy Solidor
    Sylvia Beach
    Texas
    The Avignon Papacy
    The-dreyfus-affair
    The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
    The Louvre
    The Moose
    The National Archives
    The Pantheon
    The-paris-effect
    The Pink City
    Toulouse
    Toulouse-Lautrec
    Tourrettes-sur-Loup
    Travel
    Travel Advice
    Travel Planning
    Troyes
    U.N. World Climate Conference
    Urban Art
    Uzès
    Vacation
    Vacation Planning Food
    Vel D'Hiver
    Vichy
    Vieille Bourse
    Vieux Nice
    Villa Eilenroc
    Villefranche-de-Conflent
    Villeneuve-les-Avignon
    Vincent Van Gogh
    Walking
    Walking Paris
    Willi Ronis
    Wine
    Wine Festival
    WWII
    #WWII France
    WWII Paris
    WWII Provence
    Yachts
    Yves Saint Laurent

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.