Pass the Cheese

French Friends Coming for Dinner

 

After a relatively short period of time in our rural home in France my husband and I thought it time to take the next step in breaking the ice with our new French (and Breton) speaking acquaintances.  There is no better way to get to know people than to share a meal with them; particularly if the meal is to their taste and is well prepared; and thereby hangs a tale.

 

An insight into what form a dinner party should take is experienced first hand when you are invited to the neighbours for an evening meal. As well as the challenges of managing a coherent conversation in a foreign language, there are some forms of etiquette you may not be familiar with, for instance do not take wine, the host and hostess will have chosen the complimentary wine for each course of the meal.  Flowers or chocolates would be very welcome, but if you should choose flowers do not take chrysanthemums; they are associated with visiting graveyards.  As examples of thank you gifts we have been given, fresh oysters, beautiful Camellia plants for the garden and bottles of milk straight from the cow and still quite warm. Another aspect of table etiquette is keeping the plate provided for you for the duration of the meal up to the dessert. This requires you to devour everything on your plate and mop up stray morsels with bread to clear the area for the following course.  A habit I fully endorse due to the fact it reduces enormously the amount of dishes to be washed at the end of the meal.

 

French women (and men) have a natural aptitude to cooking which seems denied to those of us originating from across the channel. For one of modest talents in the kitchen the dexterity of French cuisine is quite intimidating. One such example is the farmer’s wives in Brittany, who provide the principle meal of the day at noon. No fuss, no hassle, fresh spider crabs (from a relative who happens to be a fisherman) dipped in homemade mayonnaise, salad from the garden, cheese (often goats) bought at the local market, washed down with cider; made with the abundant apple supply in the surrounding fields. And every mouthful is delicious which leads finally to the dessert. The pudding always follows the cheese course in France and the traditional dessert of Brittany is “Far Breton” a custardy mixture (far) with a quiche like texture combined with prunes and Armagnac for good measure and of course the Tarte aux Pommes flavoured with Calvados for that extra little bite.

 

So when it comes to inviting your neighbours to sample English cooking  the secret is to keep it simple, small but tasty and essentially each course must be complimented by an appropriate wine; but don’t forget to provide plenty of water on the table too. The French are not difficult to please and are very tolerant of the vagaries of the English eating habits but they are distinctly disinclined towards large slabs of (as they see it) overcooked beef or stodgy steamed fruit puddings. Four courses will suffice and each one eaten in an unhurried manner so there is plenty of time to talk, appreciate the food and savour the wine.   

 

 The reputation of the French and their relationship with food is one they live up to but more than that they enjoy food, eating it, cooking it and talking about it. There is another thread that runs through this cultural ethos and that is sharing this enjoyment with others; to treat each meal as a social occasion a moment to relax in convivial company. Bonne Appetite!