Eating well is important to most French people, who spend a great deal of time thinking about, talking about, and eating food.
Contemporary cooking uses only the freshest local ingredients. Despite its reputation, the cuisine can actually be quite simple. The nature of French cooking is highly dependent on the particular region of the country.
From classic French cooking to nouvelle cuisine, there is something to satisfy every palate. A plate is never laden with food on the edge, which is where some non- Frenchwoman would likely place bread.
There is a great French tradition of good food and regular mealtimes. On the French Christmas menu you'll find seafood and shellfish together with duck, goose, venison and wild boar.
Regional specialities abound, with the Toulouse sausage, the seafood of the Riviera, and the cheese that typify each region.
Typical Provencal food will include extra virgin olive oil, onions and tomatoes, olives, garlic and more fresh ingredients obtained at the local market. A popular soup here is the pistou, made from olive oil, basil and pine nuts - the key ingredients of the region. Marseilles is the home of the bouillabaisse, a fish stew that is full of local produce and ingredients. Further east along the coast, towards Nice and Menton, the Italian influence is clear with pizzas and pastas. In the Languedoc, cultivated oysters are eaten alone or as part of a plate of shellfish.
Further north in the Loire valley you'll find prunes, truffles and goats cheese abound. And further north in Brittany you'll find oysters and crepes.
Even in the bakeries, cakes and patisseries vary according to region, with delectable cakes such as the religieuse being made in different ways yet tasting equally delicious. You'll also find foods to take away, such as tarte au citron or tarte tatin and ready cooked pizzas.
Elizabeth David's cookbook, French Provincial cooking did much to make the cooking of France popular abroad. Since then much has been published and as more people have travelled to France, common foods such as croissants and pain au chocolat are now available in many supermarkets.
The French have a love of local produce, even extending to their drinking of Evian bottled water, produced on the shores of Lake Geneva. Every small village has it's weekly market and the stalls are staffed by local farmers selling the produce from their homes and farms. Produce is beautifully and proudly displayed to eager local shoppers.
The cuisine that is known outside of France, however is typically haute cuisine, an elaborate traditional cooking style. Eating healthy and enjoying a meal with French food can be accomplished!
For the French, food is a delight and there's nothing that can beat assembling a meal and pairing food and wine, enjoyed as a long, leisurely meal with friends and family.
