Have you heard about usual meal time for French people? Or have you been to France to see for yourself how much time French people spend in restaurants? The French like to eat at a leisurely pace, even if it’s in the middle of a hectic business schedule. For the French, partaking in good food, at a relaxing pace, is part and parcel of the French culture. Still… Five hours for dinner…isn’t it way too long to be considered as normal? Aren’t you curious about what they are actually doing during meal time?
Actually, French do not have bigger appetite than normal people. French enjoy life in a more relaxing pace, and they have higher opinion about etiquette. These two culture is what causing them to spend longer time to dine!
On a usual casual party with friends or family, host will greet each guests’ with cheek kissing gesture. Imagine if there is 15 guests in one party, the host would have to spend more than thirty minutes just to greet them. After that, another an hour is spent to make small talk to update each other about their life.
The meal begins when host stats to serve different bottles of wine for everyone to taste, this is what’s called as appetizer wine. This part of the meal can take up to thirty minutes. So up to now they have spent a total of two hours, and they have not eaten any solid food yet. When everyone is done with the wine tasting, host will invite guests to sit at the dinner table.
The order for a typical French meal will be Soup - Salad - Main Course - Desserts - Tea/Coffee, and then ended with one glass of strong wine. As most of you know, every dish is served one by one, once you finish one dish, the next one will be served right away. This etiquette does not only apply for a house party, but also at most restaurants in French. With the addition of French culture that like to take it slow, it can take up to 3 or 4 hours to finish the meal
After all this information, aren’t you happy that we do not have such strict rules and etiquette for eating? We do not have to spend a fifth of our day just for one meal, what a blessing! Still, why not experience some real authentic French food and appreciate their slow-paced fancy service with their famous delicate cuisine!
Lyon Restaurant
(Photo credit: JKTGO and Jakpost)
Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Jakarta, Indonesia 10310
Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm (Mon – Fri)
Brunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm (Sat)
Dinner:6:30 – 10:30pm (Mon – Sun)
No comments:
Post a Comment