As I explained last week, there are three codes that you need to master in order to get closer to the real France, the second of which is French cuisine.

And there is a better way to discover “gastronomic France” than sitting in front of a plateful of coq au vin, for example. 

I won’t try to educate or initiate your palette to French gastronomic tastes, or sell you the right address to eat well…you can go to any restaurant in Paris where they will try to give you the feeling that, through their 20-euro canned menu, what you have before your eyes is really French cuisine…mais non!

Although I have heard that you can eat a special pregnancy diet to guarantee a boy or a girl, I unfortunately do not know anything that can guarantee a French way of being, no matter how many frites à la mayonnaise you scarf down.

The unavoidable and stereotypical culinary options include: croissants, madeleines, fois gras, camembert, coq au vin, cordon bleu, and canard à l’orange.  But once you taste all of these, can you really say that you know something about French cuisine?

But once you taste all of these, can you really say that you know something about French cuisine?

All you have to do is take the train out to the countryside and visit the first village you come upon.  French villages come from the same cookie cutter and the centers are almost identical: peaceful and quiet, each containing the same characters tasked with a small, but important, slice of French cuisine.  It's like a life-sized box of chocolates. 

First and foremost is the boulanger, always smiling and curious, eager to sell you your daily bread.  He knows every local since that is where they get their daily bread.

The charcutier, arms crossed on his chest, like a king surveying his country.  He’s nicely dressed with white, clean sleeves.  How does he manage that?  He’s not smiling, and when he looks at you, he already knows how much he will charge you. 

The fromager is busy organizing the cheeses that she bought from local dairy farms that morning.  She will be happy to help you find the best cheese to go with your dinner tonight.

There is the fruit and vegetable stand, tended by a man who is always hanging out on the sidewalk waiting for the next customer.  In my head, I call him Monsieur Fruits et Légumes, but never to his face.   

The caviste, who sells French wine only and, just like the cheese lady, can help you find the perfect complement to your dinner. 

Walk around the town and buy a little something from each store—some pain complet from the boulangerie, some local cheese from the fromagerie, etc.  At the charcuterie, ask specifically for local sausages, which you can eat in the centre ville, next to the fountain, on your fresh bread.  Buy some raspberries from Monsieur Fruits et Légumes and buy a demi bouteille of red wine. 

Now you can sit by the fountain with your wine.  Put the sausage, cheese, and raspberries on your bread and you have the real taste of France.  If there’s room in your tummy, go back to the boulanger for a vanilla meringue.

This is a France that you can have on your plate.

This is a France that you can have on your plate.

Oh, and don’t forget to take a pocketknife with you for the sausage!