We head back to Europe today to explore the food culture and food tours in France. I opted to open this up to the entire country because there are some very unique experiences. For example, the traditional bread of the Loire Valley isn’t often found in the bakeries. To taste it, travellers have to seek out the local restaurants that bake it. Local insider tour guides know the best places to experience this wood-fired bread.
French cuisine
Sigh. I don’t know where to begin with French food. It truly runs the gamut from classical and elaborate to rustic and simple. Traditional French food is prepared with cream, or wine, or cheese. It’s rich in flavour and sometimes heavy. In the Middle Ages, the French had a guild system, which regulated sales. If you were a registered butcher, you could only sell raw meat, while charcuterie vendors sold both cured and raw meats. The guilds also served as a training ground for young chefs, moving them through the ranks to the coveted master chef. Haute cuisine, or “high cuisine,” came about through the gradual shift in recipes.
French food is often thought of as elaborate. Anyone who has tried their hand at a Julia Childs recipe or attempted any form of pastry knows that there are usually no less then fifteen hundred steps in a French recipe. However, as you’ll see, the rustic foods of the French countryside and the delicious yet simple seafood of the southern coast are just an integral to French cuisine.
The simple dishes, like a wedge of creamy brie cheese alongside a freshly baked baguette, make up some of the best meals in France. Even a roasted lamb drizzled with olive oil, white wine, and rosemary can be simple yet out of this world. Like the Italians, the French play with flavours, testing each step of the recipe to ensure perfection.
Maybe the oddest French food is escargot. Have you tried it? I have, and it wasn’t as slimy as I expected it to be! French food that most non-Francophiles consider “gross” ranges from tripeau to tete de veau and everything in between.. (I will let you look those up.)
Meals in France
Breakfast in France is usually the simplest meal of the day. Across the country, it is typically bread with butter or cheese, maybe jam, and black coffee or tea. Children usually have a cup of hot chocolate. Croissants and more elaborate pastries are reserved for weekends. Lunch is shorter than dinner, but still at least two courses, while dinner is at least three. Sometimes the meal begins with soupe a l’oignon (French onion soup). There is always cheese, bread, and wine.
Popular French sweet foods we eat across the world include crepes, macarons, cheese (all kinds), croissants, and chocolate souffle.
Food tours in France
Like food tours in Italy, there are many options for food tours in France. These range from half day or full day walking tours to multi-day excursions across the country. In the cities, most tours visit local cheesemongers, patisseries, or wine cellars. Some include lunch, while others include dinner.
I really want to include cooking tours and classes in this post, because just like in Italy, classes are a great way to learn the cuisine. In Paris, learn to cook macarons (#nomnomnom), the perfect baguette, or croissants. Lille’s Old Town is another great destination. This ancient town is rife with bakers, breweries, and more – all included on the Old Town Tour.
Many of the multi-day trips are food and wine tours, which explore the different regions of France in regards to the wine produced there. In the south of France, visitors can spend time at chateaus, visit local markets, and cook with Michelin-starred chefs. In the north, why not explore the fishing markets of the Le Guilvinec in Brittany or cook alongside a local chef in Normandy?
As in Italy, all of these experiences come with a price tag. But once again, it’s worth it.
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The Italians influenced a lot of people, which is why food tours in Melbourne talk a lot about the Italian coffee culture. But the French certainly have a culture all their own. Tomorrow, we’re jumping continents again.. see you at 10am eastern time!
