To Your Liking: French Culture and Cuisine

Just by going around the metro, you could easily tell that Filipinos have a special kind of fondness with food. The great number of restaurants you could see in shopping malls and on the streets is a clear manifestation to that. Whether the food joints serve fast food, a special variety or foreign cuisine, or fine dining, their presence still vividly express how much Filipinos love to eat.

The weight of this fact does not stop to be merely as a rare observation. Just when you thought these food establishments are only there for business reasons, you are wrong. The fondness to food by people reflects how the culture of a certain country is. Since the Philippines showcase a lot of restaurants serving authentic Filipino dishes, you could assume that their food is a huge part of how they are as a nation, and how they value and promote it locally or internationally.

It’s a similar approach when a tourist wants to learn and understand the culture of foreign countries without having to fly thousands of miles to do so. Among the popular countries that people across nations probably have in their bucket list to visit, France might just be one of those on top.

Though France has often been romanticized with the intimate ambiance in Paris and the Eiffel Tower as its main attraction, there is actually more to the beautiful country than that marketed image.

Over the years, France had the reputation of having a sophisticated yet classy culture. This is obvious with the way the people go about their daily routines, especially in the huge cities. But even in the small towns, a lot of travelers say that there is a unique French vibe that will just make you absorb their culture and still crave for more. That’s not even the best part. To top it all, there’s no better way to keep the practices flourishing than have overly supportive locals.

“I have noticed how much they are proud of their country – their language, their food, their traditions,” said Agnes Ramos, who lived in Paris for six months during her internship at Ecole de Cuisine Alain Ducasse under Chef Franck Geuffroy.

When asked about a particular practice she got accustomed with during her stay, the energetic lady gladly recalled the bisous – a way of greeting family and friends by kissing them on both of their cheeks. “A common tradition I see each day is the bisous. I really enjoyed the bisous that my friends and I practiced it, especially because we had met quite a lot of people. And I learned that when two people kiss three times (usually only two times) on both cheeks, it means those two people are very close to each other.”

But the lovely chef had more to say about the French’s way of caring for their culture and traditions, and this time it’s about their food.

“I love how they protect their products. There is such a term called AOC or Apellation d’Origine Contrôlée. An example of this would be Poulet de Bresse, chicken that has blue feet only from Bresse, France. No other place can sell or name their chicken as Bresse. Only those from Bresse can be called that because those chickens have been fed in a certain way, and they have a certain flavor that comes from the soil and grain of the area. In the food packaging, it always says there AOC, which means it’s protected. It’s not only for chicken, but also with dairy products, wine and more.”

Among the other French delicacies that she loves are the Speculoos, a spiced cookie that was traditionally prepared for the Christmas season but is now commercialized, the macaroons by Pierre Hermes, the Croissants and Pain au Chocolat, and of course the famous crêpes.

 “What I love most about their food are the pastries. I can say France is the perfect place to go to learn pastry. They practice perfection in any way with their food. I look up to the French, because I know they are always a step ahead with food,” the current Commis 3 at The Peninsula Manila’s pastry kitchen also attested with how the French’s culture with food contributes to their exquisite tradition and to the rest of the world.

She also added, “Most of the things practiced in school originated from their methods. Culinary terms used are in French as well. French cuisine is simple yet intricate at the same time. It appears simple, but the way food was prepared before putting it on the plate is rather complicated.”

With these being said, it is inevitable to admit how the French cuisine and practices dominate aspects of their way of living. It also proves how influential they are in the field of culinary.

For those who want to have an intimate dining experience but cannot afford to travel all the way to one of Europe’s finest country, there are restaurants around Metro Manila that will certainly satisfy your palette’s cravings. One fine French restaurant in Quezon City is Café Breton. Try out their crêpes, galettes (savory crêpes) and coffee.  You could also check out Brasserie Cicou at Greenhills.

(P.S.: This is the fourth article requirement in J 195)