A Time to Eat

As you probably already know, the French love their food! In French culture, each meal is important, and people take their time to eat and enjoy their food. Check out this quick meal guide to help you understand French food culture.

Le Petit-Déjeuner

The day starts with breakfast at whatever time one gets up. Breakfast is not cooked. It’s usually made of the traditional cup of black coffee or possibly ‘café au lait’ (coffee with milk), bread and butter with jam, or croissants/”pains au chocolat” (chocolate rolls).

Croissant

Le Déjeuner

People will generally sit down for lunch at about 12 or 1pm – even though some will just grab a quick sandwich (especially those working in a fast-paced city like Paris). The typical lunch is made of a little starter, main course and dessert or cheese. Having a glass of wine (or two) is pretty common.

Le Goûter

The traditional 4-5pm snack is mostly for kids, but some grown-ups love to join it too, spreading Nutella or butter on a slice of fresh baguette or eating “des biscuits” (cookies).

Le Dîner

The French love to socialize around the table and dinner (which marks the end of a working day) is often the perfect moment for that. Like lunch, dinner is composed of a starter, main course and dessert or cheese. Some people will sit down to eat at 7pm in some areas of France, and in others like Paris they’ll wait till 9pm to enjoy the last meal of the day and then fall asleep on a full happy stomach.

Take your time!

The French don’t usually rush through their meals, and it’s considered impolite to bring your food with you to your worktable. So during your trip to France, remember to take your time and enjoy all of the delicious French food available!

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