Letter From Paris
Paris Kiosque - November 2000 - Volume 7, Number 11
Copyright (c) 2000 Harriet Welty-Rochefort - Used with permission.
Yesterday, flipping through Elle magazine and checking out les recettes as I
sometimes do, I was astounded to see recipes for :
Caesar salad
BLT
meat loaf
Wait a minute, thought I. Am I not in France, home of the gratin
dauphinois, the mousse au chocolat, the boeuf en daube? Why on earth would
the French want to learn about a BLT (which, I admit, is my all-time
favorite sandwich if you exclude the Reuben) or a meat loaf (also good, but
decidedly not haute cuisine) or a Caesar salad (nothing better than a
delicious one but I've had an overdose of too many middling ones to make
this a favorite anymore).
The answer is simple: the French are just taken with, SMITTEN by,
everything that is American, and have been for quite some time. The big
secret here is that although they give hefty lip service to
"anti-Americanism" and talk grandiloquently of the woes of globalization, no
one's putting a gun to their collective t=EAtes to make them accept:
Halloween, Gap, Nike, Planet Hollywood, McDonalds, brownies, and now, meat
loaf! They love it!
In fact, this place is getting so "Americanized" that on some dark days I'm
starting to wonder what's going to remain French.
In the realm of food, though, I trust the French will do as they've always
done: take the best and give it the French twist. The following extract
from my next book, FRENCH FRIED, grapples with this subject:
"What is the favorite food of the French? Snails? Frogs legs? Wrong.
According to one poll, the first favorite is quiche lorraine (81%) followed
by steak frites (79%). Next in line is the pot-au-feu (79%), blanquette de
veau (78%), couscous (77%), paella (73%), pizza (73%), gigot, leg of lamb
(72%), saumon en papillote, salmon in foil (69%), and hachis parmentier or
shepherd's pie (69%). Other top favorites are confit de canard, choucroute,
terines, and curry.
If the French are worried about globalization, this poll proves they don't
need to be...Considering that couscous is a North African dish, pa=EBlla is
Spanish, and pizza is Italian, one can say that the French have always been
global in their tastes...
But the clincher was the day I bought some of that ready-made pie dough (no
comparison to the real thing, but I was in a hurry). On the left end of the
package was a bat and a skeleton and a witch on a broom, in the middle, the
words Pur Beurre (meaning that the ready-made dough was at least made with
real butter and not some kind of unidentified oil). On the right - and this
is what astounded me - was a recipe for a tarte Halloween =E0 la citrouille, a
Halloween Pumpkin Pie. I thought the French HATED pumpkin pie. Intrigued,
I took a closer look at the ingredients which included crème fraiche and
parmesan cheese and bacon among other things..."
And of course, to find out what happened next (did she or did she not
actually make that weird-sounding pie?), you'll have to read the book!
But the point, as far as the "Americanization of France" is concerned, is
that there's nothing to worry about. Well...that is, until the French
abandon their wonderful soupe au potiron (pumpkin soup) and even their salty
pumpkin pie for our sweet version.
In my heart of hearts, I know that the French will have stopped being French
the day I see ....sweet potatoes with marshmellows!!
We're not there yet. Stay tuned!
Harriet Welty-Rochefort, a bona fide Midwesterner from
Iowa, visited Paris for the first time while in
college. She became so completely enamored of
France that she stayed - and has been there ever since.
Married to a Frenchman and the mother of two
Franco-American boys, Harriet Welty-Rochefort writes
on business, lifestyle and travel for major U.S.
publications. Her book -
French Toast
- is a lighthearted look at
French manners and mores.
Writes Leslie Caron: French Toast includes the most delightful barbs at France's
subtle but deep-rooted codes of behaviour...I read the book on the EuroStar between
Paris and London and wished the train had not reached its top speed of 300 kph!
Reviewed in the Los Angeles Times on January 2, 1998, French Toast
is published in the U.S. by St. Martin's Press.
In the coming months, we'll be publishing short extracts from her
forthcoming book, French Fried, The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris,
which will be published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press in March 2001.
If you've had some funny, startling, satisfying, or dismaying
food experiences in France you'd like to share,
you may contact Harriet directly at
hwelty@club-internet.fr.
Editor's Note:
Dear Readers, while our writers are always
delighted to hear and to receive comments, both about their columns in the The Paris Kiosque,
as well as your experiences in Paris,
they are unable to answer any requests
for travel information.
Thank you for your understanding.
