Do the French Accommodate Special Diets When Entertaining? Thoughts from a Frenchwoman.
M. cooking paella for us in her lovely kitchen in French Catalunya.
Remember a while back when we had a nice conversation on my Facebook page about accommodating special diets when cooking for friends? A U.S. reader prompted the discussion by telling me his picky-guest woes and asking me what the French do…
I promised to ask my BFFF (best French friend forever), M., what she thought. Her response made me smile. I hope it does the same for you. Note: I’ve edited this a bit just for clarity.
Here’s her candid response:
“The truth is French people of my generation [M. is middle aged] really don’t get overly concerned about special requests. For example, if some friends of ours were vegetarians or another one did not like rabbit, for instance, they were a minority and usually did not complain and ate whatever else was available that would suit them.
The real story was that we knew that la maitresse or le maitre de maison [our hosts] had spent a lot of time cooking in order to offer a real treat for her/his guests. That meant something to us, and we were educated to show some respect.
However, more and more millennials now are either vegan or gluten free or vegetarian. Some will eat fish, some won’t, and the majority make a huge point at letting others know how deep is their concern and how they think they are doing the right thing for the sake of humanity...
This is really annoying.
So to answer your question as to whether or not the French accommodate special diets, it would depend on the location (country versus big cities), social status, education, and age bracket.
Charcuterie is compulsory for instance in the Southwest or in the Basque region. If you don't like it, you should not go there! If you don't like foie gras, don't travel to le Gers or Dordogne...
My daughter became a vegetarian after doing a three-month internship in a slaughterhouse (as part of her veterinary courses). She would send me the most horrible videos and that really put me off meat for a year. But I came back to eating meat, but making sure of choosing the origin and the cuts.
My daughter is now living with her boyfriend who really enjoys la bonne cuisine, and she is back to eating everything, thank goodness—having her for lunch before was giving me a headache!
M. and me at the wonderful Bar du Templiers in Collioure, France.
French people of my generation tend to go to restaurant together—this is a good way to test the eating habits of new friends. And afterwards, the overly fussy folks would probably not get invited...That makes for a simple and straight forward selection!”
Readers, there’s an approach I hadn’t thought of! When I make friends with people, I’m usually really quick to invite them to my house for a meal. But M’s idea of “testing the waters” by going out makes sense. Before you go to all that trouble, why not first see if you’re all a good fit for each other?
Thoughts?
