Re: [tlug] [OT] French cuisine - was: AT cases and power supplies

[Jim Breen <jimbreen@example.com>]

On 30 May 2012 03:18, Godwin Stewart <gstewart@example.com> wrote:
> On 29/05/2012 17:18, Attila Kinali wrote:
>> PS: and i'm glad that the british never succeeded in taking over
>> france. The french cusine would have suffered a lot ;->

Well, the English did take over much of France in the early 15th
century, but I don't think they were on a culinary mission. Burning
the odd virgin in Rouen doesn't count. The French, of course, took over all
of England a few centuries before then, but apart from adding words like
"mutton" and "beef" to the language their long-term impact on the food
seems to have been small.

> Actually, French cuisine as experienced by most people every day *has*
> suffered. Hugely. I was in France until nearly 5 years ago and moved to
> the UK in October 2007.
>
> The standard of food preparation in the UK has overtaken that of France
> and is now light years ahead unless you're talking haute cuisine that
> you need to take a mortgage out on your house to pay for.

Interesting. We are regular visitors to both countries, and lived in France
for a couple of periods in the 90s. I have to say that our experience is
quite the opposite.

> If you put traditional UK pub grub and your typical bistrot meal in a
> bar in France side by side, there is no comparison possible. I'd take
> the food in the UK pub any day of the week.

Hmm. I have had some excellent meals in gastro-pubs in Blighty(*), with
very expensive bills to match, and one or two awful ones as well when
we weren't cautious enough. OTOH our bistro, etc. experiences in France
have generally been very good, and usually at a fraction the price.

In July we are doing a hike in the Cévennes area which involves staying
in a chain of small hotels/auberges/gîtes on a "demi-pension"  basis. We
have done several of these walks before, and the "table d'hôte" meals
are usually a highlight. Even the most basic establishments take the food
quite seriously; something I have rarely encountered in the UK (or here.)

Cheers

Jim

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blighty
-- 
Jim Breen
Adjunct Snr Research Fellow, Clayton School of IT, Monash University
Webmaster: Hawthorn Rowing Club, Treasurer: Japanese Studies Centre
Graduate student: Language Technology Group, University of Melbourne