For my blog post about London, I fit in the spectacular food scene with my discussions about the culture and experience of the city. The Parisian food scene, however, deserves its own post. It is impossible to come here and not feel the deep love and appreciation Parisians have for their country. The flâneur is a word created solely to describe just strolling through Paris and enjoying the city. Another very common activity is popping in at one of the many cafes and sitting outside to people-watch. No city has this much appreciation for itself. This idea extends to the food. Parisians hold deep regard for their food, and it shows. I have never had a disappointing meal, and most meals have been fantastic. The quality of the food speaks for itself. At every patisserie or boulangerie, you can see an artful display of bread and pastries. Everything looks so appetizing, and you can tell the owner/workers deeply respect what they are doing and do not take it lightly. Finding a disappointing coffee or croissant in the United States is easy. Everything in France is made with the most care and attention to detail. Food is such a substantial portion of the culture that even something as small as a croissant is treated as important.
Food is a central part of Parisian culture, and this shows in the quality of French food as well as the way meals are treated. I have visited Paris before, so this part was not new to me. Meals are treated as a whole event. It is so common in the US to skip breakfast, work through lunch, and snag a quick takeout dinner on the way home. We are a culture centered around productivity and work. France is far different. Meals are often several hours in length and often consist of multiple courses. Breakfast may consist of a small croissant or pastry, but it is still regularly eaten at a cafe while people-watching. Lunch is a larger meal usually accompanied by drinks and hours of talking. Dinner is somehow bigger. I commonly see people sitting outside a restaurant and ordering several rounds of drinks, eating, ordering more drinks, and maybe a coffee or dessert at the end. This takes hours and lasts well into the night. I love this because it makes eating feel so communal. It is a place to get together and enjoy each other’s company. I think we have lost this in the US, so it is pleasant to see a country appreciate how food can bring people together. It is so fun to participate with my friends as we step into this culture and style of consumption. Taking a step away from the suffocating air of productivity in the US has been a good way to recharge and explore a new environment.
A lot of the importance of food also derives from the importance Parisians place on leisure. This again diverges from the US, which tends to demonize taking time for oneself. Parisians regularly engage in leisure activities and take time away from work. This shows in the massive skincare industry in France, as well as the way food is treated. It is treated as a space to get away from work and it lasts several hours (though I’m not sure how workers have the time to do so) and takes up a good portion of the day. Every street is lined with cafes and restaurants, usually filled with people lounging and drinking. Les Miserables conveys this Parisian attitude in subtle ways. The meeting of Cosette and Marius only happens when they are both taking long walks and strolling through the Luxembourg gardens. Cosette goes on this walk with her father every day. They stroll along and enjoy themselves and each other. Food is not at the forefront of Les Miserables (a lack of it plays a bigger role), but the cultural attitudes that affect the food scene can be seen. It is so hard to relate to this, but I can attempt to emulate this blasé attitude. I originally took this state of leisure as a mere cultural quirk, but a conversation we had in class changed my attitude about its roots.
During a discussion about the ending of A Tale of Two Cities, Professor Chater probed us about what the revolutionaries of 1789 were really fighting for. Liberty and equality? Revenge? Justice? He argued that they were fighting for the banal state of just enjoying life without worry. Many of us have come to look down on the sort of apple pie / white picket fence life. The revolutionaries were fighting for the freedom to live and make life as boring as you would like. This thought really struck me. The life of leisure that Parisians enjoy is hard-won and costly. Thousands died so that the Parisians were able to live without fear of the oppression that crushed the majority of the country for hundreds of years. The food culture in Paris is an extension of this, but the cultural attitudes toward leisure are something to be proud of. It speaks to the strength of the french in working toward what they want. Just being able to sit out and enjoy the beautiful city around you is exactly what the forefathers dreamed would come of France. I think this way of sitting in the moment and finding beauty in the mundane is all any of us can hope to achieve.
