Freaking Over French Food

Is French Food Really As Scary As It Seems?

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

My husband just booked us a trip to France and I'm kind of nervous! I'm excited for all of the beautiful scenery, history, and fashion, but I'm not too excited about the food. Isn't French food known for being weird? I'm a pretty picky eater so I'm worried I'm going to go there and be forced to eat snails every night. Eww. Is anything in France safe to eat?

Sincerely,

Traveling Picky Eater

Dear Traveling Picky Eater,

There is an old prejudice against the French and their food that they are so foreign and so weird that no one would want to eat their food! Trust me -- it's a pretty antiquated and provincial prejudice, but it does still exist in places where food is conventional and traditional.

Common foods in France, however, are not so foreign to what Americans eat here, although there is an art to food in much of France that is only practiced in some of America. A simple grilled ham and cheese sandwich in France would be advertised as a croque monsieur and may send some Americans running for a patty melt and fries once they hear the foreign sounding name of the simple sandwich.

A filet mignon with roquefort cheese may sound too weird to many simple eaters here, although they would quickly order a cheese steak at a Denny's.

The reality of French food is that there is an emphasis on the quality of the food that we don't find in most of America's kitchens. Roast chicken and white wine are just as often found in French restaurants as in good American restaurants. Bouillabaise is just a version of New England clam chowder -- although a few French may drop to the floor in a faint if you tell them that. The ingredients, however, are really what makes the difference.

Once a French menu is broken down and analyzed, there's not all that much difference between escargot and mussels except for the acceptance and the preparation. So, have a good vacation ... and enjoy the food!

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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