Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
discuss your allergies or dislikes. Eat what is served to you;
it's rude to leave things on your plate. Your hostess will ask
if you'd like more: in general, you may take more of the
main course but not the others. Don't help yourself—even
if platters are on the table—unless instructed to do so.
Generally, there will be two glasses, one for wine and the
other for water. Your host will be generous in pouring, but
it is best always to quench your thirst with water and to sip
the wine for the taste. The myth of free-drinking French is
just that—a myth.
If you have arrived on the
métro
, you may certainly ask to
wash your hands before eating dinner; otherwise, avoid using
the
toilettes
or leaving the table at all if you can help it. And
Entertaining at Home
You may or may not have codes of your own, but it is
the French codes you have to learn when entertaining
Parisian friends in your home. Some things you'll like;
some you may never get used to. Don't fight it.
People are not usually invited over just for 'drinks'.
Lately
le cocktail
(usually from 6:30 pm to about
9:00 pm) is gaining in popularity, but in effect this
is still a meal, albeit one taken mostly standing up.
Also, the French don't often have a buffet, where
dishes are placed on the table and people can
help themselves.
Don't serve too many 'nibbles' before dinner, just
champagne or fruit juice and a few nuts. The French
save their appetites for dinner.
Since your guests will straggle in late, don't prepare
a dish that needs to be eaten at a certain time or one
that will require you to stay in the kitchen cooking at
the last minute.
Young children will not eat with you and your guests
unless it's a family dinner or lunch. If teenagers do,
they are not to monopolise the conversation.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search