Frommage anyone?

Okay, there are some things that are just so…”French” when it comes to dining. I was thinking about these things today as I was preparing a dinner for friends and family.
Here are some unwritten “rules” I thought I’d share.

First, you would never invite someone to your house for dinner before 20:00, which is 8pm. That means all of the guests really won’t arrive until 9p. Actual meal usually starts by 10p.

You typically start with Champagne and very light appetizers, like nuts or olives served in the living room or outside…no heavy appetizers to ruin your appetite for the meal.

The hosts will usually seat the guests and the hosts don’t occupy the ends of the table, but rather they sit in the middle seats of the table, easier to talk with all of the guests.

Seating alternate’s male, female and spouses are not seated next to each other. (they figure you see them enough, time to have interesting conversation with someone else – so French!).

Speaking of conversation…French conversations are generally NOT about work. More about your personal life, your interests, politics and world news, current events. People are not P.C. and in fact will disagree with your opinion as to make the conversation more interesting. They are quite direct and say what they are thinking.

The man is always in charge of serving the lady he is sat next to. Making sure her glass is never empty and she has everything she needs for her meal. A woman is generally not supposed to help herself to wine or water at anytime.

Cheese. Big part of the meal, so there are rules here. When serving cheese, this is the etiquette:
Round cheeses need to be cut like cake or pie. A big wedge of cheese needs to be sliced standing up, from back to front. As if you were slicing one piece of cake into two pieces of cake. NEVER slice the “nose” (the tip) of the cheese off. Quel faux pas! When that piece gets too thin, then it can be put on the side and then cut from front to back.

Sunday lunch is also a big deal. It’s usually a family/friends lunch day when everyone comes together. We love to do this in Seattle too. It allows us to invite friends and their children over, enjoy long lunches, let the kids play and you don’t really need to eat dinner Sunday night, because you had such a nice lunch that took four hours to eat!

Eating, drinking, talking, sharing, laughing…Quel Bonnheur! Bon Appetit!