France is a country which is called “gastronomic paradise” all over the world. Many tourists, choosing France for holidays, take into account not only the world-famous sights of Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Pantheon, Notre Dame de Paris, but also the amazing cuisine of France. The French believe that food is the most important three components: taste, appearance and smell. The atmosphere created by the preparation and serving of food is greatly appreciated by the French. About 100 thousand copies of guides to restaurants and cafes of the capital city are published annually.
In Paris, the number of restaurants began to increase rapidly in the last ten years, but in the last couple of years there has been a halt to this influx, in order not to destroy the traditional catering facilities and to preserve the food culture itself that has developed from time immemorial. In Paris, as in many European cities, it is full of McDonald's, but in order to preserve the atmosphere of historic French cafes with the smell of coffee, fast-food restaurants are made in a sophisticated French style.
The French really appreciate the kitchen, cooking, as well as the time of its use. There is for the French a very important part of their life, they say “food is the pleasure of life”. It so happened historically that each region of France has its own peculiarities in the kitchen, which are inherent in a particular region and they are unique:
• The Northwest part of France mainly uses butter, cream and apples.
• In the South-Western kitchen dominated by goose fat, foie gras, porcini and Armagnac.
• In the south, they like to add olive oil, aromatic herbs and tomatoes.
• The cuisine of the north is distinguished by the Flemish influence; here they use potatoes, pork and beer.
• But in the east, the French like to feast on lard, sausages, beer and sauerkraut, such predilections were influenced by the German troops during the wars.
As we can see, history has influenced all the peculiarities of French cuisine: German preferences are inherent in the east, since the east borders Germany and even some of the cities used to belong to the German state, the Flemish part of Belgium influenced the north, since it was closer to France.
Of course, addictions exist not only at the regional, but also at the local level, but it is almost impossible to describe everything; this will require several weighty volumes. November 16, 2010, French gastronomy and cuisine entered the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Never before have kitchen-related wealth been attributed to the world heritage of mankind. If there is a country in the world where the passion for gastronomy is honored to be built into the ranks of the masterpieces of mankind, this, of course, is France. The French spend hours at the table, it is they who spend the most on the pleasures of the stomach. But in order to understand this craving for gastronomy, it is necessary to penetrate into its historical roots.
