FRENCH cuisine is considered to be the best, the most elegant and one of the most romantic the world has ever known. Viewed up close, French cuisine is not actually that complex. You may find the best French restaurants elsewhere in the world but at the doorstep of a typical French home is where you find real French food which is inexpensive, yummy and nutritious – stripped of all inhibition associated to it. Spices, cheese and wine all play important roles in a typical French recipe. A typical French breakfast (and this is also served in bed if you order it in a nice hotel, even the two-star ones serve this one), consists of croissants, butter, jam and coffee. If you want, you can substitute a chocolate drink for coffee. Croissant is French for crescent and croissants are indeed shaped like a moon. They are uniquely French although they count their origin as coming from Austria or Hungary.

Nevertheless, a French-made croissant definitely tastes superior to one that is made in London. The meal is rather quick but come to think of it, bread already contains carbohydrates which can nurture you in even in the most grueling physical activities all morning. See, I told you that a French breakfast doesn’t look and taste complicated. You can even come down from your hotel room and go straight to the hotel café where French breakfast is served in a buffet. Most French take their breakfast early – as early as 6 a.m. or even at 5 a.m. They want to feel rejuvenated early so they can concentrate on their work throughout the morning. Lunch is served in two hours.

Whereas breakfast is quick, lunch is the opposite. Lunch is meant to be taken slow and courses, especially in five-star restaurants in France, are served one at a time. This is ideal for a family of six who wish to go out in a restaurant to lunch. In smaller cities in France, people go home to take their two-hour lunch break because after the 45-minute lunch, these folks usually take a rest. If lunch is elaborate, a French dinner is unarguably grand and elegant. Hors d’oeuvre or entrée which may be salad or soup is served first followed by the main course and the dessert which is usually cheese-based. Otherwise, you may settle for fruit which may be orange, tangerine, peach, apricot, apple, pear, plum, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and grape. Everything is not complete without the obligatory wine of course. Fruit juice can substitute the wine. The main course is usually accompanied with vegetables, pasta and bread. Water is likewise served.

When you opt to dine out in France, there are many different eating places here. A restaurant is usually closed one day in a week. A bistro is smaller and the menu is written on a chalk board in a conspicuous place above the counter. A brasserie serves beer and menus found here naturally are conducive with beer like sausages and seafood. A café serves coffee and its many variants.