We need to learn a few lessons on food from the French and one of them is to elevate the importance of homemade fresh foods. The French pride themselves on their cuisine. Food and wine play important roles in French society—the way a person eats often reflects their French heritage, region of birth, social status, and health. In November 2010, French gastronomy was added by UNESCO to its lists of the world’s ‘intangible cultural heritage’.
I was not surprised when a new law in France required restaurants to let their customers know whether the food they offered was homemade or not. Having had food in various parts of France I have found that it is difficult to find a good restaurant. The food never seems up to mark, at least one you would expect. It is average and sometimes tastes like it was heated in the microwave. I always assumed that if you ate at a restaurant in France you would expect the food to be fresh and made in there on the premises but apparently many chefs are cutting corners and reheating foods prompting the government to take action.
There is a debate on what constitutes homemade. The law allows for raw ingredients in any form — frozen vegetables that have not been cooked are allowed. In any case this gives the French and the millions of tourists who flock to Paris and the surrounding areas a better idea of what they are eating. This shows how important cooking fresh and how much it can make a difference in taste as well as health. Making everything from scratch like our grandmothers did may be unlikely but cooking simple dishes is a much better option than ordering in.
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