Lunch at French lycée page

[French Margaret]

I had lunch at a French lycée yesterday. It was canteen style as you'd expect when you need to get 1000 people fed in an hour, but it was good.
The vast majority had the starter, either a salad, paté or gratefruit, the main course of meat and vegetables or potatoes, and a simple dessert and/or cheese. The French don't do wussy vegetarian stuff.
There were no sodas or fruit juice, just plain water.
It wasn't 100% primal, but it was possible to make primal choices. But even if it's not 100% ideal it's so much better than what most teenagers are eating in the US and UK.
The French don't get everything right, but we could learn from them on the mass catering front!

[Meadow]

What, no chocolate milk, pizza, and fries and corn syrup ketchup? I thought that was the only way highschool kids survived?

Did most of them eat what they were given? I am assuming some must actually choose the pate or the cheese for dessert or they wouldn't have it out.

[French Margaret]

It's self service, so there was a choice of about 4 starters, two main courses, and desserts were fruit tart, fruit compote, and yogurt. The dessert portions tend to be small in France, and they're not normally served with cream or custard or ice cream etc. There was also fresh fruit and cheese. All the kids seemed to have one of each course. We ate with the staff, and they were doing likewise. Guess it's what you're bought up to consider "normal".
Mustn't forget however that the most popular "restaurant" in France is McDonalds. Can't win them all.

[Acteon]

You will see more tourists in McDonald's than the french.

For myself, when I find myself in Paris, I go to oyster bars. :-)

[janie]

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could learn from the French instead of thinking the American way of everything is best? In American schools they think that french fries with sugary ketchup and macaroni and cheese are both acceptable vegetables. SAD.

I love French cooking! Love the food there and am a devout Julia Child and Jacque Pepin follower (w/o the flour and sugar...)

[StoneAgeQueen]

French food is my favourite cuisine. We used to holiday there every Summer when I was growing up, and the delicious food was such a huge part of the vacation. Nothing beats barbecuing the prawns you bought at market that morning, on a French beach at sunset and enjoying it with some white wine and baguette (yeah, yeah). Their supermarkets are just filled with fresh meat, fish, butter, cheese and pate. The shoppers actually sample the fruit and veg before they buy it, you're likely to get arrested for shoplifting if you try that over here.

[Phaedrus]

I love my business trips to Paris. It's so easy to eat my lunatic fringe primal/diabetic diet and you never get bad food or wine no matter where you go.

[janie]

My DH says that you can get better food in a little Ma & Pa restaurant in France than you can in some snooty French restaurant in the USA. Part of it is ingredients - the other is a respect for good food.