Is there a crisis in French Cooking?
Let me answer this question straightly : Oh yes! When I read " fully 71 percent of Frenchmen named the banal steak-frites as their favorite plat" (p. 68-69), let me underline how desperated I am.
"Only people past sixty preferred a blanquette de veau, or a gigot d'agneau, or even a pot-au-feu, all real French cooking" (p 69)
Thanks to this article, I just discovered that I may look like a 22 year old but it appears nonetheless that I am an old lady. ( Yes, I would rather have a blanquette de veau than a steak-frites)
This article was written in 1997, not SO long ago. The author certainly knows what he is depicting : "Nobody thinks of changing métiers in France, because it's just too hard", he states page 79.
I'm afraid this is true. I read once that it is common for Americans to switch jobs at least 5 times in their lives. This would not occured to French people. Once they have a job, they are usually happy where they are. Indeed, " The French system of education [...] locks people in place" ( p.79)
The ending of this short story is wonderfully written.
"The food was even better that I had remembered. This proved either that (a) Proust was wrong, and you can always recapture the pleasures of your youth if you just go back to the places where you had them, or (b) there is more good cooking left in Paris that I knew, or (c) I went to the wrong place. Anyway, there's hope."
This whole paragraph reminded me of the discussion we had in class. (What makes a perfect meal? ) Gopnik was alone for this meal, so this had nothing to do with good company or great topic discussion. It was all because of the meal. And sometimes, this is all that matters.
(more to come later]
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