Eating out in France is back on the agenda

Restaurants in France have been given a huge boost by the French government, which in a bid to boost the economy has recently voted to change the VAT rules, leading to reductions in the cost of restaurant and café meals by as much as 10%. Coupled with the fact that sterling is making steady progress in recouping its value against the euro, eating out in France this summer has become affordable again. The new law comes into effect on the 1st July 2009 just in time for this summers visitors and the overwhelming expectation is that restaurants will leap at the chance to lower prices and attract more customers.

Eating out is undoubtedly one of the principal pleasures associated with any French holiday due to the unrivalled quality and variety of cuisine on offer at reasonable prices. France is a country where the inhabitants literally “live to eat” and this approach to life has engrained in its people a deep culture of appreciation for good food be it simple or extravagant. Everyday nearly all French folk discuss the merits of food, be it the produce in the supermarket, whether the bread should be well cooked or not, which is the best local butcher, never a day goes by without food or drink being talked about, it’s a national obsession.

Such interest in food means that restaurants in France are obliged to be more than just good, they have to be very good to survive and excellent if they want to attract the top end clientele. So great care is taken to source the right products, recruit and train the best chefs and to move with the times and give people what they want. The average French man or woman is as knowledgeable about food as many a professional critique so the pressure is on all the time.

Regional identity and huge variations in Geology play a massive part in the diversity of choice of fare on offer. France is flanked by the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea each offering bountiful fresh seafood. There are also a number of very high mountainous regions including the Alps, the Jura and the Pyrenees which provide unique products such as mountain cheeses. Vast central plains form the “breadbasket” of France whilst verdant rich valleys such as the Loire and Dordogne produce exotica such as truffles and foie gras, and there is so much more throughout a land which literally has just about everything.

Its not just history and location that has established a deep sense of regional pride in France it’s also the fact that real economic power and decision making is devolved to the regions and in turn to the elected mayors of towns and villages. So it’s the locals who have chosen over many years to retain their identity, resist centralized thinking and banality, and hung on determinedly to what makes for example the Basque region so unique, Brittany so completely different with its own impenetrable language and Corsica more like a country in its own right. They have jealously guarded the identity and authenticity of their local products and cuisine, with champagne being probably the very best example as many a court case has been fought and won to maintain the regions right to protect its world famous brand.

In the Basque country you can eat succulent ham from Bayonne which is like no other elsewhere, in Brittany a savory crepe with local cider is without compare, wild boar sausages in Corsica have a hint of chestnut not found outside of the island. There are infinite examples of this diversity throughout the country. In the restaurants the secret recipes of legendary chefs and old “grand mere” are jealously guarded and new recipes constantly tested to add even more to the individuality of what’s on offer.

One of the strange truisms about food or drink is that whilst you can buy foreign products at home or even eat in French restaurants in the UK it never tastes as good as when you eat a local dish complemented by a wine or even water of that area in situ. This is a phenomenon which is difficult to explain but it is a fact. Even at a base level, when you buy a Camembert for example in Calais, eat a piece there on some local bread then take the same cheese home and do the same, its never as good then. It’s something to do with the air, the atmosphere, “je ne sais quoi”? So go to France, live, eat, enjoy, it just got cheaper!