HOW EUROPEAN PEOPLE IMAGINE WHAT THE OTHERS EAT

The results of this survey have no great scientific value since they were done on too small a number of questionnaires. However, they help have a first idea of what we believe to be other people’s food habits.

It seems that it was for Italy that answers were the most significant.

WHAT WE THINK ITALIAN FOOD TO BE

Italian cappuccino

° Pasta and pizzas

WHAT YOU THINK FRENCH FOOD IS

The baguette, the glass of wine and the beret

For our Spanish friends, France is THE country of pancakes but also of dishes made of cheese : fondue, raclette and soufflé

OUR IDEA OF WHAT SPANISH FOOD IS Paella tortilla and Gaspacho

OUR REPRESENTATIONS OF POLISH FOOD

Poland is THE COUNTRY of VODKA

REPRESENTATIONS OF FOOD FROM OUR SPANISH FRIENDS

. The typical Italian dishes are pasta and pizza The typical French dishes are pancakes, pot

au feu and fondue Polish food habits are little or unknown. The answers are the same for internationally

known dishes.

BEVERAGES Our knowledge about beverages is smaller for Italy : wine, limoncello and espresso

coffee For France : wine for the Poles, the Spaniards

see us as drinking Champagne, Cognac or pastis (a drink made with anise).

Beverages

FAT AND STARCHY FOODS FAT STARCHY FOODS

. Italy and spain are clearly identified as countries that consume oil. . For France, answers are split between butter and oil. In fact, it corresponds to a divide between south France where olive oil is used for cooking and north France where butter is prefered. This difference is explained by producing areas. The POITOU- CHARENTES region is a very important producer of BUTTER. . For Poland, fat is largely less represented.

The answers collected don’t enable to identify any clearly cut trend. We can conclude that our cooking habits include a large range of starchy foods BUT -The Poles tend to consume mainly POTATOES.- The Italians feed mainly on PASTA -The spaniards prefer RICE which is logical because of paella. -The French consume rice , pasta and potatoes.

NON APPETIZING DISHES Some French dishes seem not appetizing for

our European friends : - Snails and frogs !

NON APPETIZING DISHES In fact, French people consume them rather

little. There are two main regions in France where snails are produced and eaten : Burgundy and Poitou Charentes. People living in Charente are even called « cagouilles » which means snails in the local language.

NON APPETIZING DISHES Surveys didn’t show any disgust for other

dishes, be they Italian, Spanish and Polish. Of course our food tastes and distates can

be individual but they are mainly CULTURAL and we must LEARN about the various tastes to be able to appreciate them.

COOKING BECOMING INTERNATIONAL

Easy to prepare dishes. Ingredients that can be found everywhere. Convivial dishes nice to share. Rather cheap dishes as pasta, pizza, tortilla.

THE RICHNESS OF REGIONAL DISHES In each country, there are « national » dishes

but also a regional cooking considered as national dishes as flammenkueche in Alsace, the cooking of seafood in Royan for France.

SYNTHESIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRES ABOUT WHAT FRENCH HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS THINK ABOUT FOOD

. No meat seems representative in any of the 4 countries

. No way of cooking seems characteristic of a country except a tendency to grill for the Spanish cooking. In France Plancha is more and more used because considered healthier than BBQ.

. Very little knowledge of the various spices used Conclusion The answers to all the questions show little

knowledge of the food habits of the 3 other European countries. As we could expect, the lack of knowledge is very strong about Polish habits. Poland is not a strong touristic destination for French people, There are few Polish restaurants. We have to DISCOVER EVERYTHING .

Food globalization if it exists concerns only a small number of products : Pasta, Pizzas or paella. Only breakfast seems standardized: the answers coffee croissants do not nevertheless seem to correspond to the daily reality

TO CONCLUDE Geographical proximity and tourist and

cultural exchanges help overcome cliches as far as food is concerned..

Thus it is Polish food that is the least known, the Poles know better Italian dishes, the Spaniards and French from the Atlantic coast know more about their next door neighbours than about others.

After this exchange we all know that Pierogi are a typical dish that we even know how to prepare. We also know how to prepare Italian pasta and we will go on with French and then Spanish cooking.

Buen provecho

dobre apetytu

buon appetito

Bon appétit

THE END : La devise européenne est « unis dans la

diversité ». Unidos en la diversidad Jedność w różnorodności Unita nella diversità