Valentine Boyer French Cuisine Interview

French Cuisine Interview Part 1 of 1

Date: 10/22/14
Location: William T. Young Library
Length: [00:05:14]
Interviewee: Valentine Boyer
Interviewer: Klay Kinman
Transcriber: Klay Kinman

[0:00][KK]: Hello, I'm here with Valentine Boyer and I am going to interview her about French
Cuisine. What types of food are eaten for each meal? For example: sweet for breakfast, savory
for lunch.
[0:21] [VB]: For breakfast we use to eat classic things like bread, coffee, tea and jam, especially
baguette or croissant and pain au chocolat. We also eat a lot of cereals, but what everybody eats
is fresh bread with butter and jam. For the lunch it depends on who you are of course, student or
adult. Most of the time we dont eat much during the day and more for the dinner. For the lunch
it will be a quick meal and for the dinner we cook a real meal (my mother used to do sausage
cabbage carrots and onions with many flavors called choucroute. Blanquette is another classic
menu item: beef, cream, mushrooms, and carrots are traditional French meal. She also cooked
curry rice, couscous, chicken tarragon, a lot of good fresh fish with tomatoes and onions.
[1:37] [KK]: Is the standard of quality of food set higher than here?
[1:45] [VB]: The quality of food is much better in France. Everything or almost everything is
fresh or from the the butcher, the baker, the merchant of fruit and vegetables. Nothing is fried or
pouched.
[2:06] [KK]: How often are meals eaten? For example: Americans eat quite often.
[2:17] [VB]: We eat 3 times per day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes we have a little
snacks around 4pm or 5pm.
[2:31] [KK]: What is the relation between time and quality? Do people want it fast, or do people
want quality food?

[2:43] [VB]: It depends on the people and the situation, but in our culture we eat slowly, in a
family for example everybody sits everyday for lunch and dinner around a table for an hour.
When we eat we take our time, its an important moment where you sit with your friend or your
family. But if youre a student you eat faster because you have class. No one really cares.
[3:17] [KK]: What types of food are custom to the French culture?
[3:23] [VB]: In French : Blanquette, riz de veau, choucroute, pat, charcuterie, fromages,
beaucoup de plats en sauces et de viandes cuisinees, particulirement des poissons, lotte a
larmoricaine, sol, ratatouille, pates aux legumes, quiche lorraine, cote d'agneau, escalope
milanaise, gratin d'auphinois, coq au vin In English this means Stew, sweetbreads, sauerkraut,
pate(kind of meat) , cold meats, cheeses, many dishes in sauces and meat dishes, especially fish,
ratatouille, pasta with vegetables, quiche lorraine, cote d lamb cutlet Milanese, auphinois gratin,
chicken with wine, risotto, foie gras.
[4:33] [KK]: Is alcohol consumed for each meal?
[4:39] [VB]: Depends on the people. In my family my grandparents drink wine everyday for
lunch or dinner, usually one glass per day and my parents every 2 or 3 days for dinner.
[4:51] [KK]: Is the quantity of food consumed each meal different than American where dinner
is the biggest meal?
[5:01][VB]: Dinner is the biggest meal too.
[5:06][KK]: Thank you for your time, Valentine!
[5:10][VB]: No problem, Klay! I am glad to help you.