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Original poster

what sort of thing do french families have for dinner?

57 replies

brimfull · 20/10/2009 11:03

my 17 yr exchange student seems to be v. fussy
doesn't like vegetables or fruit

So far I have served

sausage pasta dish-ate a few mouthfulls
roast beef dinner with roast veg and roast potato -def not keen
green thai curry -refused point blank
chicken casserole-not keen ,ate a bit of meat that's it

she loves chocolate so have stocked up on penguins etc (ds thinks he's died and gone to heaven)

any suggestions for meals, was thinking of spag bol tonight

OP posts:

ParisFrog · 20/10/2009 11:28

Why not take her to the supermarket with you? They really are quite different to French ones and it could be interesting for her. And on the way she could point out what she likes to eat!!!

Fish is good - also check if she has to eat fish on a Friday. Lots of Frenchies won't eat meat on a Friday...

Good point about mixing up of too many foods. DP still will eat all his veg, then all the rice, and finally the meat, despite it all being on the same plate (I mainly cook British style not French! lol)

Original poster

brimfull · 20/10/2009 11:30

you are all so helpful

the eating things seperatle makes sense now ,next doors student is doing that witht he meals-interesting

breakfast -we have solved-she loves english muffins and jam and hot chocolate -hurrah!

OP posts:

Original poster

brimfull · 20/10/2009 11:32

supermarket a good idea
they are so busy socialising the time is flying-kind of wish we had her longer than a week

OP posts:

stepaway · 20/10/2009 11:33

She is an exchange student. emphasis on the word exchange. it's all about meeting new people, seeing new things and yes, eating new food!

You've served her a wide range of food so far and it all sounds delicious. She sounds very, very fussy, especially for a 17 year old!

I wouldn't start trying to cook her French food. Just keep offering her the same tasty meals you're making for the rest of your family.

Original poster

brimfull · 20/10/2009 11:37

Stepaway -dh agrees with you and I do partly but it's my maternal instinct. I want her to be comfortable and happy and I think she may be a bit homesick.

OP posts:

stepaway · 20/10/2009 11:42

you're a super nice host, ggirl!

castille · 20/10/2009 11:47

You are def doing the right thing. It's simply good manners to do your best to make her feel comfortable in your house, especially if she's homesick.

I often modify meals to accommodate my children's guests, particularly as I am a Brit in France and people have such silly ideas about what we eat! So I always serve things cooked simply and separately for children/young people/my fussy FIL, so they can take what they fancy.

ZZZenAgain · 20/10/2009 11:49

what about a meat fondue (if you have a fondue set already) with salad and baguette`?

Otherwise really I'd serve steak and ask her to cook her own the way she likes it.

fishie · 20/10/2009 11:51

i love visiting foreign supermarkets, take her to waitrose or somewhere she can look around the aspirational toiletries. and she might like to cook for you.

agree with the others who said smaller separate bits of the meal will help.

stepaway · 20/10/2009 11:55

But Castille, the OP has already offered sooo many different types of food, including traditional British food, Asia food, fruit & veg. At what point do you draw the line? just keep on cooking more and more different things? She is being a polite and welcoming host.

IMO it's the student who is being rude.

MmeLindt · 20/10/2009 12:00

ggirl
Yes, I did get the parcel. I started a thread to thank you but you must have missed it. Thank you so much, it was much appreciated (and very quickly scoffed). I had to hide in my office with a couple of the piggies otherwise the DC would have left me none at all.

I agree that you sound like a fab host. Try not to worry about her, I remember my first week or two when I went to Germany as an aupair. The guest family were worried that I was anorexic as I ate nothing. It was just nerves, combined with unfamiliar food.

Interesting about the not too much variety on the plate. I had a full Irish breakfast at the weekend and our French/Swiss friend ate hers very differently. I pile loads on the fork to get the flavour of bacon, egg, mushrooms and tattie scone together. She ate things individually. I just htought it was a strange habit of hers.

greygirl · 20/10/2009 12:01

My mom had a lot of foreign students staying with her and it used to drive her nuts that they wouldn't try anything she cooked for them. So much so that when i went on a visit to France she made it very clear i was to taste everything, in order to be polite. Loads of my mates only ate chocolate. Madame was very impressed with my trying everything, so I think this girl is just being 17 in a strange land, no reflection on your cooking at all. Ask her to cook for you - she might do crepes!

LynetteScavo · 20/10/2009 12:05

The French don't eat anything...that's why they are so thin.

I bet she'd eat Petit Filou.

Original poster

brimfull · 20/10/2009 12:06

ML-oh good glad you liked it.

She isn't being rude I don't think -just a bit nervous and unused to eating in strange houses-has never been to UK before If she as an adult I might think differently. Dd would know to eat whatever was put in front of her but she has travelled more than this girl-just a matter of experience.

She is becoming more relaxed as the week goes on ,will be fine by the time they go

OP posts:

castille · 20/10/2009 12:08

I don't think she's being rude, she's just being a teenager. At her age I was a fussy eater too. Eating with a foreign family can be terribly daunting, and if she's feeling homesick she probably doesn't have much of an appetite.

I'm not suggesting she cooks different things, just that she serves things differently, separately, so the girl will feel more at ease during meals.

Othersideofthechannel · 20/10/2009 12:12

She's probably just fussy but also she may not be used to having a main meal with meat in the evening so just not very hungry.

francaghostohollywood · 20/10/2009 12:25

Maybe she is just fussy or on a diet?
I remember going to the UK for the first time (I'm Italian) when I was 14 and eating like a wolf, my appetite was huge. I gained 4 kilos in 3 weeks

Niecie · 20/10/2009 12:25

My French exchange friend and her family raved about roast lamb. When she came over with her parents they used to take a leg of lamb back home again.

Of course that could just be them but some lamb chops or something might go down well.

They took the ingredients for gravy too. The French don't do gravy like us.

I remember eating lots of grilled meat with either salad or green beans plus bread. No sauces or anything.

Have lots of yoghurt for afters.

She should make more of an effort though - our food isn't that bad.

How about fish and chips? Who could turn down pomme frites?

happywomble · 20/10/2009 12:43

I think the french find "gravy" a strange concept.

I would do things like steak, lamb chops, salmon steak without sauce and do a side dish of vege or salad. As others have said they probably eat more bread and less potato than we do.

On the other hand on an exchange trip one should try the cuisine of the country in question so you could just continue with your normal meals and encourage her to try them.

I think the french also find our "puddings" amusing.

MrsJiggle86 · 20/10/2009 12:53

I thought one of the ideas of being an exchange student was to eat our food, taste our culture so to speak, not be picky and awkward, give her some wine, thats all ivbe heard they like, and she will eat anything when she gets hungry enough!

ParisFrog · 20/10/2009 13:26

Wouldn't recommend fish and chips. They find it very greasy, and can't understand why we like it!

I think it sounds like you're doing great. Unless she's actually complaining about being hungry, I'd keep doing what you're doing, maybe just add bread or salad.

It sounds like she's tasting things at least (except for the curry - as a hint, they generally don't like very spicy food, though I'm glad to say DP is an exception and requests my curries!). Just go easy on yourself and on her. it's all new and can be very daunting.

Also, we do have an awful reputation for food in France. That might be blocking her a bit. I'm trying my best to rectify it one Frenchie at a time!

snorkie · 20/10/2009 13:43

Our French Exchange student loved fish and chips from a proper chippie, wrapped in newspaper & eaten on a windswept beach in November! We explained it was a mad English custom.

He didn't like all my cooking. I think we eat more veg than he was used to and he wasn't that keen on the puddings, but he did enjoy Roast beef and pork casserole, so it may well be that he had different tastes to the OPs student.

Original poster

brimfull · 20/10/2009 14:03

dd took her to beach at the weekend and offered fish and chips but she wanted to go to macdonalds-c'est la vie

I think if I just make sure there is plenty of bread /salad and chocolate around she won't starve.

OP posts:

Anditsnotevenfriday · 20/10/2009 14:09

Other ideas if you want !

You could cook :

Burgers with green beans (with a bit of garlic in it to give a nice taste)

Quiche Lorraine and salad

Roast beef plus all the trimmings ? (she will be ridiculous not to like it)

Crudites (tomatoes, sweetcorn, tuna or crab stick?)

Why dont you do your own mayonnaise as well ?

Cheese

Original poster

brimfull · 20/10/2009 14:12

green beans -she didn't like
roast beef dinner -she ate miniscule amount about a 2yr old portion . Refused swede,cabbage,carrots and broccoli but did eat roast pot and yorkshire pud

OP posts:

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