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La Gastronomie Française
France is considered by many to be the home of haute cuisine. Some might say that food is a religion in France. Indeed, the French take their food so seriously that colourful food festivals are commonplace. Get a flavour of French cuisine at Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant. Test your knowledge of ‘la gastronomie française’ and do this interactive quiz by simply dragging and dropping the flag on the left to its description on right of page. If you find that you are unfamiliar with France’s culinary specialities, then check out this site complete with labelled food images. It should also be noted that other influences (Moroccan and Algerian) are now increasingly evident in French restaurants.
If you like cooking at all, this A–Z of French cuisine is heaven. You can find recipes for any course here, as well as tips on techniques, look up cooking terms, see what fresh food is available at this time of year, and even receive a recipe of the day via e-mail!
Food even features in everyday language. Have you ever wondered what is the French translation for ‘as cool as a cucumber’ or ‘chalk and cheese’. Click on Français, choose the category ‘nourriture’, and click on search, to get all the expressions associated with food and the context in which they are used.
People are, increasingly, becoming more health conscious, although even chocoholics can justify their addiction and you will understand why if you try these chocolate based recipes. Check whether you are eating healthily or not. Do this online survey to justify your eating habits. Also check this nutritional advice for young people and listen to this student talking about what she eats. Is the school canteen providing a healthy option? Do you include any of these vegetables in your recommended daily intake and check whether a pineapple is smaller than a melon! If time poor but want to eat healthily, try the ‘express’ range of recipes for entrées, plats or desserts. The ‘express’ version gives recipes that can be easily and quickly prepared and if you have more time available, try the ‘gastronomique’ version.
Compare what the French and other Europeans eat. French breakfast consists of a café and croissant but do fellow Europeans indulge? Get a flavour of other European dishes. Ever wondered why we eat turkey for Christmas or why certain dishes are associated with Easter, then, check this food story.
Sample some regional cuisine and see how France’s varied climate, geographical position and regional traditions have influenced it. Although mainly in English, regional dishes mentioned are in French. Areas such as Provence specialise in fresh fish, seafood, fruit and vegetables.
Doing a project on food in French class? Check out this site for ideas and a worksheet that can be adapted to your needs. Get first year students to improve their vocabulary on food items at this interactive site .
France is said to produce many of the world’s famous cheeses. Find out all you need to know about French cheese - its origins, how it is made and the different kinds of cheese. Like wines, French cheeses are defined by their AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) and cow’s milk, goat’s milk and sheep’s milk are used. There are many types of cheese, each with it’s own regional flavour such as Camembert
Planning a typical french meal, check out this site and find the politically correct way of serving up a meal and coffee, à la française! Although in English, it has loads of French vocabulary suited to improving your knowledge of culinary terms. All the items you need for cooking can be found here. Perhaps you should check your level of cooking skills, beforehand, by doing this series of interactive exercises! Students might wonder what the traditional french meal consists of or what they should eat if invited to a French home. Get an English version of a French recipe for the Home Economics teacher or for the meal that Transition Years prepare for the school’s French Day.
Ordering a meal or want to say what food you like, watch these videos carefully and print the worksheet provided for use in class. Practise your pronunciation of food items. Select ‘shopping/dining’ and click ‘submit’. (Ignore the ads at the top.) Take the quick quiz to test your memory of words learnt. Then, check how much food related vocabulary you know or develop this vocabulary by doing this word search.
The French remain proud of their wines, despite increasing competition from elsewhere, so all wine lovers should check out this cyber guide to French wines.
Finally, the imperative is one of the most used tenses when describing how to prepare a specific recipe. Test your knowledge of this tense by doing this interactive exercise.
Bon Appétit!
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