from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com
Eggs for
breakfastPhotograph courtesy of Japanexperterna.sehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/japanexperterna/16504164831/
Because of an egg, or
rather because I was served six fried eggs for breakfast, I decided to take the
notes that I hoped would one day become a book on French food and use them as a
source for this blog’s posts. In these posts, I try to show the enjoyment that
goes with authentic French cuisine, along with some of its history and the
people involved. Of course, I have included translations and commentary for
relevant French menu listings. In my posts, I also make occasional suggestions
so that others may avoid similar distractions to those I occasionally
encounter.
N.B. If you are looking at this post for tips on ordering breakfast in France, there is another post that is more to the point: Ordering Breakfast in France; the French Breakfast Menu.
As long as I can
remember, I have loved French cuisine, and for even longer, I have had a
terrible memory for names; unfortunately, that includes the names of some
outstanding French dishes. I partly solved that problem years ago by
keeping notes with the names and translations of dishes that I had truly
enjoyed. Later, I would add comments on the way a dish was served, along
with any revelations encountered when ordering the dish a second time. I
also kept notes on my experiences in the USA, Italy, Japan, China, and
elsewhere. However, there was more than enough input for a book on my first
love, French cuisine. A small part of that unpublished book is now
accessible as posts in this blog.
A memorable, though less than world-transforming confusion at breakfast, in a French café, brought about this blog on French foods, and specifically this post. I had ordered fried eggs many times in France. Now I learned, the hard way, that there is, in France, a right way and a wrong way to order two fried eggs.
Œuf au plat - One fried egg.
Photograph courtesy of Devika
www.flickr.com/photos/devika_smile/9604241279/
Now to the story of
what actually happened at breakfast:
My French may be lacking, I may have ordered my breakfast incorrectly, but tell me, what purpose does serving anyone six fried eggs for breakfast serve? To read about my experience in ordering two fried eggs, read on. Those six fried eggs were the raison d’être, the reason for, or the reason behind, this blog's existence.
I entered a small and seemingly charming Parisian side-street café while preparing myself mentally for my first breakfast on this trip to Paris. I knew that I would enjoy a mouthwatering breakfast of perfectly fried eggs accompanied by a fresh baguette and butter. A perfect croissant and a café au lait would follow all. I chose a table, sat down and without waiting, a seemingly pleasant waitress appeared, said bonjour and presented a breakfast menu, with an English translation. What could go wrong? In many French cafés, I have ordered two fried eggs, which are almost always on French menus as Œufs au Plat, and so they were in this café. Five minutes later, the waitress reappeared, and without too much thought, I ordered deux œufs au plat. I have made that same order many, many times in France and have always been served two fried eggs. Now, however, was the time for my educational update on the correct usage of the French language. Within five minutes, I was served with two plates, each with three fried eggs.
Querying the serving of six fried eggs when I had ordered deux œufs au plat resulted in the following explanation from a suddenly stern waitress. Minutes before, she had greeted me pleasantly enough, but now I realized that she had obviously exited the wrong side of the bed that day.
She said, in French:
"Œufs au plat translates as fried eggs, that is the plural, and everyone knows that. Œufs are the plural, œuf is the singular! Therefore, when you ordered deux œufs au plat, that clearly showed me that you wanted two portions, four eggs in all. If all you had wanted was one portion, then you should have ordered the exact menu item, specifically Œufs au Plat, omitting the word deux, which means two.”
What could I
say? I said: " !&*#^#”, though I did say it under my
breath. The stern waitress continued: “Everyone in Paris also
knows that in this café, when you order two fried eggs, you will be served
three eggs: that is three for the price of two. You have received two portions
of three fried eggs, exactly as ordered.”
Trois œufs au plat - Three fried eggs.
Photograph courtesy of Antti T. Nissinen
www.flickr.com/photos/veisto/2271930294/
What could I say? I said: " !&*#^#”, though I did say it under my breath. The stern waitress continued: “Everyone in Paris also knows that in this café, when you order two fried eggs, you will be served three eggs: that is three for the price of two. You have received two portions of three fried eggs, exactly as ordered.”
Maybe
it was this café, at 8:30am?
It
is obviously popular and well known to all Parisians.
Photograph
courtesy of Let Ideas compete.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/question_everything/2301946648/
On the upside, the eggs did come as I had expected, perfectly fried with two portions of freshly sliced baguette and butter on the side. The moral of this story is that if you are in France and watching your cholesterol, be careful, learn better French, and think about counting your eggs before they are fried.
My notes on menu
translations and dining experiences had long been used to jog my memory when I
recognized a dish but could not remember its translation. With my
notes, I could translate any dish's name, how it was served and what made the
dish special. I could offer my knowledge to friends, business colleagues, and
family, or to whoever I was dining with. After this experience and a few
others, I realized that out there in the world, there may be others who might
end up with six fried eggs for breakfast. I decided to make sure the news
got out, and so the process of writing the book began, along with a blog on
French cuisine.
A few examples of eggs
on a French breakfast menu:
To
order a full breakfast menu in France see the post:
Ordering
Breakfast in France; the French Breakfast Menu.
Searching
for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?
Just add the word, words, or phrase you are searching for to the phrase "Behind the French Menu" enclosed in inverted commas (quotation marks) and search using Google, Bing, or another search engine. Behind the French Menu's links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases commonly seen on French menus. There are over 450 posts featuring more than 4,000 French dishes, all accompanied by English translations and explanations.
Connected Posts:
Bacon in France. Bacon and Salted Pork on French Menus. Lard in French Means Bacon in English.
Beurre - Butter in French. Butter in French Cuisine.
Frites
or Pomme Frites - French Fries in the USA and Chips in the
UK. French Fries on French Menus.
Ordering Breakfast in France: the French Breakfast Menu.
Ordering
Coffee in France: The A-Z of Ordering Coffee in France.
French Bread - Crust & Culture: Exploring the Many Types of French
Visiting a Café in France and the Story Behind Coffee.
No comments:
Post a Comment