Petit-déjeunons

Petit-déjeunons

What is French breakfast really like? Do we really eat pains au chocolat, croissants or baguette for breakfast?

Well, actually, yeah. We do. I do.

Of course, I’m only talking about my life, my childhood, my habits, and I know lots of French people who don’t even eat breakfast. I love breakfast, I love eating, I love baking and cooking, I love reinforcing those stereotypes about us the French.

--- What is my daily breakfast like? ---

Well, of course, first of all, coffee. Like 40cL of it (for the Americans here that’s one big mug – 13.5oz). I like it light, so my colleagues and family like to make fun of me and say I drink du jus de chaussettes (literally translated: ‘sock’s juice’) because most French people like strong coffee – espresso – and despise light coffee. Sometimes I pour milk in my coffee, that’s called café au lait and here in France it’s mostly drunk in the North (I’ll try to write an article about regions and what the cultural differences are). If I’m not drinking coffee, I’ll drink either tea or hot chocolate: du thé or un chocolat chaud.

I also eat bread: here comes the baguette. Honestly, I love our bread, I could not live without it! I spread Nutella, peanut butter (du beurre de cacahuètes), butter (du beurre – with a pinch of salt already mixed in the processed butter, it’s called beurre demi-sel), raspberry or strawberry jelly (de la confiture de framboises ou de fraises), and dunk it in the beverage. My favorite combo is definitely butter and raspberry jelly on the same toast! Dunked in café au lait or chocolat chaud. Yum!

There’s also something I do that most French people find disgusting but that comes from my grandfather who’s a ch’ti (he spent his childhood in the North, next to Belgium): I put cheese (du fromage) on a big slice of baguette and dunk it in café au lait! I love it! It works best with camembert (my favorite cheese by the way). I don’t drink juice in the morning, I find it too sweet. Sometimes I make pancakes - they have the same name in French, but with the accent - and pour maple syrup (du sirop d'érable) onto them.

--- So when do I eat viennoiseries?! ---

On Sundays. I’m not religious or anything – I’m an agnostic to be completely honest here – but on Sunday mornings my family and I enjoy a little pain au chocolat, also called chocolatine in the South of France (I lived the first 18 years of my life next to Toulouse – I’ll try to write about that too). So yes, on Sundays we wake up around 8 and go buy pains au chocolat from the boulangerie (bakery) that’s located on the square in the village in which I live. Very Fenchy don’t you think?

What’s breakfast like in your country?