Tourism, gastronomy, history, culture, discover France through all the free articles dedicated to it on this free website.
Soufflé is so French that the name is spoken in French in almost every language on the planet. It's technical to make, but so tasty... How do you make it? How do you make a successful soufflé? By following our tips and discovering the recipes of Monsieur de France.
It's a title found only in France: "Meilleur Ouvrier de France". It's a title that takes immense effort to achieve, and rewards the very best in 230 different trades, even if the most famous are often in the world of Gastronomy. The title of M.O.F., which has been awarded to some of the greatest names in the world, is truly unique in France, but is rarely awarded. Monsieur de France reminds us who these "meilleurs ouvriers de France" are, recognizable by their red, white and blue collars.
General de Gaulle is quoted as saying: "How can you govern a country where there are 258 varieties of cheese? He wasn't entirely wrong about the difficulty of governing France, but he was wrong about the number of cheeses. The Académie Française has named 400, some say 600, others 1200. What's certain is that the French love cheese, consuming over 26 kg per inhabitant per year. Let's discover the art of cheese with Monsieur de France.
We love them in summer, with friends and a good glass of white wine, or during the braderie de Lille with French fries as it should be... Mussels have been eaten by mankind for at least 3,000 years, and in France we love to cook them. Monsieur de France takes stock of French mussels and gives you some ideas for cooking them.
The Gallic rooster has been the symbol of the French soccer team since 1919. It's a very old symbol, since it was already attributed to the Gauls, since the word "Gallic" and the word "rooster" were said in the same way in Latin: "gallus". Coluche once said, "The rooster is the emblem of France, because it's the only one that can sing with its feet in the shit".
France is also the postcard of the small neighborhood or village bistro, the Parisian café and small or large restaurants. This is still true today, even if the number of bistros is decreasing. There were a little more than 38,000 "drinking establishments" in France in 2022 (including bistros and cafés) and a little more than 92,000 "traditional" restaurants, i.e. not including fast food restaurants. There are differences between the different establishments, which Monsieur de France reminds us, even if there is a huge common point between them: a certain art of living...
The whipped cream is as old as the cream, we find trace of it in Italy since the Renaissance, even if it was probably invented even earlier, but the Chantilly cream, the real one, is much more than that. Sugar is added to the cream (thickly) and it's so much better than those bottles that spray you with a tasteless stuff unjustly called "chantilly". Monsieur de France reminds you of the origin and especially gives you his recipe for Chantilly.
France is the country in the world that consumes the most oysters with more than 2 Kg per year and per inhabitant. Just for the holidays, the time when they are traditionally consumed the most, France consumes more than 60,000 tons of oysters. It is also the 2nd producer country. Since when we consume oysters in France, and especially how to consume oysters: answers and advices from Monsieur de France.
Captains or shipowners, sometimes both, privateers are also part of French history. Armed for the "race", hence the name of privateers, they scoured the seas to attack the enemy ships of France and some became famous like Surcouf, Dugay-Trouin or Jean Bart. Discover these daring men who should never be confused with pirates, who fought with the authorization of the king...
Even if Belgium is by far the country that consumes the most French fries, France also likes them. The proof: each year, 55 kg of potatoes are consumed per inhabitant in France and they are often eaten in the form of French fries. Some people even say that it was in France, in Paris, that French fries were invented... What the Belgians naturally dispute! A history of French fries, a small way of making them and a good recipe of mussels and fries to discover here... Thank you Monsieur de France !
