03.05.07
The Case of the Disappearing Cheese Course
My “Mamie” Simone gave us an elegant cheese platter for our wedding. Made of etched glass, it has a simple round design with a stainless steel loop in the middle for easy transporting and it even came with a matching cheese knife. It is an up-to-date, sleek version of the classic French cheese plate. French eating habits may be passing up this classic altogether, however, no matter how contemporary the platter.
Just a couple decades ago, most every French restaurant passed around a cheese cart after the main dish and before the dessert. There was a code of conduct as the cart came by: how many cheeses to sample (three to four, I believe, was standard), and in which order (weakest to strongest in flavor). In the dozen or so years that I have been coming to France, members of my family and friends of my parents’ generation would not think of having a meal without a cheese course.
My Parisian friends tell me they see this tradition less and less among our generation. As meals become more simplified and quickly prepared, the cheese course seems to be less of a staple. It appears that just as organic and whole grain foods become en vogue in the U.S., the “americanization” of French eating habits has taken hold here.
Nonetheless, our local fromagerie seems to do lots of business. This American has no other option but to be optimistic about the future of the cheese course, if for no other reason than the enjoyment I have from dinners with friends, aged gouda, dry chèvre, and passing around Mamie’s cheese plate.
megan said,
March 6, 2007 at 6:28 am
Hmm, I guess for us it is just that when we go to a restaurant, if we want the lower priced menus, they don’t include the cheese plate. So if we want it, we have to pay more. But often when going to someone’s house for dinner they have a cheese plate. vive le fromage!