October flew by this semester. From all-day excursions to traveling through multiple countries during fall break, my cultural appreciation grew tremendously. All around the Loire Valley, Les Perrières caves in the Doué-la-Fontaine department, Epernay in the Champagne region, London, Milan, Florence, and Rome were all of the cities and regions I travelled to this month. Three different countries with multiple similarities and differences in various ways with one being the food. Overall the Italian food through fall break was by far my favorite for meals. The pasta was always cooked perfectly al dente and I would not have it any other way. With all the traveling I did throughout this month, I did not get the chance to cook or prepare meals in my own room often thus an increased amount of eating out in restaurants or buying pizza. Since I travelled much more this month than the previous month, where and how I consumed my food differed greatly between September and October.
Over this semester, I have observed the only meals I eat at a restaurant are either when I’m traveling in another city or when I only have spices in my cabinet. Because yet again the ease of having another person cater to us with the food already cooked exactly how we ordered plus no clean up prior to the meal or after, restaurants, boulangeries, and cafes present the perfect invitation. The increased amount of meals eaten at a restaurant also directly correlated to the decreased amount of money available in my bank account. The ease and convenience of the cafe or bistro comes at a cost when on the other hand that is more controlled when I plan ahead, make a grocery list, then go to the store to fill my cabinet with food for the week.
One of the main reasons we consume food is for energy and fulfilling our bodies’ daily caloric intake. Each food item and ingredient consumed affects the body and person in its own way thus differences in the food consumed when in a restaurant opposed to in the home result in various energy levels and output. For myself, I conducted subtle observations throughout the month and concluded it depends more so on the time of day and the amount of protein or vegetables on my plate for the meal. When eating at home, especially if it is for dinner I have a tendency to not leave my room after the meal because it would be too late to go anywhere with all the shops closed thus less activity following the meal. The opposite is possible and typically happens when at a restaurant because even the walk back home is solely more activity, but after eating a meal at a restaurant people tend to walk around the city center for example or continuing to sightsee around the town all much more beneficial in general. While traveling, if we were to catch a mid-day lunch then continue on sightseeing and walking around, I felt better since activity preceded the meal instead of walking back to the hostel for a nap or just sitting on the beach. When walking around the cities, more often than not we picked up a pastry or a small local snack which was not a typical food routine of mine back in Angers. Because the seemingly availability of the day, traveling significantly affects the meal times.
The time of the meal has an effect on what is consumed whether in the restaurant or in the house. French culture has specific times for their meals which is still difficult, even after two months of living in this town, to get accustomed to each day. The constant checking of my watch to calculate times in my head to again plan ahead and work around the hours of either the grocery store or the sandwich shop down the street. Thinking ahead, however, helped me overall to understand the amount of work people put into their own food; it truly can be a passion for someone to grow, to cook, to eat, and to appreciate. Based on events and everything else going on around me throughout the day and weeks, I never realized how much of an effect it has on the kind of food I choose to eat. For example, when I am studying for majority of the day and pressed for time, I tend to go get pizza instead of making a full meal at home. Studies have shown this is a general tendency since “people’s life course experiences affected major influences on food choice that included ideals, personal factors, resources, social contexts and the food context,” (Furst). The variation in where and what I eat thus provides evidence as what time of the semester it was for me which is an interesting way for documentation.
Nutella crepe at the cafe at Clos Luce in Amboise, France
The amount of food eaten throughout the meal is also differs between a restaurant and the home. Frequently, european restaurants will offer menu deals for three courses, the starter, the entree, and the dessert. Contradictorily, when eating in the home it is usually one dish with all of the food prepared on one plate with no dessert. The increased amount of meals consumed at a restaurant resulted in more observations of presentations of the food as well as the number of courses or style of the food. A study conducted provided results indicating a person has “greater appetite control indicated by less pronounced hormone and appetite dynamics and more control over subsequent food wanting, yet does not affect postprandial energy intake” (Lemmens). The longer the meal with more staggered courses instead of a big combined meal indicates a person should have a better sense of their hunger and portion control. The amount of food “wanting” is also decreased with the elongated meal thus allowing for more appreciation and conversations with the people around at the table. With more control over a person’s appetite, they should also conclude with higher cognitive restraint when placed in high stimulating environments of food options and influence. However, when we eat out in a restaurant, distractions are always present and we don’t necessarily pay the most attention to the food in front of us, but rather the conversation or the decorations in the restaurant. The distractions may inhibit the cognitive restraint present for the amount of food consumed throughout that certain meal. In a social experiment, results stated that when “restraint is offset by distractive stimuli, intake is higher” thus proving distractions take away from a person’s connection with their food (Bellisle).
Main course of meal in fouées with white beans, mushrooms and rillettes at a restaurant in Saumur, France
Between the United States and France’s approach toward the type of restaurants located through the cities and towns, the food is more upscale more often in the restaurants in France than in the U.S. The presentation of the food has a more classy tone along with appearance of the food while in France throughout the common restaurants. While traveling in London and throughout Italy, the presentations of the food still upheld the European standards and fulfilled the quality standards as well. My favorite food thus far was in Italy. As soon as we first got to Milan to start off the week, I stated I was only going to be eating pizza, pasta, and gelato; I achieved this goal with flying colors. The pasta in every restaurant or little cafe we entered cooked it perfectly al dente and I could not have happier. My mom’s side of the family is Italian, so growing up I fell in love with pasta. The portions of the meals in the restaurants were not nearly as large of an amount as my family’s home cooking which was a little disappointing because the amount to cost ratio was not always in my favor. Italian culture does present this variety because Italian families are generous majority of the time with portions for home meals. Because the portion size of the food cooked in the home is larger, the kind of ingredients aren’t always well-rounded with each of the food groups represented. Italians like their carbs. I found this differed specifically between all three cultures, American, French, and Italian.
Veggie pizza in Rome, Italy
Zucchini spaghetti pasta in Milan, Italy
Gelato in Florence, Italy
For a better view on how everyone else is also engaging with their food habits this semester, I conducted a survey based on four questions: how many meals do you eat out a restaurant on average per week?, how many meals do you cook at home on average per week? (both including each breakfast, lunch, and dinner), are your meals more nutritious at a restaurant or at home?, and finally how much do you spend at a restaurant on a meal on average? I received 21 responses and was intrigued at the fact that the majority answer for each question was also my own answer. The results explained, on average, the students of both programs (study abroad and first year in France) cook more meals at home thus far in the semester and stating their meals are more nutritious at home than in the restaurant. Nine out of the total 21 responses answered to cooking more meals at home and 14 said the meals at home were more nutritious. For the first question, 52% responded to eating out in restaurants 1-4 meals on average per week, 24% responded with 10-14 meals per week, 14% with 5-9 meals per week, and 5% with no meals per week as well as 5% with over 15 meals per week. In the second question, 42% responded with eating 5-9 meals on average per week at home, 24% with 1-4 meals at home, 24% with 10-14 meals at home, while 5% with 0 meals at home, and 5% with over 15 meals at home. The third question 67% responded with stating their meals at home were more nutritious than the meals out in the restaurant while 33% stated the opposite. In the final question, 76% responded with only spending 8-15€ on a meal on average in a restaurant, 14% with spending 7€ or less on a meal, and 10% spending between 16-24€ on a meal. With this data, it is apparent to me some individuals are trying to continue the French lifestyle and enjoy the delicious French food prepared by the wonderful restaurants while most people have strayed away from and either cook or buy groceries for their own meals at home. However, with the more knowledge and understanding behind what kind of food is on the plate in front of the individual, I thought the majority response of the home-cooked meals being more nutritious was interesting and provided great evidence supporting the growth of our own nutritional values. Weighing the tradeoffs of where to spend money and eat are daily struggles for each student, including myself, of not only study abroad program, but additionally the First Year in France program students.
Rotisserie chicken, slices of ham, bananas, strawberries, and oranges from the Saturday market in Angers, France
Instant coffee in an old applesauce glass jar in my apartment in Angers, France
On a separate occasion, one of my favorite trips this semester was to the Champagne region, specifically to Epernay. It is the capital of the region and is a peaceful, calming city. It’s beautiful all around the town with multiple champagne houses accompanied with vineyards and tours of the cellars. I felt more French in this small town than I do in Angers, which sort of surprised me since tourism is a bigger part of the town in Epernay than in Angers. Regardless, the people were incredibly nice and the champagne tastings were also divine. As for the meals, I knew it did not necessarily matter tremendously what I ordered at the restaurants since “Champagne does not lend itself readily to combination with food in cooking,” (Root 106). Champagne is known as the region with the best wine in the world, but also having no distinct dishes since the wine does not pair well with any French cooking; the wine can be drunk by itself. I most definitely would recommend this neat, little town to anyone traveling throughout France or Europe in general.
Wine tastings at the Mercier Champagne House in Epernay, France
Salad, fries, and a burger with an egg at a restaurant in Epernay, France
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