Food lite
World-renowned chef Alain Ducasse says this country’s chefs and restaurants need to “lighten up” in order to re-whet a global appetite for Gallic food. Formality, resistance to change, as well as competition from Italian and Japanese cuisine have contributed to French gastronomy’s “lack of influence” beyond the hexagon, the chef. told Gault-Millau. “Offering something new and different requires anticipating the client’s tastes tomorrow. To do that, we can no longer placate ourselves by saying, ‘We’re the best in the world.’”
Love talk
France’s popular movie “The Fabulous Fate of Amélie Poulain,” starring actress Audrey Tautou about a Parisian waitress working in a Montmartre bar opened the Edinburgh film fest. The French weekly l’Express, with “Amélie” on its August cover, took the oportunity to speak with 14 personalities about their attitudes on l’amour. The magazine wondered if post-Poulain France was reacting against “porno chic” and becoming more romantic. The film has already been seen by seven million people here and has grossed more this summer than “The Mummy Returns” and “Pearl Harbor” put together.
Enterprising Monks
Monks must make a living too, but some might be exaggerating the Benedictine slogan “pray and work,” according to L’Express. Deprived of state and Vatican funds, monasteries have been forced into the world of commerce in order to maintain living standards and to provide for their aging members, whose retirement funds are miniscule. The Lérins abbey has sold more than one million francs per year worth of wine produced on its property, while the Grande Chartreuse racked up 49 million francs in liqueur sales last year. The magazine concluded that in the hard-pressed economic climate of the 21st century, “believing in Providence is not everything.”
Marriage à la francaise
Some French women are wondering “Where are all the men?”. An investigation by Le Nouvel Observateur defined 40 as the pivotal age among single populations: unmarried men outnumber women before age 40, while single women approaching 50 suddenly encounter a dearth of eligible bachelors their age. “The average age difference between a couple is two years for the first marriage but reaches five years by the second marriage,” says Michel Bozon of l’Ined, “and the older a man is when he marries the younger his wife will be.” That might explain the situation but doesn’t remedy it, according to the sympathetic weekly.
