Order food, discuss cuisine, and navigate restaurants â from Parisian bistros to QuĂ©bĂ©cois cabanes Ă sucre. French culture revolves around food, so this lesson is essential!
Estimated Time: 50â60 minutes
As we learned in Lesson 2, meal names are shifted between France and Canada:
| Meal | đ«đ· France | đšđŠ Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | le petit-déjeuner | le déjeuner |
| Lunch | le déjeuner | le dßner |
| Dinner | le dĂźner | le souper |
| Snack | le goûter / le quatre-heures | la collation |
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| le pain | bread | The foundation of French dining |
| la baguette | baguette | The iconic long loaf |
| le croissant | croissant | Butter pastry, breakfast staple |
| le pain au chocolat / la chocolatine | chocolate pastry | Name varies by region (see below!) |
| la brioche | brioche | Sweet, eggy bread |
| la tartine | slice of bread with topping | Buttered bread, toast with jam |
| le gĂąteau | cake | |
| la tarte | tart / pie | |
| les pĂątisseries | pastries |
In Paris and most of northern France, it's pain au chocolat. In southwestern France (Bordeaux, Toulouse) and in all of QuĂ©bec, it's chocolatine. This is a genuinely heated debate in France â choose your side carefully! đ
| French | English | French | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| la pomme | apple | la tomate | tomato | |
| la banane | banana | la carotte | carrot | |
| l'orange (f) | orange | la pomme de terre | potato | |
| la fraise | strawberry | l'oignon (m) | onion | |
| le raisin | grape | la salade / la laitue | salad / lettuce | |
| la pĂȘche | peach | les haricots verts | green beans | |
| le citron | lemon | le champignon | mushroom | |
| la cerise | cherry | le maĂŻs | corn |
Potato literally translates as "earth apple" â one of French's most charming compound nouns. In casual QuĂ©bĂ©cois speech, you'll also hear patate (borrowed from a Spanish/Indigenous root, like English "potato").
| French | English | French | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| le poulet | chicken | le poisson | fish | |
| le bĆuf | beef | le saumon | salmon | |
| le porc | pork | les crevettes | shrimp | |
| l'agneau (m) | lamb | le homard | lobster | |
| le canard | duck | l'Ćuf (m) | egg | |
| le jambon | ham | le fromage | cheese |
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| l'eau (f) | water | plate (still) / gazeuse (sparkling) |
| le vin | wine | rouge (red) / blanc (white) / rosé |
| la biĂšre | beer | |
| le café | coffee | Default: espresso in France |
| le thé | tea | |
| le jus | juice | jus d'orange, jus de pomme |
| le lait | milk | |
| un demi | a draft beer (half pint) | France bar terminology |
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Une table pour deux, s'il vous plaĂźt | A table for two, please |
| La carte, s'il vous plaĂźt | The menu, please |
| Qu'est-ce que vous recommandez ? | What do you recommend? |
| Je voudrais... / Je vais prendre... | I would like... / I'll have... |
| Comme entrée / plat / dessert... | As a starter / main / dessert... |
| L'addition, s'il vous plaĂźt | The check, please |
| C'est délicieux ! | It's delicious! |
| Je suis végétarien(ne) | I'm vegetarian |
| Je suis allergique Ă ... | I'm allergic to... |
| Sans gluten | Gluten-free |
A traditional French restaurant meal has courses: l'entrĂ©e (starter/appetizer) â le plat principal (main course) â le fromage (cheese course, optional) â le dessert. Many restaurants offer a formule or menu (set meal) at a fixed price â this is often the best value!
| French | English Equivalent |
|---|---|
| bleu | very rare (almost raw center) |
| saignant | rare |
| Ă point | medium |
| bien cuit | well done |
In French, entrĂ©e means starter/appetizer â NOT the main course! This is a common source of confusion for Americans, where "entrĂ©e" has come to mean the main dish. In France, the main course is le plat principal or just le plat.
Coq au vin â Chicken braised in wine
BĆuf bourguignon â Beef stew in Burgundy wine
Ratatouille â Provençal vegetable stew
Croque-monsieur â Grilled ham & cheese sandwich
Soupe Ă l'oignon â French onion soup
Quiche lorraine â Savory egg and bacon tart
CrĂȘpes â Thin pancakes (sweet or savory)
Escargots â Snails in garlic butter
Poutine â Fries, cheese curds, gravy
TourtiĂšre â Meat pie (traditional Christmas dish)
PĂątĂ© chinois â Shepherd's pie (corn, meat, potatoes)
Soupe aux pois â Split pea soup
Tire sur la neige â Maple taffy on snow
FĂšves au lard â Baked beans
Cretons â Pork spread (like rillettes)
Pouding chĂŽmeur â "Unemployed person's pudding" (cake in maple syrup)
Ordering "un cafĂ©" gets you an espresso by default. For a larger coffee, ask for un cafĂ© allongĂ© (americano) or un grand crĂšme (large coffee with cream). Tipping is not required â service compris (service included) is the norm. You can sit for hours â no one will rush you.
Coffee culture is more North American â drip coffee is the default at many places. Tim Hortons is ubiquitous (and French-speaking â it's "Tim" in QuĂ©bec). Espresso culture exists in MontrĂ©al's thriving indie cafĂ© scene. Tipping is expected (15â20%) as in the rest of North America.
un verre de vin â a glass of wine · une bouteille â a bottle · une carafe â a carafe/pitcher · rouge â red · blanc â white · rosĂ© â rosĂ© · sec â dry · doux â sweet · mousseux / pĂ©tillant â sparkling
Major wine regions: Bordeaux, Bourgogne (Burgundy), Champagne, Alsace, RhĂŽne, Loire, Provence.
France produces over 400 distinct varieties of cheese. The famous quote attributed to de Gaulle: "How can anyone govern a nation that has 246 kinds of cheese?"
1. A Québécois invites you for "souper." What meal is this?
2. In a French restaurant, what is "l'entrée"?
3. If you order "un café" in France, what do you get?
4. What is "poutine"?
⊠Meal names are shifted between France and Canada â always clarify which meal someone means!
⊠"Entrée" means starter/appetizer in French, NOT the main course.
⊠"Un café" = espresso in France; drip coffee is more common in Canada.
⊠French restaurant meals follow a course structure: entrĂ©e â plat â fromage â dessert.
⊠France has café culture (sit all day, no tipping); Canada has North American tipping culture.
⊠Iconic dishes: coq au vin and crĂȘpes (France) vs poutine and tourtiĂšre (QuĂ©bec).