I have been travelling to France for nearly 25 years- usually on holiday- to most of the main regions. I so enjoyed all my trips, that I decided to move lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels to start my new life actually living in this great country. I bought a 300 year old house, part of which was the original ramparts of the walled town. I am in heaven- the weather is 38 C as I write this article, the cicadas are screeching outside, and soon I shall walk the 30 yards to the river and swim in mountain water at a temperature of 20 C. Bliss.

Before I can frolic, let me share some stories, myths and information about one of the French’s and also its visitors favourite pass times. Food, glorious food. What is perhaps less widely recognized is that France's reputation for fine food is not so much based on long-held traditions but on constant change. In fact, the general expectation of good eating is a relatively new experience for the French. At the time the Bastille was stormed in 1789, at least 80% of the French population were subsistence farmers, with bread and cereals as the basis of their diet, essentially unchanged since the time of the ancient Gauls nearly two millennia before. In the mid-nineteenth century, following the demise of the aristocracy, food was a conspicuous symbol of social position, swiftly adopted by a new ruling class of bourgeoisie, who recreated the sumptuous meals of the very aristocracy they had once criticized. At the same time, two-thirds of Parisians were either starving or ill-fed, five times more likely to be nourished from vegetable proteins than from any meats or dairy products. The golden age of haute cuisine benefited only those at the very top of the social ladder. It took a world war at the beginning of the twentieth century to halt the gross inequality of wealth at the table, and to bring about a more even distribution of the nation's produce. The advent of improved transportation, especially by train, brought culinary revolution to the regions, and slowly the spreading affluence could put a chicken on every peasant's table. Eventually, tourism fanned the flames of change in France's commercial kitchens, as chefs were obliged to create dishes appealing to an ever-widening audience of British, Japanese, Middle Easterners, and Americans, as well as French travellers hungering for new experiences. In some instances the reasons for change in regional products were a pragmatic reaction to a decline in other industries (such a silk) or to the economic disaster brought about by the Phylloxera pest, which wiped out most of France's grape vines at the turn of the century.

Today, eating is very regional. There still is a strong culture of seasonal eating, which is very well reflected on menus. Each region has its own dishes that history shows, or has been adapted to show, that certain popular dishes stem from. Here is a small list of some of the most popular ones:

Brittany and Normandy

Tarte Tartin, Moules Mariniere, and the drink Calvados. Brittany is famous for its crepes. These can be savoury or sweet. Buckwheat flour is used to prepare galettes- a savoury pancake usually eaten with ham, cheese and an egg as its filling

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