by Sandy Winn

Created on: June 23, 2008   Last Updated: March 27, 2009

Modern French Cuisine dates back to the time of Louis XIV so, in effect, a guide to traditional Bastille Day foods is really a guide to traditional French foods. In honor of Bastille Day, the day in which Parisians stormed the Bastille Prison marking the start of the French Revolution on 14 July, 1789, eat like the French eat and dine as they dine.

The French, like many other Europeans, enjoy their main meal in upwards of two hours or more which is something we Americans are not accustomed to. However, you may want to give it a shot just to get a taste of French eating customs. If you find the thought of dragging out a meal for two hours next to impossible just try to make your main Bastille Day meal last as long as you can. Chew your food slowly and, in between bites and courses, engage in conversation.

If you really want to adhere to traditional French foods, you should know right away that they are high in saturated fat and cholesterol - yet the French are both healthier and slimmer than Americans.

Now that the groundwork for eating like the French has been established we can get to to foods and drinks you may wish to have on your table this Bastille Day...

* Traditional French Breakfast (Petit Djeuner)

A classic French breakfast should be kept simple.

- Drink: Tea, Coffee, or Chocolate

- Food: Baguettes cut or broken into tartines (six-inch long segments). Topped with real butter and a hint of apricot or strawberry jam is the French way, but if you are watching your cholesterol intake feel free to use a butter alternative. Can't find baguettes in your area? That's alright, any fresh bread will do - even if store bought.

* Traditional French Lunch (Djeune)

"Snacking" is a word the French may know but do not practice because their main meals last so long. A traditional French lunch consists of a two to five course meal beginning at noon and ending at two o'clock p.m.

- Drink: Wine, Champagne, or Cocktails

- First Course: Your favorite veggies cut-up in bite-sized pieces.

- Second Course: A salad of your favorite vegetables topped with oil and vinegar or a French dressing of some sort.

- Third Course: Your favorite meat such as chicken, fish, or steak (the French enjoy their steaks rare and tender) served with vegetables.

- Fourth Course: Cheese. Some popular French cheeses are: Munster (found at most local grocery stores), Beufort, Bleu d'Auvergne, and Comte' all of which are made from cow's milk. Brocciu, made from ewe's milk. Chevre' and Banon, made from goat's milk.

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