A rugby picnic - the French way

“Un pique-nique, à la française”

(I’m not sure I’ve got my genders correct – should it be ‘à la français’ because ‘le pique-nique’ is masculine? Ou quoi? Argh!)

So, my son and my husband went to Cahors last weekend for a rugby tournament (un tournoi). As they left late in the morning and had a fair way to travel, it was suggested by email that everyone bring a picnic lunch to share. To my mind, this meant that everyone would bring their own supplies and would share things like chips and little shop cakes, as has been done before on school outings, etc.

Being a good New Zealand girl, I packed a hearty filled roll, pieces of fruit, little cakes to share, salami to chop for whoever wanted it, and some licorice rolls as a treat. Basic but nice.

It seems that I had better revise my expectations of French school-aged boys enjoying a picnic lunch on the side of the road on the way to a rugby tournament. Here is what my husband said was eaten:

• lots of tabouli (tabouleh) that was eaten from bowls with forks
• already-cooked Toulouse sausage (lots if it) that was cut up and passed around
• a selection of nicely presented charcuterie (cold meats, salamis, etc)
• a big selection of nice cheeses
• a couple of vegetable tarts
• lots of baguettes
• wine for the adults
• then for dessert, flash-fried pastries coated with sugar (a popular treat from the bakery).

I often pack a snack for my two children who are at primary school (école élémentaire) but my daughter would rather go hungry now because she only wants pre-packaged, shop-bought, someone-else-made food, and only if it’s sweet. I say no. My son gets ravenous during the long school day so I make him cheese sandwiches. The other kids love them (because they are not sweet) and he often has to share them. At college, where my big 12 year old boy is now, there is no snacking at all during the school day even though there are break times. You eat at breakfast, you eat a big lunch in the middle of the day, and then you have a snack (un goûter) when you get home from school – don’t forget school finishes here at 5pm. Then of course there’s dinner, and that’s often late into the evening.

We must be becoming more French in our eating habits though because a New Zealand girl visited us last weekend for lunch and she was struck by how different the progress of our meal was. We had the ubiquitous starter, main and dessert, plus pre-dinner nibbles and coffee afterwards. Normal for us now. But it took all afternoon and she loved it. She ate well, but she said she didn’t feel full because the food had been spread out over some hours, and not dumped onto one plate. I warned her that if she goes to a French person’s house for lunch, she must be prepared to stay all afternoon, and if it’s for dinner, then it may appear kind of rude to duck away before midnight. She’s full of energy though, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.

So, my thoughts on this are that food is important in France, even if you are a bunch of peri-adolescent school boys on the way to a rugby match.