How the French Art of Fine Dining Starts in Nursery School

The French discourse on how to eat well begins in nursery school with 5-course meals and banning of snack and soda machines. TIME reports in an article titled “School Lunches in France: Nursery-School Gourmets” that at public schools:

“On Mondays, the menus are … posted on the wall outside every school in the country. The variety on the menus is astonishing: no single meal is repeated over the 32 school days in the period, and every meal includes an hors d’oeuvre, salad, main course, cheese plate and dessert.”

The writer, an American expat living in Paris, goes on to explain that there is evem more in terms of advice in a public school brochure on the subject:

“The final column in the brochure carries the title ‘Suggestions for the evening.’ That, too, changes daily. If your child has eaten turkey, ratatouille and a raspberry-filled crepe for lunch, the city of Paris suggests pasta, green beans and a fruit salad for dinner.”

So how has the mac&cheese, canned green beans, and Jell-O of American school cafeterias affected American palates and habits?

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