Yes. It is Back to School Days here and the recent publication in France of the book Cantine (sounds better than school cafeteria) got me thinking. Eons ago, in my first school years in France, we were treated to a daily serving of yaourt (yogurt here). I don’t mean the fancy and additive treated ones like gogurt. I mean plain all natural yaourt nature, no sugar, just the yogurt and a spoon.
It was part of a campaign of the day to keep us all growing healthy. No star chef like Jamie Oliver involved in that plan. No magazine articles such as The School Lunch Test by Lisa Belkin in the New York Times Magazine (August 20, registration required).
If you want to enrich your vocabulary of French School Terms here is a little start courtesy of Smart Phrase.
The book Cantines (in French) published last week in France by Editions Perrin actually offers a number of food staples gracing school lunch menus over the years revamped (revisited) by a number of well known chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire and up and coming talent such as Nicholas Le Bec.
I discovered the book thanks to Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini.
Maybe nostalgia makes everything taste better. Will this collective next project be Garnison on the topic of ‘Soldiers favorite staples’?
Time will tell!