craven.fr (.ox.ac.uk)

If there is one thing that one quickly comes to realise in France, it is that food here is sacrosanct. Not only do the French attach a very high importance to food, and its quality, in their lives, but this obsession works its way into nearly every facet of French life, from traditions, to employment law (hello two hour lunch breaks!), to the day to day rhythm of life.

One of the most shocking things to me about first coming here as an exchange student was the way that this also translated to a fierce opposition to vegetarianism (and kosher diets, and teetotalers, and any other deviation from the normal (i.e. "correct") way of eating food). The same sentiment that has sitcom chefs tipping over tables when an uncouth American wants to put ketchup on a steak also comes through with other deviancies from accepted practice. Sometimes this makes for a humorous anecdote, like when my mom tried to order an omelette, from a Parisian café that had them on the menu, in the morning (omelettes are only for lunch and dinner in France). Even though they had the eggs and mom was saying that that was what she wanted, she had to insist two or three times before the waiter agreed to let her order one ("mais, c'est le matin!")—and even then he made it clear that what she was doing was definitely wrong, in his opinion. This is not a country where the customer is always right, especially when there's food at stake.

At other times, though, like when a vegetarian comes to the country, the French hostility to their diet makes me cringe a bit. Gay marriage and topless women on the beach are fine here, but they draw the line at not having meat with your main course.

That is the general backdrop of the situation here, although, especially in Paris, vegetarians can thrive just fine. But they do have to put up with a hostility that, coming from a North American context, can be quite shocking. (Lest the reader think I am exagerating, when I arrived as an exchange student my "Welcome to France" orientation book had a very short rubric on vegetarianism: "Vegetarianism is not practised in France. Adapt."

I am not a vegetarian and have no desire to ever become one, but I am trying to reduce my consumption of red meat to around once a week or so, and to eat more fresh vegetables, and now during Lent I am taking the time to put some extra effort into this. So this has led me to pursue some vegetarian recipes online, and (as one who likes to cook a lot on Sunday and live off leftovers during the week), this Roasted vegetable and grain gratin provides an excellent template for vegetarian casseroles that can be modified in all sorts of simple ways to give a great variety—by switching out the grain, vegetable mix, sauce, and/or cheese selections it has almost limitless possibilities! Since French supermarkets have such a wonderful selection of interesting vegetables, I'm going to enjoy experimenting with some of the variations in the months ahead.