What You Should NOT Do When Eating In France + Food Rules in France (From a French Nutritionist!)

What you should not do when eating in France + food rules in France (from a French nutritionist!)
Us French people take eating very seriously— we have a lot of food rules in France to follow!

In this video, I'm going to be giving you some tips on french manners and etiquette regarding food. I'm going to discuss what not to do when eating in France and talk about food rules in France. I do want to mention that not every French person follows these dining rules, and that they don't solely apply to France. This is my point of view as a French nutritionist who has also lived in the US. Hopefully, this video will help you avoid any social faux pas in France regarding food and dining! Tell me, did you know about these French eating rules?

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All information posted is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. While I am a nutritionist with a master’s degree in biology specialized in nutrition and health, I am NOT a doctor or dietician. I'm just stating my informed opinion, and these videos are NOT intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Any decision to act upon the advice given in these videos is done at your own risk.
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[ZForce]

I remember having a huge portion at La Coupole and I couldn’t finish it. The server very haughtily asked me, “would you like a doggie bag?” I could tell he was teasing the American.

[augustevarkalaite]

In Lithuania older men definitely follow the rule of filling the glass with wine for the ladies. One time I did a major faux pas, my mom had her glass empty and was looking at my dad for him to fill it and I saw that my father was not paying attention. So 13 year old me decided to fill the glass for my mother. Imagine the shock.

[xxInnocentWish]

This was super interesting. I personally feel as though US food rules are too relaxed while French food rules are a bit strict. For example, when you spoke about it being strange to ask for food modifications in France-I don’t think it should be wrong to ask for modifications however I do admit here in the US people can go a bit overboard, almost altering the entire meal. Also it’s common in the US for customers to complain about their meal such as saying it’s over cooked/too salty, etc. Which I guess is ok however I feel if you want a meal cooked in such a precise way then maybe just cook it yourself at home. 😂

[DonnaJoshi]

I have never understood what some people have against being vegetarian. My husband's parents are from India and are strict vegetarian. His father turns 90 this year.

[katcomshaw-arnold]

I am American (Ohio, USA) with a Romanian heritage. It is customary for dinner guests to arrive from 5 minutes before to 5 minutes after, but exactly on time if you can help it. Not eating before everyone is served is standard, unless that person says he doesn't mind and go ahead. But usually that is only at a restaurant and not at home. At home, you wait. Seems we also share customs on refilling drinks, and I agree with you about the ice. It's overdone in restaurants. Seems our table manners are the same. In my family, we don't bring cell phones to the table. In restaurants, we like to custom-order our meals, and we expect good service because we tip so much. We use doggy-bags or "to go" containers because "Waste not, want not."

[aninditakm]

Vegetarian here. I think I have to add that a good manner means please don't judge other people options for food. As the only vegetarian at the office, well.. It's so tiring to have people judge my plate😅

[djk]

For us in the US, many parents don't teach proper table etiquette because they cannot teach what they do not themselves know. At best they knew a couple of rules like don't put your elbows on the table, dont lick you knife, or don't talk with your mouth full. If one's parents or grandparents didn't teach proper manners at home there's nowhere else to learn about manners. There are no classes for manners or social etiquette, and it is not taught in Grade School, junior high, high school nor college.

[gabie-mkib]

It's interesting to hear that every country has their own "rules" and traditions. Here, in Poland I can relate to some of the food rules You mentioned but there are also many other things we do that other people find weird. I guess that is what makes countries so unique in their own way and I'm here for it :>

[dina_kazakova]

This was incredibly interesting, thank you for sharing

[arbre]

This channel is very helpful for learning french and french culture. Thank you so much! ☺

[danielavelasquez]

In Colombia we are not really supposed to eat all the sauce on the plate and 'clean it', it's seen mostly as bad manners, specially since we don't eat bread with all our meals, so when I lived in France it was weird to see people do it and consider it almost rude if someone (usually me) didn't do it hahaha

[SoVidushi]

I love learning about different cuisines and cultures, thanks for this video!

[jacquelinesmith]

The elbows on the table got to me. It brought me back to when I was 10. I put my elbows on the table and boy my dad got after me about that really bad. I haven't done that since.

[thekitchengirl]

In germany, we have this rule of waiting for everyone to be served as well, also not having your ellbows on the table.
I relate so much to the "extra wish" thing though, because I used to be a vegetarian (now vegan) and I often have to ask for stuff to be removed or omitted... Usually german staff will do it, but I tend to feel a liiittle judged sometimes, especially in more "classic" german restaurants, which are heavily meat based XD

[thatcanadiangamer]

Thank you for this, I'm from Canada and I'm going to spend a month in Nice next year so I feel it's very important to know about these things. I was surprised to hear it's not as normal to take food home with you there!

[xXHarleyMaeMcAfeeXx]

That’s so interesting to me. In Scotland, it’s common for people to ask for a container for any leftovers at a restaurant, and if someone asked to have shrimp removed from a pasta meal, chefs wouldn’t take offence, regardless of the reason. They’d assume the person is either veggie, or has an allergy. But that being said, the customer is always right mentality is extreme in the uk, and it causes a lot more hassle to not just do what’s been requested by the person paying. After all, if one restaurant won’t accommodate, another will, and it’s just bad business to restrict people’s food options when there’s so many places that can serve exactly what the person wants

[brendastevens]

I was raised in the US but was raised as a French Girl. My Grandpa was Finish, not Sure where my Grandma's heritage was from. Everything from the way we ate, thought about food, table manners and everything else so it seems. I would love to see France someday, that's why I decided to learn something. Feels like it would be so natural being there now.😊

[MariaMoussa]

Very interesting topic !! 💜 We really love it when you talk about your culture ✨

[joana]

In Portugal we also eat bread with *everything* (people here panic when there’s no bread at home) but it’s seen as rude to wipe your plate with it. I mean, we do it at home but it is not very polite to do it elsewhere. (Also bread here stoped being free at restaurante which is very sad😢). It’s interesting to look at differences between cultures even between two mediterranean countries

[lisadoran]

I'm from the UK and this is making me feel decidedly French 🙂