As the name implies the French cuisine is the cuisine prevailing in France. For French food is thought about as highly as other people consider religion. They have been the trend setters in the world of food. In The Middle Ages French people brought the trend of lavish banquets to the upper class with heavily seasoned food prepared by famous chefs. The era of the French Revolution brought a change and a trend of using fewer spices and more liberal usage of herbs and refined techniques was seen. The ingredients and dishes vary according to the people of different cities but there are a few significant regional dishes that have gained popularity at both national and regional levels either in the same form or with some variations. Cheese and wine are the soul of French cuisine.

French men do not pay as much attention to breakfast as they give to other meals. For them it is a very quick meal consisting of "tartines", French name for slices of buttered French bread, croissants or plain chocolate filled pastry along with coffee or tea. They drink a lot of caffeine that is where the trend of cafes started. Cafes serve coffee even till mid day. Children are given hot chocolate instead of tea or coffee. There was a time when lunch break of a two hour mid-day meal was considered must but recently a trend of one hour lunch break has started. If you are visiting some smaller town you may find that there the two hour lunch break may still be customary. At lunch a complete meal is usually eaten possibly followed by a dessert. Dinner time is the time for what French people live for. The dinner often consists of three courses the introductory course which is often the soup that has been thickened with milk or cream, the main course usually accompanied by rice, bread or pasta and last but not the least a cheese course or dessert. Sometimes a salad may be offered before the cheese or dessert. Sweetened yoghurt may replace the cheese course, while a normal everyday regular dessert would be fresh fruit and for special occasion’s soufflés and mousses with heavy dressing of whipped cream is a normal thing. In France there is scarcely any region which does not produce its own cheese and has its own special kind of wine. And the strange part is that every cheese tastes different. The main difference in taste comes because of the source of milk used. Some use cow’s milk, some use goats and some use a mixture of both. French have a special place for potatoes on their table. They serve potatoes in various forms. They may be mashed, scalloped, baked, stuffed, hashed, and rissoled and of course the French fries.

The French are a very interesting nation. They consider eating a serious business. Let there be cheese and champagne and the French men are happy as anything.