Educating the Palate

In Peter Mayle's book, Toujours Provence, he was recalling a dinner he had with a Frenchman, Regis. Regis drank a toast to England, "To England and the English, as long as they keep their cooking to themselves." Mayle went on to explain that the French were disdainful of "la cuisine Anglaise" without knowing much about it. Regis "had made a study of the English and their eating habits, and during dinner he told us exactly where we went wrong."

"It starts, he said, at babyhood. The English baby is fed on bland mush, the kind of pabulum one would give to an undiscriminating chicken, san caractere, sans gout. The French infant, however, even before he has teeth, is treated as a human being with taste buds. As evidence, Regis described the menu offered by Gallia, one of the leading baby food manufacturers. It included brains, filet of sole, poulet au riz, tuna, lamb, liver, veal, Gruyere, soups, fruits, vegetables, puddings of quince and bilberry, creme caramel, and fromage blanc. All of that and more, said Regis, before the child is 18 months old. You see? The palate is being educated."