What to eat in France: typical dishes, tips and curiosities about French cuisine

Sophisticated and somewhat retro, a Unesco heritage site since 2010, French cuisine is one of the most renowned. It is precisely French chefs who are the most famous, authors and proponents of succulent recipes and gastronomic trends that have become cult not only in French cooking schools, but all over the world. Accompanied by exquisite wines, transalpine cuisine consists of tasty meat or fish dishes, creamy and buttery sauces, signature dishes, mouth-watering desserts or simple and unmistakable hot soups. A true institution, which has been celebrated every year since 2011 (on the third weekend of September, throughout the country) with the world-famous French Gastronomy Festival.

Between set tables and the fine art of French tasting, we will 'serve' you the most famous and appetising dishes. Here's what we eat in France: typical dishes, tips and trivia on French cuisine. Bon appétit!

10 typical French dishes

1 - Escargot de Bourgogne

Photo by DanceWithNyanko. The most famous and talked-about dish of all French gastronomy: the world-famous escargot de Bourgogne.
To call it a snail dish is rather reductive for what has instead become a staple of this sophisticated and refined cuisine.

Fleshy snails (land snails), flavoured with garlic, butter and parsley, served as a gourmet dish in the finest restaurants. A flavour for true connoisseurs... but not only. Try it to believe!

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €13.00

• Main ingredients: land snails, garlic, butter and parsley

2 - Omelette

A kind of omelette, made with eggs and cheese: a very simple dish that has become one of the emblems of French cuisine.

Golden and slightly crispy on the outside, and soft and creamy on the inside, the Omelette expresses the mastery of French chefs. Delicate in its preparation (to obtain the consistency described above), all the steps of the ancient and original recipe must be followed to the letter.

The omelette is also served today in several variations, with the addition of wild herbs, champignons mushrooms or ham.

• Recommended for: always

• Average cost: €10.00

• Main ingredients: eggs, cheese, filling of your choice

3 - Soupe à l'oignon

Photo by Ludovic Péron. Whether you choose a bistro or a starred restaurant, you won't be able to do without a steaming Soupe à l'Oignon: an inviting onion soup.

Creamy and characteristically aromatic, this onion soup, enriched with flour (this is the ingredient that makes it creamy) and wine, is a highlight in any season. Served with golden, crispy bread croutons and sprinkled with Gruyère cheese (one of the most famous French cheeses), it is the staple of the oldest French cuisine.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €10.00

• Main ingredients: onions, meat stock, white wine, flour, bread croutons and Gruyère cheese

4 - Boeuf Bourguignon

Photo by DC. A meat dish, usually beef chunks are used, very similar to a stew, named after the renowned wines in which the meat is simmered: the reds typical of Burgundy, a historical region of France.

Fragrant and hearty, accompanied by vegetables browned in oil and butter, it is also good as a single dish, as you will very often see it served with a side dish of pasta. A must-try!

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €15.00

• Main ingredients: beef chunks, browned vegetables, red wine, oil, butter

5 - Ratatouille

Originating in Nice, this vegetarian and colourful dish is another traditional one.

Existing in two different versions, with the addition of tomato sauce or vinaigrette (an emulsion based on salt, oil and vinegar) respectively, Ratatouille is a mixture of vegetables, usually aubergines, tomatoes, courgettes, onions and peppers, cut into cubes and left to stew together with herbs. Very similar in flavour to Sicilian caponata, Ratatouille is the most widely eaten dish in Provence.

Recommended: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €14.50

• Main ingredients: aubergines, tomatoes, courgettes, onions and peppers + tomato sauce or vianaigrette

6 - Vichyssoise

Source: wikimedia commons. Usually served in elegant French porcelain, Vichyssoise is a cold velvety soup, made with onions, leeks, potatoes, cream and chicken stock, invented by French chef Louis Diat back in 1917.

The soup is dedicated to the city of Vichy and is inspired by poor ingredients, which give it a simple and delicate flavour on the palate.

As elegant as its name, Vichyssoise is a bon ton dish and one of France's oldest and most traditional flavours.

• Recommended for: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €14.00

• Main ingredients: onions, leeks, potatoes, cream, chicken broth

7 - Bouillabaisse

Another Provençal dish, this time however dedicated to the flavours of the sea. Bouillabaisse is in fact an exquisite fish soup, typical of the city of Marseille.

Prepared by fishermen right on the beach as far back as the 1700s, Boullabaisse is now considered one of the most elegant French dishes and exists in many variations, involving the use of different fish or crustaceans.

In 1980, the people of Marseille even deposited the original recipe for the soup, but even today Boullabaisse continues to inspire imagination; and in France, if not every version exists, you still have to try at least one.

• Recommended: lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €20.00

• Main ingredients: various fish and/or shellfish, oil, parsley, garlic, saffron, fennel, orange peel, bread croutons

8 - Pate en croute

Certainly one of the most elegant and delicious dishes of the entire French cuisine: a buttery and crispy puff pastry shell filled with meat pâté, usually chicken livers, pork loin or fillet, smoked bacon and cooked ham are used.

A real delicacy, usually served as a main course, which was nominally presented at royal lunches at the court of Louis XVI.

Thus worthy of the noblest palates, paté en croute is still one of the most popular traditional dishes today. It is truly perfect when accompanied by eggs and vegetables.

• Recommended for: starter, lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €15.00)

• Main ingredients: puff pastry, meat pate

9 - Foie Gras

The most famous dish of French haute cuisine: Foie Gras. Made from duck or goose, it is liver marinated in Port and Cognac and then left to cook in a bain-marie.

Considered a festive dish, it is usually one of the courses of Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners, it has now been somewhat cleared through customs and can easily be found on more homely menus.

Fried, roasted or smoked over a wood fire, Foie Gras is a must-try on a trip to France.

• Recommended for: appetiser, lunch, dinner

• Average cost: €20.00

• Main ingredients: duck or goose liver, Port wine, Cognac

10 - Quiche Lorrain

From Lorraine comes the most famous French savoury pie: Quiche Lorraine, a brisée pastry shell filled with crème fraiche (sour cream), eggs, cheese and bacon. The goodness of this dish is truly unparalleled and think that the French have even dedicated a festival to this tasty, creamy pie, which falls every year on 20 May.

Having thus become part of the French gastronomic tradition par excellence, it is a highly recommended dish for lunch or dinner, or even simply as a hearty snack between monuments.

• Recommended for: always

• Average cost: €10.00

• Main ingredients: brisée pastry, sour cream, eggs, cheese, bacon

Typical French Sweets

Born from small mistakes and sophisticated recipes, French desserts really deserve a mention. Between the softest choux pastry (the basis of so many preparations), caramelised fruit and fluffy almond or meringue cakes, French pastries are a curious and almost fairy-tale world. Elegant and refined, French pastries are old-fashioned and very tasty: whether a single-portion or an entire cake, a marzipan cake or a filled cream puff.
Here, then, is a little 'narrated tour' of the most important French sugar specialities.

1 - Saint'Honoré

Created by chef Chiboust back in 1846, the Saint'Honoré cake is perhaps the most famous of all French pastries. Sumptuous and elegant, it is a cake made of sponge cake and custard, decorated with clumps of whipped cream and caramel puffs.

Beautiful to look at and, above all, good to eat, the Saint'Honoré stands out in the windows of the most elegant pastry shops in Paris and is the cake of great occasions. A must-try!

• Average cost: €7.50

• Main ingredients: sponge cake, custard, whipped cream, cream puffs, caramel sauce

2 - Macarons

Raise your hand if you don't know macarons. Colourful and with the most varied flavours, these French biscuits are real bon-bons and it is said that they were introduced in France by Catherine de Medici's cook in 1533.

They are composed of two small coloured meringues, held together by a creamy filling of chocolate, fruit or even flowers (violet macarons are truly exceptional). Very bon ton, they are little gastronomic souvenirs, telling of sweet France in one bite.

• Average cost: €6.00

• Main ingredients: meringue, jam filling or flavoured cream

3 - Paris Brest

Photo by Deror_avi. This cake has a very special history. It takes its name from a bicycle race, which took place from Paris to Brest, and to which the confectioner Louis Durand dedicated this cake in 1891.

Made of choux pastry filled with buttercream and decorated with almond and sugar flakes, the Paris Brest has become famous throughout France and is now one of the most popular and sought-after cakes.

• Average cost: €6.00

• Main ingredients: choux pastry doughnut, buttercream, almonds, sugar

4 - Madeleine

Named by Marcel Proust in one of the most famous passages of'Swann's Side', in which the author recalled an old memory linked to these sweets and with it, time lost, Madeleines are exquisite soft sweets with a curious shell shape, flavoured with almonds.

There was no biscuit tin in the most elegant French mesdemoiselles of yesteryear that did not contain freshly baked Madeleines. Even today, French patisseries still prepare them in large quantities, and eating them always evokes the elegance of the oldest and most famous France.

• Average cost: €6.00

• Main ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, milk, eggs, almond flavouring

5 - Croquembouche

Invented during the early 1800s by chef Marie-Antoine Careme, Croquembouche is one of the most mouth-watering French desserts.

Scenic and almost sculptural, the Croquembouche is exactly a pyramid of cream puffs filled with Chantilly cream or cream, held together by delicious strands of caramel. The name is an onomatopoeia and literally means 'crunchy in the mouth'; the effect at first bite is indeed just that. Very elegant, it is still regarded in France as the dessert of great occasions.

• Average cost: €12.00 (four cream puffs)

• Main ingredients: cream puffs, Chantilly cream or cream, caramel

6 - Savarin

Photo by Brandon Daniel. Typical of the Alsace-Lorraine region, Savarin was dedicated to the French gastronome Anthelme Brillat-Savarin by the Julien confectioner brothers in 1844.

Very similar to the Neapolitan baba, the Savarin has the same leavened dough, but the shape of a doughnut. In the classic and original version, the Savarin is also dipped in a liqueur-based sauce, usually Grand Marnier or rum, just like the baba. Decorations vary from cream to custard, from chocolate to candied fruit. Baba lovers (but not only them) won't be able to resist trying this distant 'French cousin'.

• Average cost: €6.00

• Main ingredients: flour, eggs, butter, yeast, honey, liqueur syrup

7 - Creme Bruleè

First documented in a French cookbook dating back to the 17th century, creme bruleè is a sophisticated spoon dessert, made from a delicate vanilla cream, left to cook in a bain-marie, and an inviting sugar crust covering its surface, usually obtained with the flame of a blowtorch or the last baking grill in the oven.

The curiosity linked to the way of eating creme bruleè lies in breaking this crust with a teaspoon and then finding the soft heart of cream. Existing today in different variants, from mint to lavender, from rosemary to gorgonzola, the classic vanilla creme bruleè nevertheless remains unsurpassed.

• Average cost: €4.00

• Main ingredients: vanilla cream, caramelised sugar

8 - Crepe Suzette

We are in Monte Carlo, at the Café de Paris, and it is 1895. The young apprentice chef Henry Charpentier has just mistakenly poured liqueur into the crepe pan, which on contact with the gas ignited, flambéing the crepe and... creating a masterpiece: this is how Crepe Suzette was born. According to one legend, Suzette was the prince's companion who greatly appreciated this new, flambéed version of the crepe.

Today, Crepe Suzette are a symbol of French pastry; they are served soaked in a syrup made from caramelised sugar, mandarin or orange syrup and Grand Marnier, and then cooked flambè.

• Average cost: €4.00

• Main ingredients: crepe, sugar syrup and liqueur

9 - Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin was also the result of a mistake. The story goes that Stephanie Tatin was preparing an apple tart in the late 19th century, but forgot the layer of pastry and only allowed the fruit to caramelise in the oven with butter and sugar. When she realised her oversight, she added a disc of pastry over the apples and once she had baked and flipped the pie over, she had just created Tarte Tatin: the most famous upside-down apple pie in the world.

Famous today in French pastry, it is very curious in its presentation and is also very tasty. It exists in different variants, which respectively call for puff pastry or puff pastry and if you wish, different types of fruit, the important thing being that the cake is served upside down.

• Average cost: €7.50

• Main ingredients: apples, butter, sugar, puff pastry or puff pastry

10 - Cherry Clafoutis

A poor dessert typical of the Limousine area, which farmers used to make with whole wild cherries.

Creamy and delicious, it takes the form of acake made of eggs, milk, sugar and flour, filled with cherries and covered with a sugar crust. The cherry Clafoutis still remains a traditional dessert in France today, however it also exists in more modern variants using raspberries, apricots, peaches, apples, pears and grapes.

• Average cost: €6.00

• Main ingredients: eggs, milk, flour, sugar, cherries

Drinks and liqueurs: what people drink in France

Between liqueurs, wines and spirits, French drinks is another little world to discover. Fruity flavours and woody liqueurs, fine elixirs aged in oak barrels in small towns in Provence or in old cellars in Paris. Another literary tour to discover the finest French liqueurs and wines. To savour and enhance everything we have told you so far, here is a small round-up of the five most important and prized drinks of France.

1 - Champagne

Fine and light, champagne is one of the oldest French wines, the invention of which is currently attributed to the Benedictine abbot Dom Pierre Pérignon.

Characterised by its sparkling mousse, which distinguishes it from any other still wine, Champagne is still one of the most famous French alcoholic beverages in the world. Perfect to accompany Foie Gras.

Average cost: €55.00

2 - Calvados

Distilled from apple and pear cider, it is one of the most famous and popular in the world and is only produced in the French department of Basse-Normandie. Calvados is today protected by theappellation d'origine contrôlée AOC(Appellation of Controlled Origin). The typical Normandy tradition is for Calvados to be drunk in the middle of a meal.

Average cost: €8.50

3 - Cognac

Cognac is a famous French wine distillate, also protected by the AOC controlled designation of origin.

It is produced in the towns of Cognac and Segonzac; the particularity of its flavour depends on the wood from the forests of Limousine, from which the barrels in which it is aged are made. Cognac goes very well with small French pastry delicacies.

Average cost: €70.00

4 - Cointreau

Produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, Cointreau is a French liqueur dating back to the second half of the 19th century. With its characteristic orange flavour, it is stored in iconic amber bottles. To be drunk neat or on the rocks.

Average cost: €20.00

5 - Pastis de Marseille

The typical French aperitif with a fragrant aniseed aroma. Originating in Marseille, it was born in 1915 and is still the most popular cocktail in sophisticated French cafés. Milky white in colour, it should be drunk cold, accompanied by ice cubes.

Average cost: €10.00

Tips and trivia: where to eat and what to avoid

French gastronomy is a journey that must be made twice: yes to bistros, where the traditional French cuisine we have just told you about still retains simplicity and authenticity. Double yes to cafés with a retro and even somewhat bohemian spirit, for desserts that respect the originality of yesteryear.

Markets are still to be discovered; and finally yes to small concessions even in a starred restaurant: for the same old flavours readapted to the modern and certainly surprising. Because French cuisine is a cuisine to be experienced with total curiosity.