I am a French food lover, and the best way to eat French food is in the UK. Only in the UK can you find such a wide variety of delicious and beautiful foods. From the cheese to the "croissant," everything tastes like heaven. If you want to know what I mean, all you have to do is to come to the UK. France has a surprisingly underdeveloped food culture in the UK for a country so well known for its food.
French food in the UK is popular due to a couple of factors. The first is that French food is generally considered high quality and luxurious, so people are often willing to pay more for it than they would for other types of food. Secondly, it's relatively easy to get hold of French ingredients in the UK, especially in larger cities like London, where many different suppliers offer a wide variety of products.
Why is French food so popular in the UK?
To understand why French food is so prevalent in Britain, let’s realise how much we love it. We love it so much that millions of Brits cross the Channel Tunnel - well, that was the case before COVID - or get on a plane with nothing but a suitcase full of French food every single year. They eat it up, share it with others, and then share their experience about how good it was on social media.
Most people usually love French food.
- Because the French people love to eat, they spend a lot of time cooking their food.
- However, even though the French people are known for their food, the British are more into French cuisine than them.
- This is because there are so many French restaurants in the UK. If you want to try some authentic French cuisine, you should visit French restaurants in the UK.
14 surprisingly things you must know about French food
Are you one of those people who have always wanted to go to France but never have? Are you curious about French food and the culture around it? Let’s take a look at 14 surprising things you should know about French food.
- Escargot isn't always snail
While France is famous for the elegance of its cuisine, there are some surprising things you might not know about French food.
Surprisingly, escargot means snail in both English and French, which can confuse those not in the know. In restaurants, you'll often find snails served as escargot de Bourgogne. But if you order escargot in a less fancy restaurant or cafe, it could also just be immense.
- Particular waiter services in restaurants
In France, some waiters specialize in wine service — called sommeliers — and waiters that specialize in cheese service — called râpeurs. The cheese course isn't offered as a separate course in many Parisian restaurants. Instead, it is offered as a supplement to the entree.
Only restaurants with a certified râpeur on staff can offer this service. If a restaurant doesn't have its râpeur, it will bring in one from another establishment.
When you order this addition, your waiter will bring over a trolley with wheels filled with cheeses, which they will expertly present and advise on before serve to you at your table.
- French fries aren't French
Despite their name, fries were first cooked in Belgium in the 1600s by anglers who wanted to fry small fish they'd caught. The Belgians then introduced fried potato to the French during World War I. When American soldiers arrived in Belgium, they mistook 'French' to mean 'Belgian.' The rest is history!
- The French are not snobby about their food
The French are taught from a young age that food is essential, but it doesn't mean they're snobs about it. You can eat divine cuisine at a roadside truck stop along a motorway, and locals take as much pride in their market-fresh produce as they do in their haute cuisine.
The French eat more than 100 different cheeses, many of which are unavailable outside the country. Nevertheless, it's an essential part of French cuisine: the most famous French dish is a cheese soufflé, and even the country's most iconic sandwich is served with Comté cheese.
The average person eats 24 pounds of cheese a year in France, but it's hard to find a French person who doesn't like it.
There are so many kinds of cheese in France;
- That some towns have their grocery store dedicated to selling only cheese (called Fromagerie).
- Many people prefer to buy their cheese from their local farmers' market or specialty store because they know exactly where it came from. But others prefer the supermarkets because they have such a wide variety of cheeses to choose from, including some not available elsewhere.
- It may surprise you to learn that many French people don't actually like honest, authentic Brie or Camembert (the two most famous kinds of cheese). Instead, they'd rather eat something called "blanc de blanc," which is the best cheese.
- French people don't eat Baguettes every day
According to Aamodt, most French people eat bread at breakfast and lunch, and they might have a piece or two in their dinner as well. But even though it's eaten daily, it's only one small part of the meal — people typically break off a piece and put it on the table while they eat other things first.
They don't eat Croissants every day either
Croissants are eaten less frequently than baguettes because they're associated with special occasions; if you want an authentic croissant for breakfast, you'll pay more for it than you would for bread at a regular boulangerie (bakery). Croissants are typically eaten in the morning, at brunch, or at tea time — not all three meals.
- Salt types in France
There are two types of salt in France — fleur de sel and sel Marin. Fleur de sel is very expensive because it's hand-harvested from off the top of ocean water. Sel Marin is harvested from deeper down in the water. Both types are delicious!
- Food is not always fancy, not always expensive either
It's not always fancy. There are plenty of everyday foods that are popular in France. One of the most famous is the Croque monsieur, which is essentially just a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with Gruyere cheese or béchamel sauce on top.
It's not always expensive either. While there are certainly some pricey foods you can buy in France, if you're watching your budget, there are lots of cheap snacks too. Try a baguette with butter and jam for breakfast or a crepe for lunch — both are cheap and delicious!
- Misconceptions about French food
The French have a reputation for taking their food very seriously, and it's well deserved. They eat to live and live to eat.
There are many misconceptions about French cuisine, including that
- Everything tastes rich and impressive but is terrible for you. While it's true that the French enjoy eating some rich foods (they do love their butter), French cuisine also includes many healthy options.
- It's also thought that all French people can cook and spend hours preparing food each day. While this may have been true in the past, and still is for some people, it's becoming more common for French people to order takeout or eats at a restaurant, especially among younger generations who are busy with school and work obligations.
- Bread isn't accessible in restaurants in France
If you go to a restaurant in France, the bread is not always complimentary like it often is in the UK. If you want bread at a sit-down restaurant, you need to order it separately from the waiter and pay for it.
- The French only eat for a couple of hours at lunchtime
A typical meal in France might last two or three hours, but that doesn't mean the French eat all day long. They don't start eating until noon, and they're done by 2:00 p.m. That's their lunch hour — it can last two hours! (How we'd love that.) Then, the French leave their offices to have a leisurely lunch and return after they've eaten and relaxed for a bit.
- Main course of French food
The main course in a French restaurant would generally consist of meat or fish with potatoes or rice, salad or vegetables, and cheese or dessert. People from different parts of France have different ideas about good food and what isn't good food. For example, in the south of France, people prefer using olive oil and onion, but people from Paris prefer butter and cream in their cooking.
- Spent more on food
The French spend more than any other nation on eating out, consuming an average of £1,400 each year on dining in restaurants – that's two times more than the average British!
- The French don't use knives and forks to eat pizza or burgers
It's common in the UK to see someone eating a hamburger or slice of pizza with a knife and fork, but this wouldn't happen in France. These foods are considered "fast food" and should be eaten with your hands — unless, of course, you're dining at a fancy restaurant offering gourmet versions of these classics.
- The baguette is not native to France
It may come as a surprise that this beloved bread originated in Austria! The word baguette translates as "wand" or "stick" in French and describes its long shape.
Most Popular French food in the UK
When you think of famous French food, you probably think of fancy bistro fares, like boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin. And while French cuisine does have a reputation for being as rich and elegant as it is expensive, the most famous French dishes in the UK tell a different story.
According to data from UK-based market researcher Kantar World panel,
- Baguettes are the most popular item associated with France — they're bought by 64 percent of British households — followed by croissants (52 percent).
- Pain au chocolat (36 percent) and quiche lorraine (29 percent).
The fact that five out of the top 10 items on this list are baked goods shouldn't come as a surprise: The British have an insatiable appetite for all things breaded, battered, and baked. "The main meal in Britain is at lunchtime, not at night," says Chef Bruno Loubet, who has led restaurants in both London and Sydney for nearly three decades. "And because of that, we eat a lot of sandwiches and pastries."
Strong cultural ties to France
The popularity of these items can be explained by Britain's strong cultural ties to France.
A crème brûlée is made of a smooth and creamy custard base topped with a hard layer of caramelized sugar. It is one of the most famous French dishes in the UK, and it's easy to see why. It's delicious, satisfying, and elegant — a perfect end to any meal.
It's also relatively straightforward to make in your kitchen, requiring few ingredients and little preparation time.
France is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So it has a lot to offer, especially for foodies. But what is the most famous French food in the UK?
Here are some of the most popular French dishes available at restaurants around UK today:
- French Onion Soup
- Crêpes, Coq au Vin
- Moules Marinières
- Steak Tartare
- Ratatouille
- Cheese Fondue
- Escargots
- Madeleines
- Salad Niçoise
An increasing rate of French food in the UK
The United Kingdom loves its food, and it seems that interest in French cuisine is growing. The number of restaurants serving it has been increasing steadily since 2012. It means that now many chefs want to offer authentic French cuisine. They want to learn how to prepare it and make it taste like what they had when they visited France last year so they can offer something better than just another English pub offering burgers or fish and chips.
So the main reason for this is probably because of an increase in the number of English people visiting France on holiday looking for their favorite foods there, and then coming back to the UK and asking their local restaurants to serve them.
