Here's What A Typical Breakfast Spread Looks Like In France

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day — unless you're French. Non, in France, breakfast isn't a very big deal: It's le petit déjeuner (the little lunch). Instead, traditional mealtimes revolve around work culture, and the French tend to take longer lunch breaks. It's a time to recharge, socialize, and perhaps eat out at a restaurant. Even French children eat better school lunches than Americans. This bigger meal renders breakfast less consequential. The French breakfast is therefore rather plain, consisting of little more than buttered bread and coffee.

Some people do choose to eat meat or cheese, but it's more common to have something sweet rather than savory. A warm croissant isn't out of the ordinary, and sometimes people go for its cousin, pain au chocolat. Another sweet pastry is pain aux raisins, sometimes called escargot because its spiral shape resembles a snail shell (no snails are used in the recipe). Others enjoy a brioche spread with butter, jam, or Nutella.

There can't be a discussion of French breakfast without coffee. It's such an ingrained part of the culture that there are certain "rules" for drinking it. (Don't try any elaborate Starbucks-esque orders, otherwise you might get some weird looks.) A strong black coffee is typical, but ordering "un café Américain" will mean a more watered-down version of espresso. Café au lait featuring the addition of hot milk is another great option. The first coffee of the day should wake you up, but a foamy French noisette coffee will be a gentler companion for the second cup. Coffee is always served hot — save the iced latte versus iced venti cappuccino decision for another time.

If you don't like coffee, then tea, fruit juice, and milk can give you a start to the morning. The French breakfast seems to derive its substance from the quality of ingredients, often featuring simple recipes. Bread may be plated on a wooden board for ease of cutting and serving, and pastries tend to sit on their own small dish. Coffee steams in a mug to be sipped over time while enjoying the experience. The point of this meal is to wake up and prepare for the day, so the most important advice to be heeded about preparing breakfast like the French is to not stress about it.