Fast food, French style

April 14th 2007

For the past 3 years I’ve been working on projects done in our company’s office, and have had the luxury of eating in the cafeteria. In France we call it “canteen”, which sounds English to me. It’s very good and very cheap, typically 4 euros after the company’s participation of about 3 euros. That makes it about $5 depending on exchange rates. BTW, just to give you an idea of inflation, when I first came to France I worked for a very large (and generous) company and a lunch at the canteen cost 10 Frances at the time (2000). That’s $2!

And eating there is very efficient (fast). When necessary I was capable of eating in 15 minutes, but we usually took 45 to get a good break and have interesting discussions (when the discussions were about foot (”soccer”) I tended to make it 30 minutes and escaped excused myself).

So recently I started a consulting assignment at the client’s office. It’s a relatively small company, not a start-up by any means but they seem to operate in start-up mode (very casual, fun and friendly atmosphere, cutting corners on procedures, etc.). Now here is where it gets interesting: They have a cafeteria, but it’s shared with another company in another building about 10 minutes walk away. When we work at the client’s site, we’re allowed 4.20 euros per day to offset the higher costs of eating out.

So at the client’s site there are two groups of people, the company employees and the employees of my company who are there on the project. Some of the company employees eat at the cafeteria, but due to the higher cost for non-employees (about 9 euros) the employees of my company don’t eat there. So where do they eat?

Well we can again divide the people into two groups: sandwiches and non-sandwiches. The sandwich group includes the management (both my company and the client), because they don’t have time for anything else. The sandwich group also includes many of my company’s software developers because it’s cheaper. A 7 euro sandwich/drink/desert special minus 4.20 euros = less than 3 euros for your meal. About the same as the company cafeteria, although instead of getting a good healthy balanced meal you’re eating a ton of bead with an incredibly small amount of meat.

Now I have to clarify because sandwiches means sandwiches from a French boulangerie (”bakery”), made fresh every day using the delicious French bread. At home we buy fresh bread from the bakery all the time, and once my wife brought home some Harry’s bread (an industrial brand with a name that is supposed to sound American, it’s like Wonder or Butternut, etc.). Our daughter wouldn’t eat it! So that should tell you how good the French bread is.

I stress this point about the sandwiches because in the US if you want something quick and cheap, you’re going to Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, etc. And the French bakery sandwiches are much healthier for you. However, according to recent reports, these French sandwiches aren’t as healthy as a regular balanced meal. So I can’t even imagine how unhealthy the American fast food option is!

To add another issue into the mix, I went to a local French/Portugese café with my coworkers. The people on both sides of me were smoking like they were in a competition to see who could ruin a lung the fastest. There is never a non-smoking section in these small restaurants, making a non-smoking table but that’s it. For the rest of the day I smelled like an ashtray. So now eating at these small restaurants is out. At least until 2008 when the public smoking ban goes into effect (I can’t wait!).

So I’m left with two choices: The cafeteria or sandwiches. If I have time I go for the cafeteria, even if it means going by myself. If not, then I have to grab a sandwich. I much prefer working at offices with a cafeteria in-house, one where people actually eat there. Today I’m at yet another client’s office and they have a good canteen (I’ve eaten here before). Yet my coworkers didn’t even give an option, if I ate with them we were going to a restaurant. A “woman’s restaurant” they later admitted. 17 euros and I was still hungry. At least it was completely non-smoking. Tomorrow I think I’ll grab a sandwich.

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Comments

3 Comments so far

  1. Anonymous on April 14, 2007 22:31

    why not pack a lunch from home? then you could have just about anything you want and save some money too. also, maybe your daughter didn’t like the store bought bread (Harry’s) because the texture was so different from what she is used to - not necessarily that the taste was bad. Texture is very big with kids. And I would take even stale Butternut bread any day!!!

  2. steve on April 19, 2007 19:59

    Ah packing a linch from home, that’s not the usual way in france. Nothing brek my heart more than a colleague eating alone in front of his computer :(
    Working is of course a way of earning money,and for lucky guys a way of doing what they like. But I think in France(it’s my personal opinion of course) , as we like ti discuss (argue? ;) ), it’s above all a way of meeting people. My best moment in the daywork is at lunch when we speak of everything with my colleagues !!So eating alone :(

  3. alicia on October 25, 2007 19:33

    i love french cuisine!

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