France
Phillip Smith
Chief Agricultural Products
Culinary Customs
Social meals begin with an appetizer, followed by hors d'oeuvres; a first course of soup or salad; a main course of fish, pasta, or a meat cooked in a crust or sauce; cheese; and then a dessert. Coffee or liquor finish the evening. A typical family meal has two to four courses. Meals with extended family can last up to four hours. When eating out, the person who invites or makes the suggestion usually pays.
Wine is consumed with most meals, except breakfast; numerous varieties are available. Red wine generally accompanies meat and cheese, white wine is drunk with fish, and rose wine is an appetizer. Unless certain of its high quality, foreign guests should not give wine as a gift. In formal meals, champagne is drunk with either the appetizer or the dessert. A vast more intricacies are included for etiquette for the French.