Oysters, foie gras, brie: the dishes that catch you out
Should you drink the oyster’s liquor? Can you spread foie gras? Where do you start on a brie? The dishes that make even regulars hesitate, and the most famous faux pas at the French table.
Some dishes we eat happily at home suddenly become intimidating at a grand dinner. A platter of oysters, a whole artichoke, a plate of snails, a slice of foie gras: we hesitate, watch our neighbours, wait for someone to begin. Here are the right gestures, without ceremony.
Oysters
Hold the shell steady on the plate with one hand, and loosen the oyster with the small three-pronged fork. You can then eat it with the fork, or lift the shell to your lips and drink it, liquor and all. Both are perfectly correct. Add lemon or shallot vinegar sparingly, so as not to mask the taste of the sea. Empty shells go back on the plate, never on the tablecloth.
Foie gras
This is surely the most noticed faux pas at a French table: spreading foie gras on your bread like butter. It is cut with the fork, or with the knife if very firm, into small pieces that you place on a mouthful of bread or toast and then raise to your mouth. It is never squashed.
Artichoke
It is eaten with the fingers, unashamedly. Pull off the leaves one by one, starting from the outside, dip their base in the sauce, then scrape off the tender part with your teeth before placing the leaf on the edge of the plate. When you reach the heart, remove the choke with the knife, then finish the base with knife and fork.
Snails
Hold the snail tongs in your left hand to grip the shell, and extract the snail with the small two-pronged fork held in your right. The parsley butter left in the shell or on the plate may be mopped up with a piece of bread speared on the end of your fork, never with your fingers.
Caviar
Caviar is never served with a silver or metal spoon, which alters its taste, but with a small spoon of mother-of-pearl, horn or bone. It is enjoyed in small quantities, placed on a blini or on the back of the hand between thumb and forefinger, and it is never spread. Some connoisseurs even eat it on its own, without accompaniment.
Cheese, and the tip of the brie
In France, cheese is served after the main course and before dessert. The board traditionally goes round only once: choose two or three cheeses, sensibly, and do not help yourself again. Cutting follows a rule of fairness: everyone should be able to taste from the heart to the rind.
| Shape | How to cut it |
|---|---|
| Wedge of soft cheese (brie) | Lengthwise, along the side, never cutting off the tip |
| Round cheese (camembert) | In triangular portions, like a cake |
| Goat’s cheese log | In rounds |
| Blue cheese (roquefort) | At an angle, to share the most veined part |
| Hard cheese (comté) | In slices, following the rind |
Cutting off the tip of the brie, sometimes called the “nose”, is the most famous faux pas at the French table. It is the ripest, creamiest part, and taking it for yourself means depriving everyone else of the best.
Spaghetti
In Italy, it is twirled around the fork against the edge of the plate, without the help of a spoon, which is rather a foreign habit. Long pasta is never cut with a knife. And avoid twirling too much at once: the mouthful should remain reasonable.
When in doubt, watch the hostess. She chose the menu; she knows how to eat it.
