Immersion
Le Film du Jour: Film of the Day
“Haute Cuisine (Les Sauveurs du Palais)”
Haute Cuisine, released as Les Saveurs du Palais in France, is the perfect choice for today’s theme. The biopic focuses on the trials and triumphs of Danièle Delpeuch, a small-town chef of great renown who is appointed as the private chef of President Francois Mitterand. The film is a smorgasbord of mouth-watering haute cuisine dishes, but it also touches on gender politics specific to France. Delpeuch, immediately singled out in an all-male workplace, pushes past the jealousy and sexism to establish herself as a culinary icon. Since this film is all about cooking and serving, keep your ears open for what we have already learned along with other vocab morsels.
La musique du jour: Music of the Day
Yelle
After all that food, some danceable pop is in high order. Yelle is more than happy to oblige. Created by Yelle (Julie Budet) and GrandMarnier (Jean-Francois Perrier) in 2000, the band exploded onto the French music charts after “Je Veux Te Voir,” a song railing against French rapper Cuisiner of TTC, went viral on Myspace. Yelle herself is the poster child for French electropop. While her voice and beats are sugary sweet, it is her sharp tongue and quirky, irreverent spirit that keeps us coming back for more. The band’s lyrics are also very much on the up and up of French slang and everyday speech, so you will be getting a lesson on how to adopt an effortlessly cool speaking style. Yelle currently has three albums to their name. Pop-Up leans more on the pop side of things, and Safari Disco Club and Complètement Fou progress toward a heavier electronic influence.
L'Activité du Jour: Activity of the Day
Aller au Restaurant français: Go to a French Restaurant
The best cumulative practice of all that we have learned this week is to go straight to the source. So, on va au resto! That’s slang for, “Let’s go to a restaurant!” If you can, find an authentic French restaurant near you and make a reservation. Once you are there, tell the server that you want to practice speaking French. “Puis-je pratiquer mon français, s’il vous plait?” (May I practice my French, please?) will do the trick. You can bring along a cheat sheet and add notes on other words and phrases you pick up.
If you do not happen to have any French restaurants in your area, hit up a French bakery or cultural club in your area. Many cultural clubs host food events where you can practice the language with native speakers and other learners, so you definitely will not be missing out. It is worth noting that dining in France is an event in itself. Meals consisting of several courses are savored, sometimes over several hours, and conversation is in abundance. It is not uncommon for diners to follow the meal with dessert or coffee (or dessert, then coffee). This allows for more time to enjoy the atmosphere and company.
That is why getting these phrases down will benefit you so much in the long-run. Restaurants and cafés are sacred places where the purpose is not just to eat and leave. It is an experience characterized by two or more hours of talking, both with the waiter and whoever comes with you, so getting the basics down is the key to relishing the experience.
Bon appétit et à demain! (Have a good meal and see you tomorrow!)