Photo: An amuse bouche, as you problably know, is a little appetizer to “amuse the mouth”. We’re amusing mouth and brain today with some fun quotes.
We ate in a new restaurant in Cluny the other day (Le Pont de Cotte), and they had a unique paper placemat. I don’t often find inspiration from a placemat, but this one had a list of famous quotes about food, done up in a pretty calligraphy font.
So if you’re in the mood for a little French lesson today, put your mind to dechiphering these tasty morsels. And if you’re not learning French but just looking for a little enlightenment, go right to the translations below. Bon appétit, y’all!
L’appétit vient en mangeant, la soif s’en va en buvant. –François Rabelais.
Le Créateur, en obligeant l'homme à manger pour vivre, l'y invite par appétit et l'en récompense par le plaisir. –Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
La gourmandise commence quand on n’a plus faim. –Alphonse Daudet.
Si vous n'êtes pas capables d'un peu de sorcellerie, ce n'est pas la peine de vous mêler de cuisine. –Colette
Bien manger, c'est atteindre le ciel. —Proverbe Chinois
Cochon. Animal étonnamment proche de la race humaine par la vivacité et la splendeur de son appétit. —Ambrose Bierce
La faim est le meilleur assaisonnement. –Proverbe brézilien
TRANSLATIONS:
Appetite comes with eating, and thirst departs with drinking. (Obviously they're not talking about wine here.)
The creator, in obliging man to eat in order to live, invited him there with appetite and rewarded him with pleasure.
If you’re not capable of a little magic, it’s not worth the trouble to interfere in the kitchen.
Gluttony begins when hunger is satisfied.
To eat well is to reach the sky.
The Pig. An animal astonishingly close to the human race by his vivacity and the splendor of his appetite.
Hunger is the best seasoning.
If you’ve got a favorite food quote, or other wisdom to share, please leave it in the COMMENTS section.
In the Comments, about our year-round Saturday market at Cluny: Colleen, you sound like a fellow hat chick. Maureen and Michaela, this is not the first time I've seen Morris dancers, I think there are more around here than in England, and this could be the subject of a future post! Kathy, our summer tomatoes are just arriving this week too, a result of our weird spring weather this year. So I'll soon be looking for more recipes. And merci to veterans of the Cluny market who checked in, we miss you all!
Photo above: We fully support gluttony, Monsieur Daudet. Which brings to mind this beautiful chocolate pound cake made by my great friend Belinda, who used this recipe, and topped it off with a chocolate ganache.
13 thoughts on “Amuse Bouche & Brain: Wisdom from a French Table”
Comment voulez vous gouverner un pays qui a deux cent quarante six variietes de fromage?
General de Gaulle
We found these place mats all over Dijon this summer. They must be “la mode.”
Given honest flour,pure water, and a good fire, there is really only one more thing needed to make the best bread in the world, fit for the greatest gourmet ever born: and that is honest love.
M.F.K. Fisher
From my Dad, Robert T. Oldfield: “Eat well. What you eat is what you are.”
I am, therefore I eat 😉
Good wine, good meat, Good God, let’s eat! 🙂
Lynn, today’s post was wonderful!!
What a terrific idea for placemats and an even better one when filled with such terrific quotes!
THANK YOU! (and also for that gorgeous chocolate pound cake! Wow!)
PS Unfortunately,(sigh) the one I find myself using more and more in my troiseme age is “Give me half an hour and I’ll think of good reply!” 🙂
“Appetite is the best sauce” sounds like the French “Hunger is the best seasoning”, n’est pas?
I love the French food sayings, especially the one about le cochon, LOL.
I’m forwarding this to a friend who loves to cook and eat as much as I do. The chocolate pound cake might entice me to bake; I hardly ever do anymore.
Thank you for the French lesson Lynn. Now if I could only speak the language fluently. If I had that placemat, I would definitely snatch it to incorporate in one of my collages which have yet to be shown online. They are so so cool. Most of them have French papers within them.
I can’t wait to take a peek at that chocolate dessert. Yes, a woman of many hats am I. XO
Great post! On mange quelque chose sur le pouce? (Shall we grab a bit to eat?)
Not as many morris dancing teams in the UK? We have well over a thousand with websites alone. Heaven knows how many without, but they are well-hidden from tourists, I suppose.
I used to live in Winchester, this is a video made while I lived there of over 30 of them, during the Winchester Mayfest.
I also used to live near Loose, in Kent, where we had the Loose Ladies’ Morris Team….
Good lesson, thanks a lot.