A Chic Paris Holiday Season – Day 20 – Christmas Day Food Pushers Rehearsal
December 22, 2020
In A Chic and Simple Christmas, author Fiona Ferris has a short section focused on how to handle, with grace, a situation in which someone is pressing more food or drink on us and we would prefer to decline. In fact, we may have declined several times and the person still offers. In her book, Better Than Before, author Gretchen Rubin describes food pushers as people who press others to reverse out of a healthy habit. We might hear someone say “You should enjoy yourself!” or “I baked this just for you!”
What are some good stock phrases that enable us to slide quickly and easily through the situation? We want to honor our own health values AND we want to show warmth and gentleness to our fellow merry-makers. It’s not necessary to go into a discussion of any special dietary concerns or restrictions. As with most topics, we are all much more interested in the details of our own dietary needs than we are in other people’s situations.
My favorite approach is the non-confrontational, stalling technique: “Oh, thank you – that is so delicious! I’ll get some in just a minute.” Fiona offers the line, “That looks lovely, I’m good now but I might try some later on.” When I have used the stalling technique, I have found that the key success feature is to say the stock phrase and then STOP TALKING. (Again, if someone keeps pressing, it is always an option to excuse ourselves to visit the restroom.) With a few stock phrases practiced in advance, we can relax and enjoy the holiday AND go through the day in harmony with others and with our own inner values.
The funniest comment that I have heard was “Oh, take this last bit otherwise I’ll just have to throw it away.” I hope the person didn’t really see me a human trashcan!
One nice thing about living in France is the general consensus that one is supposed to leave the table feeling comfortable. There is something wrong if we leave the table feeling too full or woozy or holding our sides. Of course, it is a bit easier to follow this cultural norm because serving sizes and dinner plates are very small compared to what I am used to seeing my US hometown. Bite sizes are small. And all meals, not just festival meals, last for hours. Anne Baronne really describes what I have seen while I’ve been in France in her book, Chic & Slim, How Those Chic French Women Eat All That Rich Food and Still Stay Slim. Her follow-up book, Chic & Slim Techniques, 10 Techniques to Make You Chic & Slim a la Francais, breaks down her observations into a clear to-do list. Mirabelle Guiliano gives stellar advice in her book, French Women Don’t Get Fat. Note: These titles sound like the techniques are focused only for women – not so! Men, women and children, young and old, eat as is described.
Speaking of holiday food and celebration, I took a special trip over to the rue Montorgueil area today to place my order for the all-important, Christmas Cake (Buche de Noel.) Years ago, when we spent our first Christmas in Paris, we taste-tested many different types of Buches de Noel searching for the perfect one. Our family-voted “treasure” was a 3-layer chocolate mousse cake (white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate) enrobed in a glossy dark chocolate icing. The unusual attribute is that there is no alcohol in the cake. Many Buches de Noel have anywhere from a whisper to a full fifth of some type of alcohol in the cake. Our family preference is to go full-bore chocolate with no distractions.
We have spent the past week or so sampling a few small Buches de Noel from local patisseries here in the 16th. They were all tasty but not quite right. It was clear that, for this critical component of our Christmas feast, it had to be the 3-layer chocolate mousse Buche de Noel from Boulangerie Colin on rue Montmartre. I placed the order today and will pick our Buche de Noel (pour 4 personnes) on Christmas Eve.
While I was over in the area I took a few photographs of the outdoor decorations. It was a grey and drizzly day so the outdoor Christmas trees looked especially bright and cheery in comparison.
