Warning: This might make you weep for the state of our country, especially if you watched Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" and saw the plastic-wrapped, preservative-laden garbage being served to those children.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb5ene9tlos

That was an excellent find.

omg, i am so jealous of these kids.

This will make me cry myself to sleep at night.

I seriously can't believe that guy who went to the local marker to get food! Truly a passionate man.

"The rise in obesity...McDonald's...Two beautiful lean teenagers coming out of this McD". Find the error.

Note they served some kind of meat in almost every meal shown.

From the little I know, I believe that good chefs will do that Those kids are just incredibly lucky that instead of the lunch lady who opens up cans of mass produced food, they have an actual chef who cooks for me. At least it looks like the older kids were appreciative of this.

I wonder if your typical North-American kid, raised on fast food would actually appreciate this food, or just complain.

I read french, and I can confirm that the brief glimpse we had of that menu was relatively low-carb(ish)



It's not the occasional trip to McDonald that is the problem. It's being born to parents who grew up eating the stuff, and growing up yourself eating it.

Yeah, but comparing that to any point of my education career, I must say I found it heartwarming that a school can actually have someone who knows WTF they're doing.

I'll slap any kid who doesn't at least tolerate kind of food. Right now the quality of food we serve in most schools is comparable to mud.

What makes them lucky is that they are born into a society that values food so highly they are willing to spend money so that their children eat well. We, clearly, do not. Neither, I imagine, do most other countries, although I would really like to see a comparison of school menus from around the world. Might be eye opening.

I find it heartwarming that 1) a chef does not consider it beneath him to cook school lunches and that 2) the administration considers food important enough to pay a chef salary in order to provide their students with superior food.

You'd be surprised at how many kids turn up their noses at good food. You have to be introduced to good food early in order to appreciate it. My little nieces who have been allowed to turn into picky eaters will not eat anything remotely different. I tried to entice the girls to eat some beautiful ripe strawberries, just picked from the field and they wouldn't even try it. My husband made all sort of tasty food during their visit and they turned up their noses at all of it. They ended up eating mostly chicken nuggets and "yogurt" tubes.



I agree. And I think we don't have to look much further as to why the French are generally slimmer and have lower rates of heart disease.

I agree.


I myself was raised on grains pretty much, that's all my mom cooked other than the occasional brisket (yum). I started doing research around 2007, and became addicted to controversial issues (cholesterol being the main one), and that's when I learned pretty much that low carb was the way to go.

If I ever have kids I better have a wife that understands how important healthy eating would be for my kids, otherwise I'd slap the bitch. I mean we'd have to figure something out.

Was not able to watch the video, but I think I can get the gist. I knew a French chef with lots of experience who quit his job in a high-end restaurant to go be a school chef. He considered it a promotion. I was recently in France and I witnessed something truly interesting: I was at the Louvre cafeteria getting a quick lunch. At the table to my left was a French family eating lunch. At the table to my right was an American family eating lunch. The French family had a son and a daughter. The boy was around 7 and the girl around five. The US family had three boys, one was a baby and one was around 4 and one around 6. The contrast between how these two families ate lunch was startling. The French kids were sitting still in their chairs having a conversation with their parents. They were using both a knife and a fork and were drinking juice mixed with water out of a glass. I forget the name of the dish, but they were eating what looks like steak tartare, but seared on the outside. Yes, a 5 and 7 year old were eating raw meat!

The American kids were skirming in their chairs. They were drinking their juice drink straight from the bottle and their lunch was some sort of cheese covered bread, which they were eating with their hands. You could tell the parents were just trying to "get through" the meal without getting a headache.

The Americans were refueling; the French were dining. I honestly believe that the way we feed our children is one of the main ways we show our care and love for them. Sitting at the table with your child, giving them their drink out of a glass, teaching them to eat with a knife and a fork, having them eat off a real plate, and conversing with them is SO important. I don't know why we stopped doing in this in the U.S. I don't know why we decided that kids need "kid food." (They don't have separate food for kids and adults in France)

The French are lean because they are taught to enjoy mealtimes from a young age.

I have no children yet, but if I do, from the time they can eat solid food, they're eating what I'm eating. If I am having spicy duck curry, that's what they're getting!

Good point. We were invited to eat at the house of a French couple once. They had a little boy, probably 6-7. He was just a normal boy in every respect. I observed the same thing as you during the meal. I remembering my husband observing to me how well behaved he thought the little boy was at the table. After he was allowed to leave the table, he ran around just as any other child would.

You didn't see the video, but there is one part where one of the lunch ladies serving the little 3-4 years old says very sternly to what I assume was a rambunctious child --- At the table we EAT, we do not PLAY.

I think it's all a question of expectations. French parents and educators expect children to sit through a meal and conduct themselves properly from an early age.

P.S. this is just a quibble, but if it's seared, it can't be steak tartare. Maybe it was tuna? or duck breasts ?

What a great news report! I was amazed not only with the food, but with the infrastructure! Wow, what kitchens ...

I've been to France several times, and it's always a pleasure to see French families (with children of all ages) enjoying good food together. And yes, "At the table we EAT, we do not PLAY.". Oh, and "family" includes the dog, BTW.

I even did a summer course at a French university at one point. The food was unbelievable! We had things like fresh fish, lamb chops with fresh herbs, and salads with goats' cheese. And baguette -- freshly baked -- at every meal.

Yes, I think the French attitude to food is a very healthy one in all respects. And it pays off.

I heard a little snippet on the radio about the Jamie Oliver thing and the LA school district. They have .77 to spend on each school lunch. The Parisians are spending 5.00-6.00.

Can you imagine the incredibly outcry if taxes were raised enough to pay for that? Or if parents had to pay that much for their kid's lunch? They pay very high taxes in France, and it's because they do stuff like this really well.

I pay almost that for my morning cappuccino. I certainly would not begrudge any child of mine a decent meal, even if that means sacrificing something else.

I guess that you hit the nail on the head Nancy. That's the fundamental difference. The French care about good food, and that means they are willing to pay for it. The North-Americans (and the Brits) don't care, it's all the same to them. This is an attitude that starts in childhood. If you've never been exposed to high quality food, how can you tell the difference? How can you be expected to demand it, when you are an adult. This is why this type of program is so important. The video clip mentions it. The French are not just trying to feed the kids well, they are also exposing them to good food. What kind of monetary value can you put on that.