Essay on French meals in trench
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French CuisineFrench Cuisine is one of the most popular types of food around these days and is known worldwide for its quality. The French gained their techniques through history in pretty much one form. They got most of their notoriety because of the fact that they were ruled by so many different people. There were many different countries and groups of people who conquered the French region throughout the past 2000 years. So each time a new ruler conquered them new ideas and techniques were introduced to the French cuisine. France is said to have begun their culinary art in the 16th century by the wife of Henry II, Catherine de Medicis. They brought personal cooks with them wherever they went. Later on as it became more solidified French Cuisine had cookbooks being made in the 19th century. La Cuisine Classique by Urbain Dubois and Emile Bernard. In the book they suggested serving food while still hot and were criticized heavily for it but the French enjoyed it and its now adopted worldwide by everyone.An average day in France begins with breakfast, which is known as le petit déjeuner. This usually consists of coffee or hot chocolate, and sometimes a croissant which is made of a flaky, butter-based pastry or bread. Pain au chocolat is like a croissant but has a chocolate filling. Lunch is pretty laid back. It usually begins with hors d'oeuvre, or appetizers. Meat or fish follows, and the meal ends with cheese, fruit, or sometimes a dessert. After school many kids eat a generally healthy snack of fruit or some bread to tide them over. This is known as le goûter. The evening meal is when whole family gets together and talks about their day. This always has a few courses. Most dinners end with wine and a desert of some sort. L'Apéritif is a national custom in France. It occurs before the meal where the family gathers about a half an hour or so before a meal to share a drink, a small appetizer, and conversation with family, friends, and neighbors. It is an established social activity which is enjoyed by people of all ages, and which forms an important part of home life and in restaurants.There are many dishes that are either rare or exclusive to the French people. For example, Pot au Feu is dish of simmered meats and vegetables. Bouillabaisse is from...
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Since the first day of hostilities, France's war ministry began a staggering juggling act: Feeding their own troops, the troops of her allies, and all of France's colonial troops, relying only on a network of foreign suppliers, limited local production, and sketchy at best colonial tithes arriving in smaller supply than the hungry troops dispatched to the conflict from the colonies.
Initially, Frances armed forces were designed to fight, fend for, and feed at a company or battalion level. This meant that soldiers who were line infantrymen might also be cooks, laborers, supply clerks and maintenance personnel, with fatigue details being assigned on a rotational basis between the non-specialists. In garrison, or on maneuvers, this worked splendidly. When the day's work was done, the cooking detail would set up the kitchen area, cook and serve the meal, and everyone was happy.
For emergency use, troops carried an emergency ration, but no one would touch that except in old Legionnaires' barroom tales of the Legion in 'wild places'.
Add to this mix about 2.8 million German troops (700,000 regulars and 2.1 million activated reserves) with the expressed purpose of having lunch in gay Paris...
...and suddenly, company level kitchens were impossible to run in the field, especially in hotly contested locations, where doing anything but remaining behind cover meant certain death.
At the same time, the peacetime provisions which, if not opulent, were superb to most in Europe, suddenly had to be divided 5 ways, with Frances forces expanding from 823,000 peacetime troops to a whopping 3,723,000 at the onset of war. This was not counting British expeditionary forces, colonial troops, remnants of the Belgian army and foreign volunteers.
While the front lines were still somewhat flexible, field unit based kitchens were becoming less and less feasible. By the time the front froze at the trench line from the channel to the Swiss border, they had become impossible. Many troops would receive fresh ration supplies, but with the trench networks initially only being laid out for close-up combat, no provisions for regular cooking was made.
This meant that troops subsisted on fresh bread, fruit, wine and sausages. Iron rations were limited due to supply shortages, and generally the only warm meal happened if a section or a platoon managed to set up a makeshift kitchen to use the supplies arriving in an irregular fashion before they could spoil. Even then, the best troops could hope for was some sort of soup or stew, or a cup of coffee if they were not so lucky.
No standard caloric intake requirement was set, and no semblance of a functional supply system existed until early 1915, when French planners in the Ministry of War finally had a modicum of breathing room to allow for action besides the constant filling of gaps, reacting to German advances and trying to coax more allies to help out with the war effort. This also allowed for the new concept of field kitchens, preparing meals behind the lines, which in theory then would be delivered/picked up and brought to the trenches in large food transport tins with carrying frames similar to backpack