Continuing on with the French eating habits...
At the end of every year, The Company sends out a letter saying that each of our customers saying they can buy pizza for their employees who deal with our product, as a sort of Christmas Thank You for their hard work. Since they send it out in English, I usually send out an email/fax in French to all of my customers, reminding them that they can do this. This morning I got back the following reply:
Bonjour Samantha, moi personnellement, je ne mange surtout pas de pizza en fin d' année; il faudra dire à votre chef que les français mangent du foie gras pour les fêtes et le foie gras= caneton = (our product) = money pour The Company. A défaut de pizza, je veux bien des chocolats.
"Hello Samantha,
Personally, there is no way that I would eat pizza during the holiday season. You need to tell your boss that the French eat foie gras during the holidays, and that foie gras = ducks = (use of your product) = more money for The Company.
So instead of pizza, I will take some chocolate."
I just about died laughing after reading this - I mean, how much more French can you get??
posted by Ksam @ 9:17 PM
15 Comments:
That is hilarious!! I love the 'surtout pas' in bold the best :)
oh, sam! tooooo funny, indeed! TALK about cultural clash, huh?! PIZZA FOR CHRISTMAS in FRANCE?? that'd be like our being given tripe in our stockings...
Wait, your company deals in products related to ducks??? Why did I not know this? I know, you don't discuss details about work, etc., but this I would love to know. (What could it be???) :)
omg this is too funny! French food snobbery at its best.
It's the "il faudra dire que" that I can't get over - not only are they rude enough to tell you they don't like what is essentially a gift from your company and to tell you they would prefer something much more expensive instead, they're arrogant enough to assume that the whole world will agree with them AND they think it's your job to sort it out.
Classic.
I guess I'm French indeed, if I was offered pizza for Christmas I would be wondering if it was a joke. Definitely not a French thing. I do love the letter though.
Offering pizza for Christmas in France, it's looking VERY down on people. I think most French people would feel a little offended, even if they won't all ask you for foie gras instead :)
This is because pizza is seen as a very poor quality meal (something you order when you don't have time or you're too lazy to cook).
The thing to offer is, indeed, chocolate (foie gras is too expensive, as you mention, Canedolia).
It's an anglo-saxon cultural shock, I suppose. When my Australian colleagues want to celebrate something with the customer, they buy... Pizza Hut, and everybody eat their cold slices in 5 minutes without even sitting down. This is simply impossible in France, where my French boss would prefer to order a traiteur (less often cause more expensive) or to organize some breakfasts with French viennoiseries and stuff...
(don't hit me, I'm not that bad even if I'm French!)
I'd just like to defend my nation (Australia) and say I don't know anyone who would consider Pizza Hut to be celebratory.
ah, thanks rswb, so my Aussie colleagues are just beaufs! I feel better now.
perfect!
That is funny! So, did you send him the chocolate? Or the foie gras?
I must admit, I find the pizza thing a bit weird too. In Britain it would definitely be something alcoholic :-)
ha ha Yes offering pizza for Xmas is weak... but after all it's still a gift and you are not supposed to refuse such things. What would I say as I don't eat meat (and so no foie gras) lol
So funny !!
Crystal, we are not being snob but as you can read in the other comments, we take pride from having great meals on Chtistmas and New Year Eve. It's mostly a question of traditions, that's all.
When I worked for a Spanish Company, they sent to every employee at the office in Paris a care package with typical Spanish stuff. I loved that care package even if chorizo wasn't foie gras.
OMG!! That about sums it up, I'd say!! Hahahahhaahahah!!!!
And, just so you know.... Dawn and her family had pizza for Christmas dinner... But, they're not French....
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