On the other hand… our crowd arrived at a resto as lunch was over…
Bread and some cheese will suffice, please … I murmur hopefully to the Patron…
(shock, horror) NO we can’t give you that, that comes at the end of the meal… 
We did get fed, a wonderful time and our gang still chuckle about it. Perhaps the Patron still has nightmares about the Mad Brits… 
I could never get into long heavy lunches in France. Always made me go to sleep all afternoon. How people eat 3 or 4 courses and then go back to work is beyond me.
Izzy x
another anecdote - we arrived late at our local bar/restaurant run by an English couple in our village… I asked for a plate of cheese to which I was told there was none left… OTOH, friends of ours (from the same village) had just finished their lunch and there was some cheese left on his plate which was offered to us - which we graciously accepted.
After polishing off the remains… the English patron had the bleeding audacity to ask us for 5€ each for the privilege - not at the time I hasten to add, but on our next visit so the customer who had already paid for the cheese (and failed to eat it all) wouldn’t know about it… we told him next time we saw him
Bleeding cheek! I told the patron to get lost
They return to work at 13hr30 but really start at 15hrs when the booze and the lunch has gone down.
We used to eat out at lunchtime (menu de jour, cheap as chips in those days)…
we were busy renovating our home and had no kitchen, so it made sense… only trouble was we slept most of the afternoon.
As our fellow-diners were mostly tradesmen on their lunchbreak … I’ve no idea how they coped… and we were tickled to note that one chap plugged into the streetlamp (presumably charging tools or maybe his car battery… no electric vehicles in those days.)
They don’t have to be heavy. We are conditioned to it from the start so that’s how it is. Actually when I was at school in the UK we had a 3 course lunch every day and there were never any crudités or even salade verte so on balance heavier in UK.
you didn’t get lumpy mashed potato then
Ahem… our real downfall was the liquid on offer with the MdJour … a large jug of wine, simply sitting there on each table … how could we waste that…
Nowadays, I’ll often choose cheese over a dessert (OH does the opposite)… and I know now that a delicious soup can be tricky for me… so easy to keep taking yet another helping…
temperance, dear lady…
Not on a low fat diet then 
In France, cest non. But much lower rates of obesity and coronary disease than the USA.
I admit that this is thread-drift… but I feel I should mention that when we found our French village… there were many folk in their 80’s and 90’s and several over 100 (all still living at home). I’ve no idea of the ages of those in the OF Homes though…
What I’m trying to say, is that folk eat the local diet… eat well… worked hard… and lived long (but not necessarily prospered… )
We eat the local diet… intend to live as long as we can… would like to prosper, but never mind…
(we follow Doc’s orders… but he reckons the local produce is great anyway… )
Wine is no longer included in the cost of the local MdJour… so no carafe on the table… and thus temptation is removed.
I believe France is catching up though. I noticed a difference in the 12 years I lived in France. Far fewer people overweight when I arrived in the mid 2000’s than when I left.
Izzy x
Anyway… back to biscuits!
Bought these yesterday. I blame @billybutcher for mentioning chocolate coated biscuits in the first place 
Also, photo of the nutritional information so that @Corona and @graham can remind me how unhealthy they are (hint: I already know!!)
Izzy x
Yes as the proliferation of highly processed crap arrives so we will see the same problems as America and UK.
And part of the problem!
Just a little hint that I hoped this would be a light-hearted thread instead of the doom and gloom elsewhere!
Izzy x
Doom and Gloom is verboten as far as I am concerned…
I always look for the silver lining and can generally find one… no matter how bizarre it might seem… 
(I’ve been studying some of the replies… but I’ll find that silver lining if it kills me… )
Love your positivity Stella.
I’m just having a lovely cuppa, PG Tips of course. No biscuits today though as it’s not a treat day.
Izzy x
