One of the many reasons that D and I both enjoy returning to France so often is that with very rare exception, we have always eaten well here. Whether we shop in the markets for fresh, local ingredients and cook at home in our rented apartment, or eat lunch at an informal café, or have dinner at a Michelin-rated (not Michelin starred, because we would need to go up a couple of Canadian tax brackets to be able to afford that!) restaurant, we enjoy the food in France as much as we do the museums and cathedrals.

Something we noticed over the years is that restaurants are frequently closed Saturdays and Sundays in France, yet are packed every week night, to say nothing of the cafés that are filled every evening from 5:00 on with people ending their day over a glass of wine with a friend. As North Americans, D and I never understood this business model—how does a restaurant stay in business when it closes on the busiest nights of the week? And how is it that people go out to eat so often on a school night?! My only guess is that here, weeknights are for friends, and weekends are spent with family. Shops are also closed on Sundays, so the pace of life here is very different than it is at home in Canada.

Generally, D and I choose the second seating when making reservations at small restaurants here, which means we do not eat before 9:00. This not only allows us time to linger over apéritifs at a café, it also gives us a chance to chat with the chef since we are often the last customers to leave (not too late, though; we are usually wrapping it up by 11:00).

In Strasbourg, we were lucky to stumble on La Table de Christophe while wandering around one evening. Chef came out of the kitchen at the end of service, which was fortunate for D and me since that gave us the chance to thank him and discuss his restaurant. Yes, we are nerds of the highest order. We also talked about the recent acts of terrorism in Paris, the threat to Brussels, the French government’s reaction to recent events, and how the west as a whole is affected by Europe’s troubles.

Last night at La Cerisaie in Paris, we were once again the last ones out. La Cerisaie is the tiniest restaurant we have ever visited, and its kitchen is about the size of a master bathroom in any modern Canadian single home. The kitchen is separated from the front of house by a door with an open pass-through. As I was putting on my coat, I stuck my head down into the pass-through to thank Chef Cyril, who very graciously came out to chat with us and his wife (who runs the dining room).

We had a long discussion about the differences between the restaurant industry in France versus the one in Canada. I think that the single biggest difference is that in France, to be a chef is a true “métier”, where you train for years to learn classic technique, with the goal of cooking professionally as a career. There is a lot of respect for that in France, whereas in Canada, the Food Network likes to air ridiculous cooking shows featuring teams of people cooking disparate ingredients in 15 minutes or less.

We probably could have chatted for hours with either Christophe or Cyril, because my fascination with food is endless. But, we let them both off the hook with bizoux and repeated thanks and a hope and promise to return!