Bunchop

The latest hot topic: The Michelin guide. That’s Michelin, as in the tire company from Auvergne*?

The Michelin guide, whether other restaurant guides (like Zagat) like it or not, remains the first point of reference for Europeans. In New York, there are 16 starred restaurants (which have 2 or 3 stars) and, out of these 16, 8 are originally from Europe (only one is American).

So why has the Auvergne-based company created a guide that is so feared by the greatest chefs?

A bit of history will help here. Michelin was created in 1888, with the famous Michelin Man as the firm’s emblem. Michelin are now one of the leading tire manufacturers with more than 120 000 employees.

The Michelin guide was created shortly after, allowing people criss-crossing France’s highways to find good restaurants.

The famous Red guide is actually a loss making branch of the company, but it is a key part of the Michelin Man’s image – as well as being a way to reward countries with Michelin factories and a strong automobile industry! Source: "Le guide Michelin et le pneu, une affaire qui sent un peu trop le caoutchouc…" by Franck Pinay-Rabaroust - (Translation "Michelin guides and tires, a stretched relationship…")

In Europe, China and Japan, “the number of stars rockets where there are car manufacturers and production centers.”

The situation in the States is a bit more complicated. Michelin has 11 production sites, and with “8.8 million new cars on the road in 2009, the States are tire heaven.” However, there are only 2 guides (San Francisco and New York), the guides to Las Vegas and Los Angeles having been scrapped due to lack of readers!

So what’s Michelin’s strategy in the USA? That question remains unanswered, but if you’re wondering why BunchOP doesn’t feature more starred restaurants, don’t worry - we’re working on it! To be continued…

*Note for Americans: Auvergne is a region in central France, which isn’t particularly well known (it’s not famous for producing wine, nor does it have any notable regional cuisine.. I doubt you would bother to drop in for a look around!)

**Note for readers from Auvergne: Please don’t take any offence from the above note. Auvergne is a great region – especially because Mr BunchOP is from there.

Christel & Mark (translation)

A Parisian dinner with 100 friends who decided to wear white in order to recognize one another...

Launched by Francois Pasquier more than 20 years ago and they are now 15.000 in Paris every year! The principle: a secret destination, wear white (be elegant and forget about your jogging pants, sneakers and other...), a super hot date, your table and chairs...and have diner with other beautiful people...

The Diner en Blanc came in New York last year for the first time. This is a must go for the summer!

Just register to get attend this excited event.

Pros: Super elegant, a mix of New York and Paris ...

Cons: the white makes you fatter, the event success itself: you should go before the NY participants number turns to 10.000...

Want to see a video about the last Diner en blanc in New York? Here (source: French Morning).

PS: Notice that the title of this post matches well with the deal of the week ("Wine tasting @ Dans le Noir"), ... Impressed? I know...

Christel

A very French paradox – and why BunchOP is actually good for your health!

It’s been scientifically proven –wine is good for you!

A 1998 study* by the "Copenhagen City Heart Study" proves that drinking alcohol (by which we mean one glass a day – which isn’t that much) reduces the risk of heart disease! The study was carried out on over 10,000 people. But that’s not all…

There have been hundreds of studies on this paradox and they have all come to the same conclusion… French red wine contains "resveratrol", which has been identified as essential in maintaining a healthy heart. Watch out though – it’s not in all red wines (in the States, for example, lots of red wines are filtered differently, so the resveratrol concentration can be a lot weaker).

So what exactly is the French paradox?

The French paradox is that, despite a known French vice for all things bad for your heart (cigarettes, sausages and food cooked en confit – typically high in saturated fat), the "French have the lowest cardiovascular disease mortality rate in the industrialised nations of the West (36% lower than in the USA and 39% lower than in England)". What’s the conclusion then? If you want to reduce your risk of heart disease, join BunchOP and enjoy some of our offers!

*You can see the results of the study here,

Sources : www.tarn-web.com and www.europa47.org.

Christel and Mark (for the translation)

Why do the French have such bad American accents?

Well it’s not because of the legendary French pride or stubbornness, but rather because of "nasalisation"!

Because of what?? BunchOP’s new intern, Tanja, could put anyone to shame...

Originally from Germany, she speaks English and French with no accent whatsoever, and is a linguistics student to boot. I think the main aim of her first article has been to boost my self-confidence!

Nasal vowels in French (an /ɑ̃/, en /ɑ̃/, in /ɛ̃/, on /ɔ̃/, un /oe/) are produced by passing air through the nasal passages and the mouth at the same time. This is what differentiates between the pronunciation of "beau" and "bon", and "fait" and "fin".

The process of "nasalization" itself changes a sound from a "normal" one to a "nasal" one.

The French, along with the Portuguese and Polish, are the only people in Europe who do it. Try asking an American to say "pompon". See what I mean? The problem is they don’t know how to talk through their nose!

On the other hand, someone from France pronounces their vowels (a.e.i.o.u) nasally without realizing, which is why they have such a strong accent in comparison to the Spanish, Germans, etc..

We all are born capable of producing and recognizing all the sounds of every human language (there are 7000 different languages). When we’re very young, we learn which sounds are important for our mother tongue, and forget the rest of them. The older we get, the harder it is to learn the sounds of a foreign language.

That said, an accent is super sexy. According to a CNN article from 2011, the hottest accents are:

1. Italian

2. French

3. Spanish

To see where the others ranked, have a look at the sexiest accents article.

Tanja, Christel and Mark (for the translation)

We’re happy to announce our new partnership with Traditions & Innovations, exporter of French and Spanish wine to the USA.

Every month, we’ll cook up an event which will let you learn more about French and Spanish wine.

In the first week of each month, starting in May, you’ll be able to visit BunchOP to find out the topic, place and date of the monthly classes - as well as a list of wines which will be available to taste.

Each class will be led by inspiring, passionate experts; wine merchants, wine stewards and even vineyard owners.

The best thing about these events – other than the fact that I’ll be there :-) – is that:

• The event will be exceptional and at a price you won't be able to find elsewhere
• Or, when there are organized in a wine store, all the wine will have at least 30% off(right from the first bottle you buy!)

Remember, these events are your events, so don’t hesitate to tell us what you think about our chosen topics.

Traditions & Innovations fully supports organic farming and works with 30 family-run wineries in France (in the Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Loire, Rhône, Languedoc and Roussillon regions) and Spain (in Catalonia, Valencia and Rioja).

Perpignan-born Jean-Francois, owner of Traditions & Innovations, loves his job and has a true appetite for life. Our business partnership was (of course) sealed over a glass of wine. There’s no doubt you’ll love his classes – and his wines!

So now’s the time to come down and meet us, have a chat about wine - and some deals too…

Christel and Mark (for the translation)

I told you they would end up hating French (read "French Moms are hot" post)! First there was “French women don’t get fat”, “French women don’t sleep alone” and “French children don’t throw food”. Now, newcomer “Lessons from Madame Chic: The Top 20 Things I Learned While Living in Paris” has arrived.

Some background info: Jennifer Scott has spent a year in Paris during her studies. She lives with Parisian families – notably Madame Chic and Madame Bohemian, who teach her the fundamentals of elegance.

The advice which they give her isn’t bad at all: sort out your wardrobe, buy fewer (but better) clothes, eat your meals with a knife and fork, use makeup sparingly, and always maintain a touch of mystery… But Americans are beginning to rebel…

There’s no doubt that Madame Chic - perfectly dressed and made up at 5:30 in the morning, spreading some of the home-made jam on a slice of bread - fits a certain cliché perfectly. So perfectly that, in fact, it’s starting to get annoying…

This means war.

Enter Liz Garrigan’s blog, an American expat living in Paris. The blog features anything and everything – from impracticable Parisian shoes in the park (here), to French children behaving like wild animals in playgrounds while nannies and moms smoke and gossip on their cells (here).

Paul Rudnic’s article (The New Yorker) is hilarious: "I am Marie-Céline Dundelle, and I do not need a book contract to reveal that French women are superior in all matters. Our secret lies in an attitude toward life, a point of view that I can only call Frenchy. For example, let us discuss weight loss. The American woman obsesses over every calorie and sit-up, while in France we do not even have a word for fat. If a woman is obese, we simply call her American. Whenever my friend Jeanne-Hélène has gained a few pounds, I will say to her, “Jeanne-Hélène, you are hiding at least two Americans under your skirt, and your upper arms are looking, how you say, very Ohio."

In Forbes, journalist Erika Brown Ekiel wrote an article explicitly entitled "Bringing up Bebe? No Thanks. I’d Rather Raise a Billionaire." 

It’s pretty clear that the method championed by Pamela Druckerman (author of Bringing up Bebe) doesn’t impress Ekiel. There are 425 billionaires in the States, compared with only 16 in France - and not a single one of those are “self-made”. According to Erika, French children are taught socialism instead of the virtues of capitalism and individualism. In nursery, for example, they are all told to paint the same picture. They’re all straight from the same mold.

It looks like Americans are done with idolizing us and are getting back to their old ways – watch out!

PS: By the way, it's 7AM and I am already in my Chanel outfit, with a perfect manicure from Yves Saint Laurent!

Sources: Le Point : "Madame chic est ses petits monstres", New York Times : "Lessons Learned: How to Live la Vie Parisienne"

Christel and Mark (for the translation)