(Editor’s note: This is Pt. 2 of a two-part post about Europe’s food culture. You can jump to Pt. 1 here.)
Expats living for any amount of time in Europe will quickly become food snobs. But is it actually “snobbery” to expect stricter regulations for your food, antibiotic-free meat and bread that actually goes bad? And to take your time enjoying it, sitting in a café? I’d argue no.
The differences in European food culture aren’t only seen in the food quality. It’s also about how people buy food and how they consume it.
Smaller specialty stores still exist
When was the last time you visited your local bakery, butcher, cheese store or fish store? If you are from North America, you might not even remember a time when you did this. Growing up, I never did.
Europe may seem stuck in the past when people sometimes visit multiple stores to get their weekly groceries, but here, all of these small stores still exist in the city and village centers. These privately owned, mom-and-pop-style stores may seem like a relic of the past to a country like the U.S., but they are still going strong in Europe.
Sure, they’ve seen hard competition from “large” grocery stores (large by European standards). But while super stores do exist (like Auchon, Alcampo), they still aren’t as common and can’t compete with the sheer number of categories of goods found at stores like Walmart and Costco.
Sure, you can buy all your items in one store, but you don’t have to, and many people don’t.
Strong open-air market culture
Europe has a strong open-air market culture and markets are often central to community life and food culture. You will find everything from fresh produce, fish, meat and cheese to flowers, cloth and other random items. While farmers’ markets exist in the U.S., especially in larger cities, most Americans still prefer to shop in sheltered stores rather than in the open air.
Many European cities will not just have one weekly market, but a variety scattered across different neighborhoods throughout the week.
More time spent eating
If you’re looking to dine and leave quickly, you’d better live somewhere else.
Sure, Europe still has fast-food options, such as McDonald’s and its home-grown versions, like doner kebab places, fry shops and Dutch snack shops with walls of vending machines filled with fried food. But go to a sit-down restaurant and you’d be aghast if the server leaves your bill on the table and says “No rush, but you can pay when you’re ready.”
In Europe, meals are often a more leisurely, social experience, with a strong emphasis on savoring food and enjoying time with others. It’s not unusual for the pace of dining to be much slower, with meals stretching over hours, especially during lunch or dinner. You are guaranteed to wait for your food to arrive or before you can get your server’s attention.
It’s okay to linger. It’s okay to just sit and talk. In fact, it looks odd when you want to quickly rush away after dinner.
Pass the 5 euro bottle of wine
Don’t turn your nose up at a 5 euro bottle. Wines in Europe are available at much cheaper prices, but still with good quality. At my local grocery store, the most expensive bottle of wine way up on the top shelf is 32 euros (think a grande réserve or Barolo) and the cheapest is 2.39 euros.
Don’t believe me? Here’s proof in the picture below.
Wines for 5 euros to 8 euros per bottle are decent quality and I am not embarrassed to serve these to my dinner guests.
When I studied in France long ago, I used to joke that the wine was cheaper than Coca-Cola. Funny enough, you can still get a bottle of wine for a similar price. A one-liter bottle of Coke will cost the same as the cheapest bottle of wine above: 2.39 euros!
Smaller coffees not to go
At first, you might be shocked by the size of the coffee you get while sitting at a cafe. Coffee portions (and mugs) are a lot smaller.
Not only that but even in bustling cities, you’ll see an absence of people walking down the street with a to-go cup or thermos of coffee. You might see a few in busy metropolises or if people are carrying coffee to a nearby park, but smaller coffees in actual mugs are the norm.
I know it might come as a shock, but in Europe, most people actually drink their coffee sitting down at home or in a cafe.
Don’t get me wrong. Europe isn’t a utopia of perfect food.
You’ll still find aisles of soda, cookies and processed junk. But the difference is in the choices available and the way people approach food. When fresh bread is the norm, eggs come from uncaged chickens and small shops and open-air markets are part of daily life, it’s easy to see why expats can become food snobs.
Once you’ve tasted the difference, it’s hard to go back. The real question isn’t why Europeans eat this way — it’s why North America doesn’t?
So expats beware: Europe will ruin your taste buds.
Sorry, not sorry.
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Read more about Europe’s food culture here in Dispatches’ archives.
Lane Henry is an accidental long-term expat. She is an American who came to the Netherlands for two years—or so she thought. She has now lived in the Netherlands and explored Europe for over a decade.
