She Doesn't Cook During the Week

At a restaurant dinner last week, a male colleague started singing the praises of his wife's cooking. Intrigued, I asked him if she worked -- she does -- and asked him how she managed to balance her professional life and her cooking life. "Bon, elle ne cuisine quand même pas en semaine," he answered. In other words, of course she doesn't cook during the week. As he explained, during the weekends she was a creative and devoted cook, but during the week, she just prepared "des trucs simples", or simple stuff. The reality of work and activity schedules means that more and more, cooking in France is becoming un loisir, a leisure activity reserved for weekends, vacations and days off -- of which, with their 35-hour workweek, the French have plenty!