bien fait rhymes with wait
good meals...good harvests...good clothes...all worth the time. "bien fait" translates to well-made which, in my mind, often translates to "wait".
for example, when my friend and i dined french-style the other evening, the meal took longer to arrive at our table than americans are used to waiting. fortunately we are not average americans and when it did arrive i noticed gratefully that there were no apologies for the chef's time in the kitchen. (why apologize for cooking your dinner from scratch!?) we had enjoyed watching him cook and ate slowly, to savor the meal as an appreciative gesture. it was refreshing, this slower speed. and it was especially delicious!
have you noticed the difference between the taste of tomatoes from the grocery store in february as opposed to off the vine right now? there is no comparison. these taste like sunshine. sure, i had to wait a few months for them to germinate and mature, but when i bite into one it is juicy and fresh, not contrived or mealy from being quick-ripened under artificial light. again, better with more time.
i went back-to-school shopping and couldn't help noticing that many of the items i saw in department stores were also at the second hand and consignment shops. i wonder if this is because the acrylic sweaters so popular at this time of year pill and lose their shape...and the artificial handbags just don't last like real leather ones do. i remember how hard it was for me when i was little to wait for mom to finish sewing one of my dresses or for grandma to put that last knit-purl onto a sweater. but they lasted! and i'm hard on clothes. these days, my garments have to be able to withstand going from henhouse to bike, kindergarten classroom to garden and back again. i wasn't actually tempted by the foreign-made flimsy fabrics with sloppy hem strings (a far cry from the days of waiting for your personal tailor!) i'd rather buy a few nice things that i can wear for decades than a lot of items that will wear out by this time next year.
the "maker movement" is popular right now, in everything from home canning and embroidery to leather and woodwork. again, could this be because we've tired of cheap and fast in favor of well made and seasoned? we've been "making" for centuries, maybe not with 3D printers and robots, but with raw materials.
everyone in the service industry it seems is trained to apologize to us for the wait. just yesterday a young lady said, "sorry for the wait!" while bringing my coffee (which took less time to make than it did for me to decide what i wanted in the first place.) plus i like waiting. i have time to look around, notice things, observe people, and think. waiting can be a privilege, time spent in anticipation of quality and of enjoying for years to come what our hands have made.
for example, when my friend and i dined french-style the other evening, the meal took longer to arrive at our table than americans are used to waiting. fortunately we are not average americans and when it did arrive i noticed gratefully that there were no apologies for the chef's time in the kitchen. (why apologize for cooking your dinner from scratch!?) we had enjoyed watching him cook and ate slowly, to savor the meal as an appreciative gesture. it was refreshing, this slower speed. and it was especially delicious!
have you noticed the difference between the taste of tomatoes from the grocery store in february as opposed to off the vine right now? there is no comparison. these taste like sunshine. sure, i had to wait a few months for them to germinate and mature, but when i bite into one it is juicy and fresh, not contrived or mealy from being quick-ripened under artificial light. again, better with more time.
i went back-to-school shopping and couldn't help noticing that many of the items i saw in department stores were also at the second hand and consignment shops. i wonder if this is because the acrylic sweaters so popular at this time of year pill and lose their shape...and the artificial handbags just don't last like real leather ones do. i remember how hard it was for me when i was little to wait for mom to finish sewing one of my dresses or for grandma to put that last knit-purl onto a sweater. but they lasted! and i'm hard on clothes. these days, my garments have to be able to withstand going from henhouse to bike, kindergarten classroom to garden and back again. i wasn't actually tempted by the foreign-made flimsy fabrics with sloppy hem strings (a far cry from the days of waiting for your personal tailor!) i'd rather buy a few nice things that i can wear for decades than a lot of items that will wear out by this time next year.
the "maker movement" is popular right now, in everything from home canning and embroidery to leather and woodwork. again, could this be because we've tired of cheap and fast in favor of well made and seasoned? we've been "making" for centuries, maybe not with 3D printers and robots, but with raw materials.
everyone in the service industry it seems is trained to apologize to us for the wait. just yesterday a young lady said, "sorry for the wait!" while bringing my coffee (which took less time to make than it did for me to decide what i wanted in the first place.) plus i like waiting. i have time to look around, notice things, observe people, and think. waiting can be a privilege, time spent in anticipation of quality and of enjoying for years to come what our hands have made.
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