The Traditional French Breakfast: A Brief Guide to Le Petit Déjeuner

The café au lait, the croissant and of course the fresh baguette – the basics of the traditional French breakfast are well known around the world. At Novotel hotels across France, all these essentials are very much a part of breakfast service. Options range from quick, filling “early bird” selections to full buffet spreads with hot pancakes and other favourites to help you and your family ease into the day. In a country so renowned for its cuisine (that word itself is French!) breakfast tends to be a little lighter, sweeter and more casual than the other, bigger meals. But le petit déjeuner has its own customs to observe and enjoy... 

Visitors are sometimes surprised that many French people don’t take breakfast very seriously, at least not compared to their long, leisurely lunches and epic, gastronomic dinners. There may be historical reasons for this, as the French only ate two meals a day – one around noon, another in the evening – until relatively recently. Aristocrats began to eat earlier in the day when coffee and chocolate were introduced from Latin America a few centuries ago, and the rest of society slowly followed suit. The industrial age saw factory workers begin to eat before starting their shifts. Then, after the Second World War, French schools introduced breakfast for kids and that first meal of the day became a matter of routine.

The French certainly get the credit for inventing pancakes, which are in turn a thicker variation on the classic crêpe, invented in Brittany as long ago as the 13th century. (Legend says it was an accident, resulting from the spillage of buckwheat porridge onto a hot cooking stone.) Breakfast-wise, both are considered more of a weekend treat than a daily staple, though hotel guests will find them on the buffet table every morning at Novotel Paris Gare Montparnasse and many other Novotel properties.

French toast, meanwhile, is apparently not French at all, but an ancient Roman recipe from a 4th-century cookbook. Known in France as pain perdu, or “lost bread”, it’s also mostly reserved for lazy Sundays, and eaten with toppings like sugar, lemon juice, honey, jam or Nutella. Through the working week, eating like a local means keeping it light, and sticking to certain baked goods and pastries:

• The tartine is basically a slice of toast or bread, often spread with nothing more than good butter and jam – ideal for families with kids. Bigger and brunchier variations will add sweet or savoury toppings to make this more of an open-faced sandwich.
• Viennoiseries are a whole range of flaky pastries, named after their supposed origin point in Vienna. Most famous is the classically buttery croissant, but also in this category is the beloved pain au chocolat, which is known as a chocolatine in southern parts of France. There's also the pain aux raisins, with its signature spirals lined with raisins and crème pâtissière, or custard cream.
• Another breakfast food lately overtaken by modern brunch culture, the brioche is still a favourite of many – soft and lightly sweetened bread, served with everything from jam to scrambled eggs.

And to drink:

• Fruit juice is as popular a morning drink in France as in many other countries, and the classic jus d'orange (orange juice) is the number one choice, ideally freshly squeezed.
• Hot chocolate, or chocolat chaud, is very much a part of the traditional French breakfast – and not just kids. It’s often served thick, dark and viscous, while lighter, powdered versions are usually mixed with milk. It’s especially great as a winter warmer, and you can enjoy one at the chalet-style Novotel Megève Mont-Blanc before hitting the ski slopes of the surrounding Alps.
• In the north of France you might find chicory on morning menus – a nutty-flavoured, root-based beverage that apparently became popular during the blockades of the Napoleonic wars. Consumed hot and blended with water or milk, it’s also sometimes mixed with coffee to create a distinct hybrid drink that is definitely an acquired taste.
• Visitors to France often picture themselves sipping espresso by some lovely urban waterway. It’s easy to make this happen at Novotel Nantes Centre Bord de Loire, for example, where you can take your breakfast coffee overlooking the Loire River itself. But the café au lait is perhaps the more traditional French breakfast drink. At home it’s often drunk from something more like a bowl than a cup, though some of the hipper cafés now serve it that way too.

The classic baguette or “French stick” is an unofficial national symbol. Essential to the traditional breakfast, it's also a real point of pride among bakers, chefs and consumers. Some 10 billion baguettes are sold in France every year, and most households buy at least one stick a day from their local boulangerie. There are various theories on its origins, with the most commonly heard story being that Napoleon tasked his bakers to create a loaf that soldiers could easily carry on the march. Another story gives credit to Austrian baker August Zang, who opened a Paris shop called Boulangerie Viennoise in 1839 and introduced a longer loaf that was quicker to bake – which became popular when pre-dawn working hours were reduced by law almost a century later. While the basic shape is now familiar around the world, you’ll notice several different types on offer, depending on your location.

1. Baguette Tradition, or Tradition Française, produced with no additives, has a crisp crust and fluffy interior in the classic style.
2. Baguette Ancienne is baked the traditional way, with a longer fermentation period that makes for a dense inner texture and darker outer crust.
3. Baguette de Campagne, or “country baguette”, usually mixes white flour with whole wheat or rye for a more rustic loaf.
4. Baguette aux Céréales is packed with seeds and grains for a chewy, nutty flavour and texture.

Joining locals for a traditional French breakfast, you’ll notice that many will dip their bread (or toast, or croissant) in their coffee. Apparently this habit began with milk some time in the Renaissance, and became a coffee-based practice after that commodity was exported from various colonies around the wider world. It started in the port cities and spread from there during the Belle Epoque to become a morning routine across the country – great fun for kids!

So whether you’re relaxing into your morning at the country château that is now home to Novotel Domaine de Maffliers, grabbing a quick bite before an early train at the fully renovated Novotel Le Havre Centre Gare, or fuelling up for a day of family sightseeing at Novotel Rouen Centre Cathédrale, your traditional French breakfast awaits.