Le goûter

This afternoon, I was assailed by the kind of sinking feeling that, legend has it, caused the Duchess of Bedford to create the institution of afternoon tea. I wasn't in the mood for tea, however, just a light and tasty bite, and so I decided to go across the channel for my afternoon repast and enjoy, instead, le goûter.

Le goûter is the traditional afternoon snack of French schoolchildren, served at about four o'clock in the afternoon. It might often consist, like my own snack pictured above, of a piece of bread, butter, and some chocolate. In the fabulous film La Faute à Fidel!, though, the young protagonist is extremely put out when a succession of nannies of different nationalities causes a bewildering variety to her afternoon snacks.

For those who speak French and would like some ideas for le goûter, there is an entire blog devoted to the pleasures of this ritual.