Sunday, June 07, 2009

Obama's Parisian Dinner

The Obamas go out for dinner in Paris at the old bistro La Fontaine de Mars, on rue Saint-Dominique in the VII arrondissement. A waiter:

«La chose qui a été impressionnante, a rapporté un serveur, c'est qu'il y a quelqu'un qui goûte les plats. Donc pour les cuisiniers ce n'est pas très agréable au début, mais en fait c'est quelqu'un de très agréable et détendu, donc ça s'est très bien passé».

"What was impressive is that there is someone who tastes the food [a Secret Service "taster"]. So, for the cooks [the president's visit] wasn't very pleasant at first, but he is in fact a very likeable and relaxed person, so it all went very well."

You get along with people when you treat them like human beings. You get along with the French when you appreciate their cuisine. Please add these two notes to the guide to being a US president.

Update: I corrected the overlooked and most important part of this line. It changes the entire post. Pretty much screws up the point. Oh well. But thanks for the correction.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the french text it says that "il y a quelqu'un qui goute..." meaning he has someone who tastes the food (before he eats it).

helmut said...

You're right. I did that too quickly. And it makes a huge difference.

helmut said...

I changed it. How embarrassing.