Food allergies in the cafeteria

When N first started bringing his lunch to school (as a pre-schooler, no less!) the classroom rules were very clear. No peanut butter and no tree nuts because exposure to either of these foods could cause anaprophaleptic shock in a classmate. Although this was a huge pain at the beginning of the year, (no more apples and peanut butter??! "I hate sandwiches, and carrot sticks, and broccoli, and all I will eat is ...NOTHING!!), we got used to the restriction, and as the years went by, and more people became attuned to any potential problem (gluten-free, anyone?), snack time started to resemble a smorgasbord of creative, allegen free cooking.

Now we find ourselves in France, and A. has an egg allergy.

A's egg allergy is actually not a life-threatening allergy, such as the allergy to tree nuts that requires one of his friends to carry around an epi-pen. Medically speaking, he doesn't have an allergy, but a sensitivity and  exposure (even in minute quantities from cross-contamination like that experienced this summer at Richardson's, where an inattentive teenager didn't use a clean ice-cream scoop) leads to a "I want to die, my head hurts so much" headache. This type of headache is not the kind that you can power through, it is nothing to sneer at, and in fact, led him to lie on the couch, staring at the inside of his eyelids for the better part of three months last winter, before we figured out what the problem was.

However, it is easy to avoid eggs, and requires nothing more than label reading, and avoiding processed foods (cafeteria food/certain restaurant food,)  and in this particular case, simply bringing lunch from home.

The head of the school understood this. The principal understood, too, as did the homeroom teacher and the nurse. But the cafeteria monitors didn't. When A. went to sit down in the cafeteria with his friends, he was refused entrance to the room, and ended up eating lunch in the infirmary (at least there was a microwave there.) A flurry of phone conversations later and a faxed letter from our doctor at home (complete with translation and a bold signature) led to an official paper from the head office with three big stamps on it, and now, 2 days later, A.may eat with his friends.

Oh, the insane bureaucracy! I had forgotten about the power of the ink stamp! However, when A. tells me about the quality of the lunches, and the fact that now his friends are completely jealous of his "privilege" (of having homemade lunch,) I think that there's something else going on.

I think it's a monopoly. Here, you either buy lunch at school or you leave the school grounds and have lunch at home. In either case, the break between classes is one and a half hours - good if you live in the neighborhood, bad if you don't, and not possible if you work (the case of probably 98 percent of all parents.) Of course, there's the traditional pattern of copious lunches and lighter dinners that come into play as well, with the school providing the role of the larger lunches.  By bringing our lunch from home (one out of two students in a population of about 1600!) we have dared to usurp the role of the "canteen." Oh dear. I had to respond politely to a barrage of questions:  "Madame, comment -allez vous assurer un repas correct?" (What? I want my kid to die of starvation? Isn't it more likely to happen in a place where reports of stale bread flinging are legion??) " Bien sur, I'll send a sandwich complete repas chaud with salade, meat, tomato, accompanied by fruit and yogurt..." I'm not so sure about the hot meal part, I've been looking for a thermos and haven't found anything appropriate for food, yet. (My next stop is the camping store.) It's quite obvious that homemade lunches are just not "French."

But I have heard, and seen, that Starbucks has made a huge entry into the world of the French cafe. My prediction?

After the locker issue gets settled, the battle for the lunchroom looms. Let the revolution begin!

I am a blogging neophyte...

...and I completely don't understand how to put buttons on this site to let you know when there are new posts.  I think I configured them wrong last month. So I am trying again.

Hopefully this time will be the charm.. looking forward to hearing from you!

K-

rue de Grenelle

Boutique specializing in Italian fare. Jambon de Parme sounds so much better than dried ham. 

I had a little over an hour to kill yesterday while waiting for A., so I decided to take a stroll down the rue de Grenelle in the 7th, beginning at the rue de Bac, and finishing at les Invalides.
Originally, this street was a footpath leading from the center of the city to an area of marsh and plains. It was here, in 52 BC, that the Gauls lost their leader, Camulogène, to the Romans. For much of the next 1400 years, this land, rather sterile, served as a royal hunting ground for rabbits and small game birds. For much of this time period, it was owned by the Abbey of Sainte Geneviève du Mont, and later served as home to the hunting castle of the comte de Tréville (under Louis XIII.) In 1751, the castle was sold to the state, as Louis XV wanted a military school fit to rival les Invalides, built by Louis XIV. This school became a gunpowder storage area during the revolution, and after its destruction, the land was carved up into small parcels and sold. Finally, in 1860, the entire village of Grenelle was annexed into the city of Paris. (Historical maps can be found here.)

Beginning in 1529, the path starts appearing on maps under different names: chemin aux Vaches, chemin de la Justice, chemin du Gibet or petit chemin du Port. As the years passed by, the path became more important (grand chemin des Vaches or grand chemin de Garnelle,) and finally in the 18th century, the path has become a street with the name Grenelle-Saint-Germain.

I spent my time walking down the street roughly between numbers 50 and 150. Most of the elegant buildings, called "hotels particuliers," were built between 1650 and 1750. Their secrets lie hidden behind the doors and walls that give the street a narrow feel. The occasional open door, or the access to a museum or two reveals the reason that it is said that the 7th is one of the greenest districts in Paris. Yes, there are many parks, but many more private gardens. (79, rue de Grenelle is the home to the Russian ambassador.) Many of these buildings have been taken over by diverse branches of both local and national government (Education Nationale, Ministre de la Defense, Mairie du VII arrondissement.) It is understandable why the average cost per square meter makes the apartments located on this street to be among the most exclusive in the city.  

Cadran solaire over a door at 85, rue de Grenelle.

dome of the Protestant Reform Church, former  Bernadine nunnery, built in 1747.

detail of metal work in a door at 114, rue de Grenelle. (if you look at the street view on Google maps, the door is open, giving a hint as to what may be found inside.

Mairie du VII, built/rebuilt between 1712 and 1860

118, rue de Grenelle, part of the estate from 116 (possibly entrance to stables.)

103: where the first tv broadcast happened in 1935

St. Clothilde, where Cesar Franck was organist.

A view of St. Clothilde, from the south east.

 Finally, there are many faces that are looking over the doors: here is but a small selection:

this is actually a door knob, but I thought it interesting...

.