France is known for many food items—bread, cheese and pastries—to name a few. While some foods, like baguettes, are popular everywhere in France, certain foods are only special to that region. Eating food that is grown or made locally can tell you a lot about that region’s culture - what kind of climate it has, what fruits or veggies grow best here and what animals are raised in the area?
Raclette is a type of cheese (like parmesan, or brie) that is most commonly eaten when melted. This dish is served in restaurants or can also be cooked at home with a special warmer for melting the cheese. My first time having Raclette was at a restaurant in Grenoble called La Ferme à Dédé which specializes in regional dishes.
At first, I was a bit scared to try raclette because I don’t like very strong cheeses like blue cheese or goat cheese. However, I know how important it is to always try something at least once, before you make a judgment about it. I was determined to keep an open mind. For someone who doesn’t eat a lot of cheese, when the big wheel of cheese arrived at the table, I was shocked! I thought to myself: there was no way my friends and I could go through that much cheese. I promised myself that I would keep an open mind and try it. I was very surprised to find out that I liked it!
