Food is one of the most important parts of Lyonnais culture. Their gastronomy (food) is world renown, but most people that live in Lyon do not eat out. Instead, eating at home is much more traditional for people living in Lyon.
I learned that Lyonnais people rarely eat at restaurants and instead prefer to cook for themselves. In a home cooked meal, families in Lyon traditionally have four or more courses. Each meal always begins with an aperitif in the family room. The aperitif is a drink with several small plates. Then, the family moves into the dining room for the dinner. Each plate is served family style and comes one after the other. A baguette is always out for the entire meal. Additionally, each meal always has a cheese course and a desert course at the end.
The community has this tradition because family is extremely important. Therefore, long meals such as these allow the family to connect and have in depth conversations with one another. Also, the people in Lyon are incredibly proud of their cooking abilities. Thus, these extravagant meals allow them to demonstatre their strong cooking abilities.
