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French cuisine is known for dishes like foie gras, escargot, ratatouille and yes, le sandwich.
Here are some of the most popular French sandwiches around.
Croque monsieur and croque madame
Croque translates to 'bite', while 'monsieur' is 'sir' or 'mister' and 'madame' is 'madam'.
The croque monsieur is an elevated ham-and-cheese sandwich. The bread is smeared with a good amount of butter and topped with cheese and (sometimes) bechamel sauce.
The croque madame is a croque monsieur topped with fried or poached eggs.
Owned by the same group that operates the Roule Galette, the sandwich shop in Melbourne specialises in these two popular French sandwiches.
According to manager Valentin Plume, the croque monsieur and croque madame epitomise what French home cooking is: a melding of simple ingredients that aren't particularly expensive but are handled like they are.
"The sandwiches are very simple. We use sourdough bread, Emmental cheese that we import, homemade bechamel sauce and a lot of butter," Plume says.
"We grill the sandwich in the oven until the ingredients melt into each other; then we add more cheese on top and grill it again until the bread is crisp."
Jambon-beurre
The versatility of the baguette is due to its minimalist ingredients.
According to owner Aileen Seo, "The baguette contains only four ingredients. According to French food law, it must be made only from flour, yeast, water and salt, and only wheat from a single variety. We strictly adhere to this."
Characterised by a golden, hard crust and a creamy, soft body, the baguette lends itself to sandwiches such as the jambon-beurre, which has a filling of slightly salty French butter and spiced ham.
The Baguette Studios makes its own ham and baguettes.
"During my time in France, I went to many restaurants, pastries, and bakeries. The colourful desserts, dynamic and amazing dishes are impressive too; but for some reason, the things that remained in my heart were baguettes and sourdough, and the simple jambon-beurre," Seo says.
If I think about it, it's very difficult to express a wonderful simplicity.
"If I think about it, it's very difficult to express a wonderful simplicity. Bringing out the rich flavours with limited ingredients is a challenge as a chef."
Ham and cheese croissant
The perfect croissant is heavily dependent on butter, temperature and the experience of the pâtissier.
Chef Chris Bennett, one of the owners of in the Melbourne suburb of Bonbeach, says, "The perfect croissant is light, buttery and dark. The darker the croissant, the better to a large degree because you get that caramel flavour profile and that crunch. It's also usually a better-looking product."
Bennett thinks croissants are easy to make if you know how the dough should feel. "Like any knucklehead can play a guitar...playing it really well all comes down to feel."
Like any knucklehead can play a guitar...playing it really well all comes down to feel.
This 'feel' helps the deli churn out thousands of croissants a week in a mix of both savoury and sweet forms.
"We have a base selection of a plain croissants, pain au chocolat, pain aux raisin, and an almond. We also have specialities like pistachio; raspberry; pear and chocolate; cumquat and almond – depending on the season and the fruits that are available. The ham and cheese is a staple here as well."
In Sydney, one of the more popular cafes to go to has been creating the ham and cheese croissant since 1974.
The ham and cheese croissant of in Sydney is by far one of their most popular items and has a cult following among its patrons.
Head pâtissier and co-owner Jean Michel Raynaud says, "The fillings are cooked with a touch of sautéed parsley, garlic and onions, shredded premium leg ham and cheese.
"The secret is that we make them not just with a single slice each of ham and cheese, but a creamy bechamel sauce." The bechamel is piped inside and on the top of the croissant, then baked until crisp.
"Whilst a butter croissant is the best way to enjoy brunch items like salmon, avocado, salads – we think the ham and cheese is the best of all."
