French Workshop 2014

“Comment vous appelez-vous?” One of the many questions we asked our invitee to the workshop - Frédéric Langlois, a Frenchman in the restaurant industry. We interviewed Mr. Langlois and discussed his job and views on India. This allowed us to get a French perspective on cuisine, tourism and other aspects of our country.



We were divided into two groups, each of which was given a short amount of time to interview M. Langlois and then collate our information and present him to our teachers and friends. The interaction really put to test our French speaking skills and gave us the opportunity to speak with someone in such an interesting profession. Our guest was extremely friendly, approachable and pleasant to speak to; he made us feel comfortable while asking him questions, making us like him very much (also because he prefers Mumbai over Delhi…) He was very engaging and replied to our questions very patiently, giving us information as well as anecdotes and examples that were entertaining.



We then went on to do a Masterchef style cooking competition where we prepared a Moroccan dish called Tabouleh in groups of three and four. This is a dish served cold that consists of fluffy couscous with fresh vegetables diced and tossed into the mix. The dish is seasoned lightly with lemon juice, salt and pepper. This activity was conducted like a competition to add a little urgency to the task. For many of this this was a first in handling kitchen utensils and was thoroughly enjoyable. Mr. Langlois went on to judge the cooking competition afterwards as he has extensive experience in the culinary arts.

We are very grateful and appreciative that we were able to have this sort of an interaction which, living in Mumbai, is not always very easy. It was a novel experience that definitely made us all want to further develop our French speaking skills.



Cabaret français! The grand surprise of the day was the striking cabaret of which we were the star performers and the spectators. The students’ impeccable formal outfits were matched by the grand decorations of the room as the guests were welcomed with a comforting welcome drink. The entertainment was typically French in nature as students put up a series of performances including traditional French songs and mimes. Moreover, the amalgamation of Indo-French cultures was seen at its very best as students dubbed some of Bollywood's most famous movie scenes with humorous French dialogues. To cap a wonderful series of performances, the extravagant Can-Can dancers provided for a truly "grand finale".



The workshop was extremely useful for all French students in that it not only exposed us to French culture and lifestyle but also gave us a chance to transform and experience what we had learned in class into real life situations. All activities were very interesting as they presented us with the opportunity to translate our love for French beyond the classroom.