French table manners

My sister Anthea and niece Sophie are in Paris at the moment and our landlady Sylvie invited the three of us to dinner a couple of nights ago. Obviously keen to make a good impression we paid close attention when told the names of the other guests. One was called Geoff which seemed unusual for a Frenchman. Fortunately we found out just in time that his name was Jean Francois, referred to as JF only once. It seems everyone is bilingual, even trilingual. It was a good night and I thought I would pass on a few tips. No clean plates or knives for the cheese course. If your knife has sauce or gravy on it you wipe it on your piece of bread. Cheese is not eaten on crackers or bread which are used between mouthfuls of cheese to clear the palette. Speaking of cheese I have been eating my fair share so I am hoping the French Paradox is still applicable. Fortunately I am back in walking mode which is helping with my resolution to come home weighing no more than when I left, hopefully a bit less with summer coming.