Cheese, bread, grapes, red wine. This is not the typical aperitif board of a good French brasserie, but the “girl dinner” that Olivia Maher, an American thirty-year-old, chose to share on TikTok. This complete stranger is at the origin of this food phenomenon born in the middle of summer on the social network, and which consists of revealing on video the content of one’s solo dinner. There is something for everyone, from a plate overflowing with raw vegetables to a charcuterie platter to ice cream accompanied by a good bottle of wine. The only rule to follow: all of this requires very little, if any, preparation or cooking, and doesn’t tick any aesthetic criteria. Because it is above all a question of ignoring culinary conventions and treating yourself to a moment of 100% pleasure.
What is an assumed regression for some can, on the other hand, turn out to be the symptom of an overworked life. “If I happen to have a girl’s dinner, it’s not for the right reasons,” explains chef Clémence Gommy. In question ? Long days and no desire to spend time behind the stove again once she gets home. As a result, Clémence nibbles on pieces of cheese, toast, cherry tomatoes, chocolate biscuits… “It’s proof of a lifestyle that is not healthy, and from which I suffer,” continues the chef. This is actually a practice that I would like to stop, but I can’t do it because of my busy schedule. » Prospectivist Cécile Poignant warns of “the staging and aestheticization of a gendered phenomenon, which does not take into account the diversity or the influence that this trend could have on certain profiles that are a bit young or a little fragile who risk restricting themselves in terms of food. »
Therefore, consume in moderation. But when you look up from your smartphone, and from TikTok, you realize that the girl dinner is an intergenerational phenomenon, adopted by many women… and men! It’s Marie Anne, 58, who likes to spread avocado on a slice of bread before adding cheese, gomasio and even a tomato from her garden. Victoire, 33, who always has polenta in her cupboard and fresh parmesan in her fridge for those evenings when even a pasta dish requires too much effort. Or even Anne, 89, who sprinkles her vegetable soup with nachos.
“I think we can see it as a moment of relaxation, which does a lot of good in a society which constantly imposes processes to follow, and which still attributes to women the task of cooking for others before doing it for herself, explains Cécile Poignant. By giving ourselves this moment, we step out of the box to enter a moment of tranquility, without injunctions, where no one is there to judge the contents of our plate. » Putting aside, then, the mental load of having to think about, and prepare, your evening menu. The time has come for spontaneity, whether you want to have dinner at 6 p.m. or 10 p.m., in your pajamas in front of a series, on the coffee table in the living room, or you prefer to start with dessert.
