French expat vents after being charged $24 for a coffee and croissant
- Replies 8
There's nothing like food to remind us of home, especially in instances where we find ourselves overseas.
Even travelling interstate, you can’t deny that there’s just something different with eating food made exactly the way you had it growing up.
That’s why it can be infuriating when you reach for a slice of home only to find out it costs an arm and a leg!
That's exactly what happened to Renan Pacheco.
The French expat went on an amusing rant after being charged $24 AUD ($16 USD) for a cup of coffee and a croissant at a ‘fancy’ bakery in New York, USA.
As he recalled the incident in a clip posted on TikTok, Renan seemed to be fuming about the ‘unfair’ price.
‘I woke up and I was so happy today,’ he said in the video, with accented English enough to make any francophile faint on the spot.
‘I decided to celebrate, and I came here to this fancy bakery place.’
Upon arriving he approached a waitress and ordered his usual meal.
‘I said “Bonjour Madame, I want one croissant, one coffee, and one sugar”.’
Renan then says next in disbelief: ‘You know what she told me? Sixteen dollars!’
Not taking the price lightly, he even inquired how much it would cost without the sugar.
Tough luck for the French bloke though as the price did not change.
‘Mais c’est pas impossible! (This is impossible!)’ he exclaimed.
‘I said “But Madame, I am French! We had the idea, we invented the croissant! You can’t sell it back to me (at this price), you know I’m dependent!”’
But for all his reasoning, Renan says the waitress was unmoved.
‘She was like “Welcome to New York”.’
Probably sensing his pleas were falling on deaf ears, he relented and paid in the end.
‘I gave (the money) to her one by one…’
But not without a parting shot from the waitress that would make many an Aussie rage.
‘You know what she said?’
‘“Plus tips”.’
Renan’s rant was appreciated by millions of people on TikTok.
As of writing, his post has been viewed 5.5 million times with almost 600,000 hearts (likes) and almost 10,000 comments.
Many of the top reactions were those of sympathy to his very French plight.
A few took time to put things in context.
‘For those who don’t know: croissants can be less than 1 euro ($1.5 AUD) in France,’ one user pointed out.
Others took aim at the offending pastry.
‘Sixteen dollars and the croissant looks a day old,’ a user said.
‘The croissant doesn’t even look appetising anymore,’ a second added.
Some even suggested other places Renan could enjoy cheaper croissants!
One user shared: ‘I’m living in a tiny place in the Netherlands. I can go to the local bakery… 1 euro, and the coffee is free.’
‘(In the) Philippines (croissants are) $2 ($3 AUD) and (they’re) so big you can use them for self-defence.’ another said. (Or maybe to whack owners of restaurants selling overpriced food…Kidding!)
Croissants, despite being known as pastries of French origin, are actually said to be inspired by the Austrian kipfel.
But what makes croissants different from kipfels is the French twist of ‘puffing’ pastries with dough and butter (or other fats).
Just imagine the horror of getting charged $24 for an Aussie classic like fairy bread overseas though…
Speaking of fairy bread, you may want to check out why many Aussies were offended when two Americans featured it in a viral TikTok post.
So, what do you think of Renan’s hilarious croissant-inspired rant?
Tell us your thoughts and opinions below!
Source: TikTok/@iamrenanpacheco
Even travelling interstate, you can’t deny that there’s just something different with eating food made exactly the way you had it growing up.
That’s why it can be infuriating when you reach for a slice of home only to find out it costs an arm and a leg!
That's exactly what happened to Renan Pacheco.
The French expat went on an amusing rant after being charged $24 AUD ($16 USD) for a cup of coffee and a croissant at a ‘fancy’ bakery in New York, USA.
As he recalled the incident in a clip posted on TikTok, Renan seemed to be fuming about the ‘unfair’ price.
‘I woke up and I was so happy today,’ he said in the video, with accented English enough to make any francophile faint on the spot.
‘I decided to celebrate, and I came here to this fancy bakery place.’
Upon arriving he approached a waitress and ordered his usual meal.
According to his TikTok profile, Renan is an actor living in the US. Screengrab Credit: TikTok/@iamrenanpacheco
‘I said “Bonjour Madame, I want one croissant, one coffee, and one sugar”.’
Renan then says next in disbelief: ‘You know what she told me? Sixteen dollars!’
Not taking the price lightly, he even inquired how much it would cost without the sugar.
Tough luck for the French bloke though as the price did not change.
‘Mais c’est pas impossible! (This is impossible!)’ he exclaimed.
‘I said “But Madame, I am French! We had the idea, we invented the croissant! You can’t sell it back to me (at this price), you know I’m dependent!”’
But for all his reasoning, Renan says the waitress was unmoved.
Renan couldn’t believe how much he was charged for a classic French pastry. Screengrab Credit: TikTok/@iamrenanpacheco
‘She was like “Welcome to New York”.’
Probably sensing his pleas were falling on deaf ears, he relented and paid in the end.
‘I gave (the money) to her one by one…’
But not without a parting shot from the waitress that would make many an Aussie rage.
‘You know what she said?’
‘“Plus tips”.’
Renan’s rant was appreciated by millions of people on TikTok.
As of writing, his post has been viewed 5.5 million times with almost 600,000 hearts (likes) and almost 10,000 comments.
Many of the top reactions were those of sympathy to his very French plight.
A few took time to put things in context.
‘For those who don’t know: croissants can be less than 1 euro ($1.5 AUD) in France,’ one user pointed out.
Others took aim at the offending pastry.
To add insult to the (culinary) injury, Renan says he was asked to tip despite the croissant’s price. Screengrab Credit: TikTok/@iamrenanpacheco
‘Sixteen dollars and the croissant looks a day old,’ a user said.
‘The croissant doesn’t even look appetising anymore,’ a second added.
Some even suggested other places Renan could enjoy cheaper croissants!
One user shared: ‘I’m living in a tiny place in the Netherlands. I can go to the local bakery… 1 euro, and the coffee is free.’
‘(In the) Philippines (croissants are) $2 ($3 AUD) and (they’re) so big you can use them for self-defence.’ another said. (Or maybe to whack owners of restaurants selling overpriced food…Kidding!)
Croissants, despite being known as pastries of French origin, are actually said to be inspired by the Austrian kipfel.
But what makes croissants different from kipfels is the French twist of ‘puffing’ pastries with dough and butter (or other fats).
Just imagine the horror of getting charged $24 for an Aussie classic like fairy bread overseas though…
Speaking of fairy bread, you may want to check out why many Aussies were offended when two Americans featured it in a viral TikTok post.
So, what do you think of Renan’s hilarious croissant-inspired rant?
Tell us your thoughts and opinions below!
Source: TikTok/@iamrenanpacheco
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