text: Blogger: Lisa is the author of Canadian Expat Mom . When Canadian expat Lisa Webb first sent her vegetable-phobic three-year-old to school in France, she feared her daughter would starve during the day. The former assistant elementary school principal, who moved to France in 2009, was shocked to find rôti de boeuf and cordon bleu de dinde on the menu for toddlers - dishes she was used to eating in fancy restaurants with her husband. But when offered the chance to sit in on her eldest daughter's lunch breaks for one week, she witnessed tots using 'grown-up knives and forks' and eating everything put in front of them. In her native Canada, children would sit on the floor in the gym to eat their lunch. They were given 20 minutes to wolf down whatever their parents had packed for them and 20 minutes to play. In 2009, Lisa and her husband made the move to France and she began working as a substitute teacher in Paris. Writing in her blog - Canadian Expat Mom - the 34-year-old said: 'I’ll never forget dreading the fact that I was on lunchtime supervision because I saw that fish was on the menu that day. 'I had been a teacher for long enough to know that there was going to be a lot of elementary school kids plugging their noses and telling me they didn’t like fish. This was going to be a long supervision period.' But those children proved her wrong - they didn't turn up their noses and even asked for seconds. Scroll down for video . Speaking to MailOnline from her home in the Aquitaine region of southern France, she said: 'That's when I first encountered kids eating whatever was being put in front of them. 'I was shocked because it wasn't necessarily what I wanted to eat.' Fast forward five years to 2014, and Lisa had her own daughter to get ready for her first day at school. At three years old, she enjoyed a healthy continental diet but refused to eat vegetables. Three-course meal: Lisa Webb was nervous about sending her vegetable-phobic child to a school where pupils eat what they are served . 'Initially I think that we did give her everything, we eat very healthily as a family,' Lisa explained. 'Even if we wanted to give our kids fast food it doesn't really exist. Fast food for us is grabbing a baguette and a chunk of cheese. 'She ate everything but vegetables - foie gras, saucisson, lapin (rabbit). At home I stopped offering her broccoli because I didn't like wasting food. 'I was a little bit nervous. I thought "there is no way she can stay at school, she will be starving".' Writing in her blog, she added: 'Each week I would head over to the bulletin board posted outside the school and check what they were eating for lunch. There wasn’t a burger and fries or chicken finger to be seen on the list. 'It all sounded so fancy. Was Julia Child working in the kitchen? How were they serving this to three-year-olds? Did they have a magic wand to get these kids to eat this very grown up list of food? 'Whenever I would come across the ladies that worked in the lunchroom, I would stare in disbelief as they would tell me what a good eater my daughter was. 'Were they sure they had the right kid? Because mine would barely touch a vegetable at home. Yet, she wasn’t coming home hungry, so she must have been eating something.' 'There’s no plastic cutlery or non-breakable plates,' Lisa wrote. 'The kids are served their meal at the table, not buffet style' When the opportunity arose to spend a week in the canteen at lunchtime, where there is a constantly changing menu of salads, seasonal vegetables, meats and fish, the mum-of-two jumped at the chance. 'There’s no plastic cutlery or non-breakable plates,' she wrote. 'The kids are served their meal at the table, not buffet style. 'This is France after all, where the gastronomic meal is protected as a UNESCO intangible world heritage item. There’s no messing around when it comes to the French and eating. 'All the kids ate what was served and there is no food brought from home. Each day at lunch there was a three-course meal; no exceptions. 'The kids came into the lunchroom and sat politely using their manners, just like little adults. 'They were always offered seconds when they were done, and not forced to eat something they didn’t like, yet always encouraged to try it. Not liking something didn’t happened often though. 'However, if someone didn’t like something there wasn’t a fuss made, their plate was cleared and the next course was served.' When the opportunity arose to spend a week in the canteen at lunchtime the mum-of-two jumped at the chance . The meal at the French state school costs parents just €2.60 (£1.90) each day. 'I think a big part of it is that they are with their friends and they see all the other kids eating the same thing,' she told MailOnline. 'There is no jealousy of what everyone else has. 'I think it's amazing and it makes me happy that my kids are going to school here. 'Since we have lived here we go out for dinner and see kids eating in restaurants. You don't see them with a kids' menu or colouring in front of them. 'I think they learn it from when they are three years old. 'My daughter eats a lot more and it was a good eye-opener for me to see what she will eat. She gets vegetables every night.' Lisa, who is writing a book about life in France, added: 'My eyes have been opened and I am amazed by the what the French public school system does daily at noon. Well done France.' Monday . Starter: Pamplemousse (grapefruit) Main: Rôti de boeuf (roast beef with pureed potato and carrots) Dessert: Yaourt bifidus vanille (yoghurt) Tuesday . Starter: Blé en salade (wheat grain salad) Main: Cordon bleu de dinde (Turkey filled with cheese) Dessert: Cantal et Pomme (Cantal cheese and an apple) Wednesday . French children only go to school for half a day on Wednesday, so there is no school lunch. Thursday . Starter: Taboulé (tabbouleh) Main: Sauté de porc aux pruneaux (sauteed pork with prunes) Dessert: Emmental et tarte aux pommes (Emmental cheese and apple tart) Friday . Starter: Potage (soup) Main: Courgettes à la niçoise (courgettes) et omelette au fromage (cheese omelette) Dessert: Banane (banana) To read about Lisa's life in France, visit www.canadianexpatmom.com or her Facebook page.
target: Former assistant school principal Lisa Webb, 34, moved to France in 2009 .
  She feared her daughter would go hungry after seeing French school menu .
  Fussy three-year-old refused to eat vegetables at home with her parents .
  Lisa says the food and way pupils dine has transformed her daughter's diet .