I AM locked in a selfie hug with a venerable Frenchman who has a claim to be the best chef in the world. Joel Robuchon boasts 25 Michelin stars across his far-scattered empire. So globetrotting gastro mogul? Much, much more – prime upholder of the French culinary flame. Classical techniques adapted for the modern world? Consult his magisterial cookbooks.
The pair of us are attending a ceremony in Paris Town Hall, a proud city handing out gongs to all 83 of its Michelin-starred chefs and beaucoup de bubbly and canapes to Europe’s press. The thank you speech is from the equally ubiquitous Alain Ducasse, a decade younger than his rival and with four stars fewer (though he has just opened two further restaurants in Vegas.... so by the time you read this?).
Gongs for chefs; below Joel Robuchon being interviewed in the ornate Town Hall
But amid all the heady bonhomie (merci for the phone-shot, Joel), my mind is still drawn to that impromptu memorial on the Place de Republique, where the mourning goes on for the victims of Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan. There, under a leaden sky, I had watched a sombre woman lay down a lily posy for one of the victims.
Paying her respects in the Place de la Republique
The city is still edgy. Understandably. My own show of Solidarité was to go and pay my homage to Gastronomie, one of France’s great contributions to the world, but whatever Paris means to you – fashion, film, art, maybe a spot of louche Left Bank existentialism? – do visit it again soon. You’ll be appreciated.
The major danger I felt was of dyspepsia. My mission? To gauge if Paris is still far ahead of a resurgent British culinary culture. After all, away from the Michelin stratosphere there’s still the everyday ‘quotidien’ world, where lazy food shoppers stock up at Monoprix and their baskets certainly aren’t chocker with truffles and extra virgin.
Parisians are averse to fast food either. There are four McDonald’s on or just off the Champs Elysees for starters and a KFC or three as competition for the traditional bistros and brasseries. But surely there’s still a strong bedrock of tradition?
Cheese
Best to start with cheese, where Paris has always seemed unsurpassable. This time I visit the Parole des Fromagers, (it translates as voice of the cheesemakers) shop in the ever-trendy Marais district, which has its own ‘cave d’affinage’, a 17th century cheese maturing cellar. Here we nibble on familiar French cheeses, Camembert, Reblochon, Comte, but these examples exhibit an unfamiliar complexity. Parole patron Pierre Brisson explains how to best taste them (like wine) and matches them with a Morgon from his family’s Beaujolais vineyards.
Cheesy welcome from Pierre BrisonWine
Beaujolais, like Muscadet, still washes down the prix fix menus, but there’s more adventurous drinking to be found in new wave wine shops – eves (whisper it softly) the occasional New World wine. A good place to stock up on well chosen French classics is La Cave du Senat on the Rue de Vaugirard near the Jardin du Luxembourg. In its tasting cellar sipping Taittinger Champagne and nibbling Savoie cheeses from a nearby specialist feels like Paris perfection.
Cave du SenatDeli heaven
There’s equally gorgeous fromage, organic and biodynamic wines, an inhouse bakery and a deli sourcing (at a price) the best regional produce at the Maison Plisson at 93 Boulevard Beaumarchais. The all-day dining operation in an uncompromisingly contemporary setting reflects the ‘food manifesto’ of the founding couple, Philippe and Delphine Plisson. It feels like California.
I inspect the cheese at Plisson after enjoying a benchmark steak tartare, below 
Bistronomy
It is easy to link this with the Bistronomy movement, which liberates the restaurant from the stuffy service and ‘stuff you’ prices, serving simpler seasonal food in smaller establishments. This downsizing trend shows no sign of abating with chefs opting out of the Michelin-fixated mainstream. Often though it is a case of a stellar operator putting his name to more stripped-down (and profitable) eateries while retaining his flagship. Take Yannick Aleno. Still only 47, he has held three Michelin stars since 2007, first at the Hotel Meurice and latterly at the Ledoyen. This kind of stardust was only minimally scattered over his side project, Terroir Parisien, of which there are two, offering a refined twist on traditional Parisian dishes in a smart casual setting.
Terroir ParisienI enjoyed the experience, but more interesting, though, was La Maree Jeanne, self-styled ‘etablissement bistronautique’ in one of my favourite Parisian quarters, around Rue Montorgeuil. Seafood is this neo-bistro’s speciality with affordable, well sourced white wines and some cool beers (including London’s own Beavertown Neck Oil IPA) to accompany the obligatory oysters.
La Biere
Beer, like elsewhere but more surprisingly here, is a new big thing around the French capital. Finally an escape from boring Kronenbourg. Examples from the Brasserie BapBap were acceptable unexciting; better the tap ales from the Frog Hop chain. Frog Hop House at 10 Rue des Capucines close to the Place de Vendome had a real pub feel to it, even down to serving pints of its own East Kent Golden Ale. Before I got seduced by the flavour of home it was time to take a tour.
Foodie rambles
Promenade des Sens means “journey through the senses”. It’s a small independent company offering bespoke tours of the city, several with a gastronomic itinerary. The Left Bank tour we went on leaned too heavily on sweet things for my liking, but I was fascinated by Yannick Lefort’s Macarons Gourmands on the Rue de Seine devoted to gourmet elevations of this humble cake. Anyone for ‘macarons trufflés a l’Alba’?
Gourmet macaroonsMonster market
The real tour for those of a foodie persuasion has to be Rungis, the largest fresh produce market in the world, which gets more than 20,000 visitors a year. Places are limited for the early morning show-rounds two Fridays each month, 80€ a head, the coach leaves from the Place Denfer-Rochereau at 4.15am: to book email resa@visiterungis.com.
Fruit and veg hall, Rungis
I found the vast wholesale halls intimidating but bizarrely fascinating, especially the meat hall, where we watched an expert butcher cleave open a calf’s head to provide the base for classic Parisian dish tete de veau. ‘Parigot, tete de veau’ is the insult hurled at Parisians by their fellow countryman, implying they are as thick as the heads they consume.
Tete de veau specialist, Rungis; below, chickens of supreme quality
Michelin moan
A refined version of tete de veau featured at a one-star Michelin we visited in the 8th arrondissement. Like much of the menu there it was curiously unintense, almost etiolated. I can’t recommend the place. I've eaten far better in starless Manchester (and on the rest of this Paris trip). Perhaps we were unlucky in our choice of restaurant, weighed down by expectation.
Obviously, among Paris’s 83 newly medalled establishments with their wealth of chef wizardry there is food as good as it gets on the planet. I must give my new selfie buddy Joel a ring.
Factfile
Neil Sowerby flew from Manchester to Paris Charles de Gaulle with Air France.
He stayed at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome, 5 Rue de la Paix, 75002 Paris. +33 1 58 71 12 34. This gorgeous blend of classic Paris hotel and US luxury fittings has 153 rooms, including 43 suites (the three presidential suites with their in-suite spas feel like a world apart). Its Michelin-starred restaurant Pur features a huge rotunda and a Chef’s Table. Rooms start at 980€ a night, suites at 1,400€ with the most expensive suite, the Imperial (pictured below) costing 16,000€.
Suite terrace with a vieew of the Place du Vendome
Michelin-starred PurThere are many online guides to eating and drinking in Paris such as http://parisbymouth.com and http://lefooding.com/en. The pick for me is www.alexanderlobrano.com written by Bostonian fAlexander Lobrano, former European correspondent for Gourmet Magazine and author of the essential Hungry For Paris. The updated second edition recommends 109 restaurants in the city.
For a guide to the bistronomy trend check out Bistronomy: French Food Unbound (Murdoch Books) by Katrina Meynink.
For general tourist information look no further than http://en.parisinfo.com.
If it’s your first time in Paris it is worth arranging a city tour to get your bearings. Buses are the obvious thing but much more chic and charming is a Citroen 2CV tour with Paris Authentic with prices starting at 179€.
Aerial view of Rungis; below, the meat hall
Well hello, Dali – sweet canapésPowered by 
