The French culinary scene laid out for you on one street.
Picture the scene: you started your afternoon French course at ACCORD Paris on Monday and you’ve loved grabbing a sandwich on your way into school after a morning of sightseeing in the French capital so far. Now your French is improving and you’re gaining confidence in the language, you feel you’re ready to mingle with the locals and experience a slice of real life in Paris. It’s time to visit a local market. But not just any old market; it’s time to visit the market on Boulevard de Grenelle with the métro line 6 screeching overhead. Could it be any more Parisian?
It’s only open until 1.30pm on Wednesdays, but it’s just an 8-minute walk from the French language school for anyone in ACCORD’s morning classes who want a good feed too. The benefit of being on one of the PM courses or one-to-one courses is that you have a few hours before class starts to peruse the market stalls, sample the traders’ wares and soak up the sounds of an authentic French marché. So have a very light breakfast, grab your bag for life, prick up your ears and enjoy a morning feasting on the best French dishes on Boulevard de Grenelle.
Where to go?
La Ferme du Périgord Noir
This one’s easy to find: you’ll hear the traders shouting that they’re the best and you’ll see the crowds shoulder-to-shoulder at the counter. This stand is famous for its chicken tenders, coated in a crispy cornflake crumb and served with jalapeno sauce and mayonnaise for those who don’t like it hot. That said, the owners actually hail from Sarlat, the French capital of duck, so you’d be mad not to try their roast duck served with classic pomme sarlaidaises. The traders at the stand are very chatty, so if you want to practise your French and see how much passion they have for their trade, just ask them “quelle est la différence entre le magret et le filet de canard?” Just make sure you actually like duck because they will probably get you to taste both types and ask for your opinion too!
Fromagerie David
Aligot is everyone’s favourite comfort food on a chilly autumn afternoon or bitter winter’s night. This winter staple hails from Aubrac in the Massif Central, where monks would serve this hearty dish to hungry pilgrims on the mountain route to Santiago de Compostela. The aligot at this hotspot is made using creamed potatoes, fresh Tomme and Cantal cheese. That’s right: not one but two types of cheese! It’s so indulgent that it will stick to your wooden fork like a lollipop. You can grab a pot to eat on the go or ask for a tub to take home and reheat when you get back to your apartment or homestay in the evening to reward you for your action-packed day of sampling the best food in France and nailing the subjunctive in French.
La Marocaine de Paris
Moroccan food is huge in France and integral to French cuisine itself given the huge migrant community and historical ties between the two. Ask any French person and you can be sure that they’ll have their own favourite place to go for a couscous. On the subject of couscous, if you order one you won’t be served just the semolina grain on its own: you’ll get a tub of cooked semolina, a tub of vegetables (carrots, courgettes, cabbage, etc.) in a sauce and a tub of slow-cooked lamb stew. If you just want something to grab and go, order one of the pastillas filled with tender and spiced meat wrapped in crispy filo pastry. There are even sweet pastries fragrant with honey and pistachios… you can always keep it for your afternoon break.
What else is on the menu?
Different seasons mean different stalls and different street eats. With the onset of winter, you can expect cosy and comforting dishes to pop up on the stands ready to warm your cockles. Look out for tartiflette, another hearty mountain dish, this time from Savoie in the French Alps. It’s a bowl of lardons, cheese, potatoes and onions that will certainly keep you going for the rest of the day. Whilst at the market, you can sample Alsace’s signature choucroute, another rib-sticker packed with sausage, sauerkraut and salted meats that brings a bit of Germany to French cuisine. If beef is more your thing, follow your nose and order a classic boeuf bourguignon in a heady red wine sauce. The beef and carrots are so tender that you’ll understand why you’ve only been given a wooden fork and no knife! If you spot some dinky little pommes grenailles as you wander through the market, make sure you stop and order some. The thin-skinned potatoes crisp up beautifully in the pan and the herbs make them a dish in themselves as opposed to a simple side. For pudding, you can grab yourself a scrummy little individual tarte au citron for around €3, but don’t wait too long because the cakes and pastries sell out quickly the closer you get to lunchtime.
Not hungry yet?
It’s a market, so you can pick up fresh fruit and vegetables to take home with you. Watch how customers shop at each stall as some traders will serve you (which is great for practising your numbers, weights and knowledge of different foodstuffs) and some will expect you to fill up your basket with what you want and hand it over to them to weigh. If you spot something you’ve never seen before, ask them what it is and how it’s cooked… it could become your new favourite. You can also shop for bread, cheese, oysters, fish and seafood, meat of all kinds and even escargots for you to take home and pop in the oven. If you buy something that needs reheating and the vendor doesn’t give you any instructions when they hand your shopping back over to you, make sure you ask how long to cook it for, what setting and whether it should go in the microwave or oven… the last thing you want is a plate of rubbery snails because you blasted them in the microwave. You could also shop for picnic supplies like fresh bread, saucisson, cheese, cherry tomatoes and more to have an al fresco lunch in Champs de Mars if it’s sunny and dry.
Where to eat?
There’s no specific food court to eat at the market, but there are benches dotted here and there. A lot of people stand at the market stall to eat their food and there are bins everywhere for you to dispose of your recyclable packaging. If you want to sit down and enjoy your meal in a peaceful, green setting, head over to Square Franck Bauer or Square Nicole-de-Hautecloque where you’ll find toilets and water fountains to top up your bottle on your way back to your ACCORD French language school.
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Dos and don’ts?
- Do bring cash to make transactions quick and easy (the nearest cash machine is on 27 Boulevard de Grenelle).
- Don’t be put off by the overhead Metro tracks: this is a real neighbourhood market where you can experience real life in Paris.
- Do bring a bag for life or large tote bag to carry your shopping with you rather than asking for plastic bags.
- Do come early as traders tend to pack up before 1.30pm so they’re ready to leave on the dot.
- Do say “Bonjour Madame” or “Bonjour Monsieur” when it’s your turn to be served, and then ask for what you would like to buy, and of course when you have served “Je vous dois combien ?” and then don’t forget to add when you have paid “merci beaucoup et bonne journée” and “au revoir” when you leave. A polite expression or two goes a long way.
- Don’t take photos of the produce without asking, you may be asked to pay and it may or may not be a joke…
- Don’t expect to buy cheap strawberries in December; shop seasonal produce.
- Do practise your French, even if you’ve heard the vendors speaking in another language to other customers. French is what you’re here for after all!
Now we’ve whet your appetite for shopping at a Parisian market and indulging in French cuisine of all kinds, we’d like to say “bon appétit” and “à bientôt”… see you soon at ACCORD Paris and at the Marché Grenelle!
