There’s no questioning Paris’ status as one of the world’s greatest culinary cities. It is the capital city of the most influential food culture on Earth – a city that entices millions of tourists every year with promises of fine food and romance. The importance of French culinary technique and the French brigade system cannot be understated – walk into a fine dining restaurant anywhere in the world, and you’ll likely hear regular, enthusiastic shouts of ‘oui chef!’ coming from the kitchen. French cooking principles have shaped and defined haute cuisine all over the world for generations, and Paris has always been at the very epicentre of that.
So often when we think of Paris, we think of tradition and history. We think of crusty baguettes, wines and cheeses – foods that have been made the same way for hundreds of years. We think of the old guard of Michelin-approved restaurants, like the Pavillon Ledoyen – now over 200 years old and boasting three Michelin stars under chef Yannick Alléno, or the restaurants of legends like Alain Ducasse, Alain Passard and Guy Savoy – chefs who execute the quintessential French style with flawless precision. We think of Michelin themselves, of course, that dusty arbiter of good and bad food that still determines so many successes and failures both here and abroad.
The truth is though, Paris is not just about French food and French cooking and French chefs. The city has always been a focal point for the multiculturalism that resulted from France’s colonial era, and Parisian gastronomy reflects that. Paris has much in common with London in that respect – explore the city and you’ll discover incredible food from all over the world. Not only that, you’ll find a new generation that are embracing the new and departing from the old, whether that means bakers making sourdough instead of baguettes, cafés adapting to modern coffee culture, or chefs exploring the flavours of their multicultural heritage.
