Some time ago

Three years ago I stayed in Paris in the Montparnasse area as a starting point for a visit of the Rungis wholesale market. Close to the hotel was the Marché Edgar Quinet, named after a French historian. It stretches along a boulevard with the same name – comes very handy.

I really enjoyed the market as it offered a large variety of beautiful produce, wanting me to immediately buy a bigger fridge and stove. I took pictures but never turned it into a post. Rungis dominated my mind.

Rediscovery

In December 2022 I made it again to Montparnasse and had almost forgotten that there was a market in the area. So I was pleasantly surprise to rediscover it while looking for a breakfast place.

Had it changed in the meantime?

Not really to be honest, at least not in terms of beauty.

In size?

Not sure it still stretches for quite a bit and I needed some time to cover it all. Even without buying too much.

Produce

The produce were still beautiful. These great selection of cheeses from various French regions were so seducing. From my perspective: nobody beats the French is this domain.

Oysters were plenty, in all sizes and types. I still don’t know why I did not eat any on the spot. Two times the same mistake, I should be ashamed!

Unfortunately it did not make sense to purchase some fish. Hotels are not made for cooking.

As I am baking bread, I always have to test the ones of other bakers. This time it was an organic focaccia. Good but not impressive, I do better

What I have never tried to do is puff pasty, I leave this to the pros. I bought one filled with cheese. Just great! Even after a couple days back at home and reheating in a microwave I was just delighted. Delighted by the flaky pastry which gave a light crunch entry to the melted cheese with its full flavor providing a gourmet feel good moment.

The meat displays were just great, something I have not found in a comparable quality in Germany, the Netherlands and Eastern Europe. Even the impressive assortment at the St. Lawrence Market Hall in Toronto I recently visited could not match it. The market follows the nose to tail approach. From pig feet, via tripe, marvelous meat cuts, cooked hams with their bone to whole capons with their beautifully feathered heads, it was a journey through a sophisticated cuisine.

Fruits and vegetables stalls are plenty as well, but less remarkable than the other stalls. Here even in my German hometown I have a larger variety, at least in winter time.

Ready made meals of the hearty type complement the market offering. They are worth being eaten on the spot.

Entertainment

Farmers’ markets are about the location which defines produce, prices, customers and of course the traders or producers. Some of the traders know their business, some less. Some are communicative some not.

I believe those who communicate make more business. At least with me. Even when I make myself believe that I can distinguish a good product from a bad one, a good stall owner will certainly convince me of almost anything. At least in the moment I am there.

How does it work? Talk to me, entertain me or show that you are a nerd and know your produce. Or in short: have a good story to tell.

The guy who sold nuts knew exactly how to trigger me, he made jokes, complimented me in front of my wife (I like that) and “forced” me to try a sample of his almonds. They were good indeed and I had to buy a rather too generous amount. He made me try some other samples as well, but I was strong enough this morning to resist his charm.

And of course there is the classic joke on farmers’ markets: when I am asking for permission to take photos, I will get the answer to pay for it 5 or sometimes 50 €uro. This is of course the start of a jolly chat making me happy that I asked.

I will not remember all the dialogues we had at the market, but I certainly will always remember that I was nicely entertained at the Marché Edgar Quinet, one reason to come back another time.

All in all

The marché Edgar Quinet is a traditional French market which gives not only tourists a good introduction into the produce which are at the base the wonderful French cuisine. It is neither a low end nor high end or hipster market, it is down to earth, nothing fake about it. It is worth a visit, if not a detour.

Two tips

A book which always helps when I am in Paris is the “Markets of Paris” from Marjorie R. Williams. It describes quite a few markets by arrondissement (neighborhood) and helps me to find the good ones and their opening times. It is not too recent, but still a very good guide.

She has also written a guide on markets in Provence.

On this blog you will also find posts on other markets in France. Check here

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How long do culinary memories last?

Vacation in Douarnenez and the visit of the market hall happened half a year ago. What sticks after such a long time? What kind of memories and feelings remain?

Douarnenez is a popular coastal vacation spot in Brittany, France. Having visited it in autumn meant that only a few tourists remained and life was less busy. A time of the year I appreciate.

Visiting the market hall a couple times, I was every time surprised to see it that it was rather empty than full of stalls. What a pity. Not only for me but also as a window of the city towards its inhabitants and visitors.

There is always something one can count on at French markets or market halls: the quality of the produce is superior. This is something I envy as a German. Not that things are bad here, but France is in a different category for most produce.

Also in the Douardenez market hall any eye could easily spot the nice stuff and even better: remember it after such a long time.

Sustainable fishing

The lady fish monger with a dozen or so boxes presented with pride the catch of her husband with his boat Saint Anne 2. She spent time to explain that fishing was done in a sustainable way in the nearby waters. There is even an association of sustainable fishermen of the region who make sure that the concept of ocean to table can be reality. While her husband is fishing, she is the one selling their fish on the market with a lot of charm. Her conviction and dedication still lives in my memory and I spent some time to look up information on the boat and the association as I did not write down the information – one of my usual mistakes.

Spices and fat

Spending vacation in a holiday flat comes with some limitations on cooking. Looking for the easy stuff becomes second nature. So sausages for the pan are an obvious choice for me. Good ones lead to a world of new aromas and sensations. The sausages from the butcher were different to the Bratwurst I am used to and this was nice. The spicy Merguez becomes more and more widespread to my delight, they filled our little kitchen with some nice aromas which lasted until the next day. Even better there was some pure salted fat. As I am the only one in the family eating something like that, I had little feasts just for myself. This fat on a toasted slice of baguette was heaven.

Modern Vietnamese

Then the Vietnamese food stall. I forgot how the lady came to Douarnenez, a city which did not give the impression of being multi-cultural. But it wasn’t a simple story. So her stall was different to the more traditional ones around her. In France, I believe, it is easy to see that food traditions are very important and alive, even if the influx of North African, Vietnamese and partly Subs Saharan cuisines is making its mark, for example with Merguez or nem. So I was quite impressed how the lady found her home in this region bringing new flavors to the city, beyond the classic spring rolls being sold at any larger market in the country. We tried some sardines (very Douarnenez) with some Asian style marinade and filling. I do not remember the details, but I remember that the combination was a delight. So much about food memories and how they last.

Heroines on the wall

Douarnenez was once an epicenter of sardine fishing and processing (canning). Mainly women and girls worked in the sardine factories. The working conditions being poor, led to successful strikes of those women, the best known one in 1924. Having such strong, well organized women seems to still leave marks in the society. At least this is how I interpret the photo exhibition in the market hall with portraits of women from the strike times, resistance against the German occupation in World War II and other women in various civil institutions having shaped the local society. These photos were distributed across the whole hall, making sure that they could not be missed.

This, together with the Vietnamese stall, gave me the impression that modern times have arrived in this city.

All in all: The market hall in Douarnenez is also in post season a good place to find quality produce and a free history lesson.

A little link list:

• The website of the Douarnenez market hall
• The Martime parc d’Iroise with a video clip on the Saint Anne 2 fishing boat
• The Facebook page of the Vietnamese deli stall
• Other posts on markets in Bretagne / Brittany

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Approaching the Quimper market

I got to know the little cows breed Bretonne Pie Noir, kind of pony size, but this was not the only interesting encounter I had at the outdoor market in Quimper in Bretagne (Brittany).

Already approaching the market was pleasant, as we passed by a little barrage at the “Le Steir” river. This sight transferred me immediately into a different mood, away from modern life with all its technologies right into an old days ambiance.

Greatness

But the market is not about the past, it was about great products. Lots of vegetables and fruit, artisan cheeses, dairy, meat and sausages, some bread and pastry. All the classic basics one needs for a cuisine of love at home. The market just exuded pleasure of life, people appreciating food not only of a means to survive and going for the best what nature and farmers have to offer. This is what I like about markets and what carries me away into the greatness this planet is able to provide.

Talking to producers

It is always nice at a market when a producer has time to tell about his life, craft and products. Often they are very busy, but when the moment is right the poor person is bombarded with my questions. And most of the time the market people are happy to share stories beyond the usual ones. I guess it is the same as with most humans. The owner of La Ferme de Kerdelliou had a bit of time for me.

The gentleman is producing milk and dairy products on his own farm, which to my surprise he only started a couple years ago. It baffles me very time when I see an adult becoming a farmer. When I was young I worked in agriculture to make some money during school vacation. I like the work, but it is also a very hard one, rarely making one become rich. This is why have a deep respect for farmers, especially when they have superb products to offer.

Beforehand he was working in different jobs related to agriculture, e.g. promoting the links between urban and agricultural population, or educating kids. Then he seized the opportunity to get a farm and is now having a dozen cows of the Bretonne Pie Noir which look like the classic “black and white” milk cows but are much smaller, kind of pony size. There are only a few herds of this breed left worlwide. According to Wikipedia only 15 000. So I am happy to see that somebody is supporting to agricultural diversity, it enriches food culture and makes it more interesting.

He likes the quality of their milk which is higher in fat and protein in comparison to the ones of traditional breeds. He produces a nice variety of dairy products on in his farm house. If you look on his Facebook profile you will get a good impression. I got a glass of Quark (fresh cheese in English?), it had a very nice taste, not as bland as I am used to when getting it from a supermarket.

The only Hipster stall

I visited a few markets in France. From what I saw they never seem to adapt to a Hipster culture with their demand for new types of (processed) foods. But one guy, the one with the tiniest stall at the market (see photo gallery on top) was selling Korean foods like Kimchi with the claim “Eat Korean, live well”. He is married to a Korean which made him want to sell such home made products in the market. A nice addition to the overall choice, even though I am not sure how successful the couple is.

The weird stuff

Markets are often a place to discover some unknown foods. So was the “Tourteau fromagé” a round pastry based on fresh goat cheese. The top side is kind of burnt, thus black, reminding me somehow of a naval mine. But the inside is very soft and fluffy, a bit sweet. Quite an unusual pastry, but worth a purchase as it tastes nice. Still the look is unique.

What did I buy?

Well, the market provided many temptations. As usual the eyes are bigger than the stomach, but this time my ratio was stronger. Very tasty heritage tomatoes, went into the basket as well as other vegetables. Furthermore a beautiful cheese “Le Ramoneur” very ripe almost remembering a bit a blue cheese in taste. Sausages of course. The Tourteau fromagé went directly into the stomach, the above mentioned Quark served us for a couple days. My my stomach was very pleased.

In Quimper there is also a larger market hall, so it was about time to head this direction. But the time spent on the market was truly worth it.

All in all: The market in Quimper delivers pleasant moments, quality produce and interesting producers. A joy to be there, pure happiness. Also for the little cow breeder.

A little link list:

• The Quimper tourisme site with all the markets of the city (French)
• The Facebook page of the cow breeder – La Ferme de Kerdelliou
• The Facebook page of the Korean stall – Matin Calme (calm morning)
• My other posts on French markets

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First things first!

What do you do first when you arrive at your vacation destination? Visit the market of course! So we had to get up a bit earlier on that wonderful day to drive to Pont-l’Abbé in the Bretagne (Brittany in English) region of France to get to the market in a decent time.

The setting of the produce section of the market at the Place Gambetta is very nice as it is contoured by linden trees. The two rows of stalls were facing each other, making strolling and buying very convenient. It was off-season, still plenty of people were making their purchases on this Thursday.

When reaching a new market I am always a bit nervous and hectic. What am I going to expect? How many stalls does the market have? Will I discover something new? What is the specialty on this market? Those are all the questions coming to my mind. And then I want to take pictures without annoying people. In short: I should learn to relax a bit One day I will.

Getting the overview

First I made a quick tour getting an idea what the market is about. The one in Pont-l’Abbé is what I call a typical French market: produce focused, predominantly from the region, often from producers themselves who are willing to have a chat and tell you about their products. There is nothing hipster like to discover, not a lot of streetfood. It seems to me that the innovations themselves have been the occurrence of organic produce and payment via credit card only. In short: the market is about seasonal quality produce for the daily cuisine which is made from scratch.

The offering is a classic one: vegetables, fruit, cheese, (salted) butter, meat & sausages, a bit of bread and pastry, mushrooms, etc. Still as a tourist who cannot store a lot of things, there is something to buy and eat. Strangely enough I did not see fish despite Pont-l’Abbé being a coastal town. It seems rather to be a business of the market halls.

What were the discoveries?

We were lucky as we had a stove, fridge and dishwasher (!) in our vacation home: no significant restrictions for shopping.

I come from sausage country, especially those you just put in the pan. And I was lucky. The producer “La ferme de Kérautret” raises his own animals, get them killed in a nearby slaughterhouse before processing them into the right cuts and sausages. The reason for the animals not being killed on site are the EU laws with their standards including hygiene which makes is hard to maintain an own small slaughterhouse. I got some duck and pork sausages which were gone instantly in the evening after a long day on the road (I am not afraid of having food away from a fridge for a longer period of time). They were certainly worth the purchase, such great taste, no need to add anything, not even my beloved mustard.

And then the tomatoes from an organic stall. At home tomatoes are usually a disappointing experience for me. It does not matter where I buy them, they never seem to have a truly great taste. A friend of mine recently went to the Romanian country side and discovered how much taste they can really have. I was jealous since I am looking for years into such an experience. Here they had different colors and shapes. Yellow, green, red, round, egg shaped. In the evening I just cooked them all in one pot for a sauce and I was surprised: such a nice play of acidity and sweetness, it was truly great. Something you could truly call a tomato.

I also purchased some nice salted butter and cheese from a small organic stall. The Bretagne cake we bought from a bread and pastry stall was rather uninteresting. The honey from buckwheat or chestnut areas had real intense aroma and made its way back home.

Street food

What is “always” to be found on French markets are a certain type of take-away food stalls. Usually they have huge pans (1m in diameter perhaps) on a stove. Classic foods are paella or couscous, but also other dishes I am less familiar with. We skipped these ones, but tried some vegetarian samosas from a Vietnamese (?!) stall. Great taste, complex and very pleasant level of heat.

By the way: it is easy to heat up your food, there is a public (?) microwave not far from the produce section, in front of the market hall.

Epilogue

Was it worth to have visited the market as the first thing? For sure! We got a taste of the area and had something to eat in the evening. In one of the next posts I will report about the market hall in Pont-l’Abbé.

One little remark: I described mainly the produce section at the place Gambetta, the larger part of the market is at the place de la République in front of the market hall around the corner where the majority of the stalls are to be found, but they less produce ones.

All in all: The market in Pont-l’Abbé is a classic French market with all the goodies you need for cooking and a little bit of take away food.

A little link list:

• The market mentioned on the homepage of the city of Pont-l’Abbé
• The site of the ferme de Kérautret who had such great sausages
• My other posts on French markets

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Waking up early, very early

We got up at 3 o’clock in the morning to catch the tour bus to the world’s largest food wholesale market, the Rungis wholesale market in Paris. Thankfully everybody in the bus was quiet at this time of the day, so it was easier to gear up in a smooth way.

After a 20 minute we entered the market which is basically a city in its own, 236 hectares (583 acres or 330 soccer pitches), larger than the Principality of Monaco. It is just gigantic. One German visitor who had visited the Hamburg wholesale market considers it now in comparison just as a little playground.

And there is no way that you can walk through the whole market area, it is just too big. There are also security considerations when groups are being transported around by a bus. There is just too many hectic lorries driving around.

Upon arrival we had to dress up a bit, we all got some white protective gear to wear during the whole visit. I had the impression it was less about the hygiene than rather for the guides not to loose sight of the visitors.

Francis – the basis of a great experience

The visitor groups were divided into the French and English speaking ones. The English speaking group was very small: 3 Germans and one Canadian. Lucky strike one. And Francis was our guide. Lucky strike two. He is working in the market since 10 years with a visible great passion. At least this how he guided us through the different halls. Always with a good portion of humor, full of knowledge and great envy to answer ALL the questions. Even though the tour was maybe 3 hours long, it felt much shorter.

The products

The Rungis wholesale market offers all types of fresh produce: meat including poultry, some game, fish & seafood, fruit & vegetables, dairy (mainly cheese) as well as horticultural products. Some produce categories even occupy several of the huge halls. Here a more detailed plan of Rungis as a pdf.

The Rungis customers

Rungis does not cater for supermarket chains, they have their own direct trade platforms. Its customers are independent retailers, restaurants and especially vendors reselling at the many open markets in Paris. The latter ones may even be the most important ones – something which made me happy as a market fan. Due to the high rents for shops in Paris, the prices seem to be lower at the markets.

Indeed 65% of the trade is being done in Paris, only 10% goes outside France, mainly high value products. It is estimated that Rungis feeds daily 18 million people!

The buzz

5000 trucks and 25000 vans per day plus one whole train from the South of France. Lots of merchants and supporting staff. All in a hurry. This is what is to expect in Rungis. It is a busy place where operation starts much earlier than our tour at 5am. Most of the merchandise has to roll out of the place before 6am to arrive in time for the shop openings in the different cities or to reach in time the ferry to the UK, which will not wait.

In the halls themselves most of the movements are fast, pallet jacks and forklifts are busy to put the orders into the right space. The merchants talking to buyers with their clipboards taking notes of the deals and prices.

I am surprised, despite being busy, how friendly the professionals were when one of us got into the way. But I also heard that some halls are off-limits for visitors to not disturb the operations.

Fish & seafood

We started at around 5 o’clock in the fish & seafood hall. The white Styrofoam boxes stapled on top of each other gave us the impression that we had entered Legoland, just with different content. And ultra fresh! Indeed the scallops in their shells looked better here than what I partly saw later in the shops.

“Where does the fish come from?” asked us Francis. After a couple seconds of silence he answered: “from the seaside”. We were relieved. “But also from the river side” he added.

Business was already winding down, making it easier for us to have close looks at the content of the boxes, with a large variety of different fishes, including not so common ones, e.g. shark steaks. We were wondering who would eat the latter one, especially as our Canadian companion mentioned that it is a rather tough meat.

Lots of fish comes from Norway as the 5m inhabitants “do not eat fish”. The country has a longer coastline than France and thus higher fishing quotas under the current EU rules, making it able to continuously supply in relevant quantities.

Not only fish is being traded in this hall, but also lobsters, langustas, crabs, shrimps, all kinds of mussels including oysters and scallops. Strangely enough, frog legs are also part of the seafood section but we could not see them anymore as they were already sold out to the restaurants. It is usually not a French product anymore, as the frogs are protected, they come now from other countries like Turkey.

The merchants know pretty well the types and sizes of fish which are in demand and have set up the supply chain accordingly. Tuna usually comes in sizes of up to 40kg. But if one customer wants a 100kg tuna, he will get it anyway if ordered in advance. Satisfying whatever kind of demand is a the heart of the merchants.

I liked how the boxes were labeled, besides the weight and origin of the fish, the scientific Latin name of the species was displayed giving it a very official status. I learned that Sparus pagrus is a red porgy (see also photo in the gallery). I might remember it …

Pricing

Francis put our attention to the fact that no prices were attached to any merchandise. It is all a matter of negotiation between buyer and seller. I have no idea how this works and how the two parties remember the numbers. Just consider that salmon is being offered between 15 and 50€ per kilogram.

The deal is done with a handshake, the bill comes later. Here again I do not know how this seem to work. There is not digital machine which records the deal, it is all on paper. But there are offices in the upper floors of all halls. I hope these employees can read the handwritten numbers.

Vegetables & fruit

The vegetable and fruit hall truly showed the diversity of produce in Rungis. Yes the usual staples like tomatoes, potatoes, onion, cucumbers, salads etc. dominated the space. High “towers” of full boxes gave this hall a very colorful look. Buyers and seller were busy talking with each other fixing orders. We had to watch out for all the pallet jacks putting things together.

We got a closer look into the details. Suddenly we discovered on a few spots a merchant specialized in mushrooms: boxes of ceps in April (!) from South Africa, morels from Turkey and a few other specialities.

And then a small pallet of tiny tomatoes, called tomberry carefully put into transparent boxes. A buyer specialized on high-end restaurant even looked deeper into the matter and hand picked what he considered to be the best selection out of this quality item.

Strolling along I saw produce I had never seen before: radishes of all kinds of colors, sprouts unfamiliar to me, as well as salads where I needed a few moments to recognize at all what they were supposed to be. Happily enough I saw some cassava which reminded me of the my times on the African continent. Lots of discoveries.

Francis was pointing here and there and talking: this is top quality. As a German I am used to the term quality being used from a rather engineering perspective, meaning shape, size, color etc. But Francis comforted me, he was talking about superior taste when talking about quality. It fit exactly the cliché I have about French people

Nowadays we do not seem to have seasons anymore. Francis explained it via the cantaloupe. In the old days it arrived at the market from France only, then Morocco proved to be a good place for off-season growing but it was further stretched to Senegal allowing all three countries to have their own seasonal presence in Rungis.

Asking Francis what probably is the produce with the shortest season, he had to think for a while. Surprisingly it was a potato! A certain variety (I forgot the name), hyped by restaurants for its taste, has a season of 2 weeks only. Then the hype is over, it does not seem to be possible to grow it elsewhere for an extended season.

Horticulture

Before heading to the meat section we drove to the horticultural section. The hall was not as full and busy like the other ones. Another aspect also stood out: there were women working! In the other halls I did not remember having seen more than one, very much a men’s world.

The horticultural business in Rungis is declining, I believe to remember that half of the merchants closed their shops in the last ten years as the Dutch flower traders set up more powerful platforms. They have kind of a monopoly in Europe.

The merchants world

It is mainly a men’s world. And one where hard work dominates. In peak times, before festivities when revenues are at their peak, it is not rare that the merchants work 2 days straight without sleep. The urban legend says that they have less sleep in a week than a classic employee has working hours.

Pointing out at some fancy expensive cars in the parking lot, I was told that the shop owners do not have time to spend their earnings, so cars are an easy and pleasant way of doing so.

Meat – Beef and porc

The first thing which struck me in the meat hall was its cleanliness. Unbelievable. I am certainly not able to keep my home as clean as this meat hall. The cleanliness is also comforting considering that 18 million people are getting their food via Rungis.

The second thing which surprised me was the quantity of German beef especially Simmentaler Rind being sold. It has a reputation to deliver good quality meat . This one I have to check out when back home.

The third thing was the whole beef – except head and tail – hanging on hooks. Lots of meat jumping into our eyes. “What is this?” asked Francis showing on a row of big animals. “Beef of course” was my answer. I was completely wrong and I have should have known better. The meat did not have the red color of beef but more a light pink one due to being fed mainly with milk which does not have as much iron as grass. This is usually the color of veal meat. And it was a veal, a Limousin one. But it was huge, really huge, looked like an adult animal to me. Francis showed us the label: the calf was born on October 15th 2018 and was now 6 months old. I was baffled.

Food waste

The topic of food waste came up naturally. There is just so much produce in one single spot. There is a simple answer and more interesting one.

Generally speaking there is not a lot of food waste, below 1% if I remember correctly. How is this being achieved?

First it really depends on the product itself. Potatoes or cheese can be stored for a longer period, whereas fish, strawberries, salads perish quickly. The merchants also have some experience in forecasting the demand and not ordering too much from their suppliers.

Every merchant has some kind of refrigeration to store products not being sold. And they know which quality levels the individual buyers need which helps them to steer the stock a bit better.

Last section: cheese

We approached our last hall, the cheese hall. It was probably the quietest one, due to the advanced hours. But the whole goodness of France was to be seen.

Comté, St. Marcellain, Brie de Meaux, Sein de Nounou, Banon, real Camembert, Boulette d’Avesnes and so many more names which help you to bluff your way through a party. Many of them were raw milk cheeses, truly to my delight. And all so nicely packaged. No sampling unfortunately.

And we got to see (not taste) the best cheese in the world – a goat cheese from the village where Francis originated from, big promise! A similar looking cheese from neighboring village was of course only half as good, if at all. Always when going back to his parental home he went to cheese makers next door to buy this cheese, only to discover after a few years that he could get it cheaper in Rungis.

Religions and their demand

Religious holidays mean more business for Rungis. Easter and Eid al-Fitr mean high demand for lamb, there is a Jewish holiday with high demand in living carps, and Christmas means foie gras and oysters etc.

Then the days are too short for all the working hours needed to feed Paris and the rest of the remaining world. The merchants are prepared, have negotiated with the suppliers, but then the weather changes. Easter 2019 meant good weather in Paris, a reason to leave home, go to the country side an eat there. This meant less business for the Rungis merchants. We saw some less happy faces.

Happy end, also called breakfast

It wasn’t dark anymore, the tour came to an end. But a new highlight was presented to us: breakfast. A real one! Not only the coffee we all badly needed before going to bed again in the hotel. Not only a croissant with some butter or jelly. A full charcuterie and cheese board full of delicacies from the island of Corsica. Even for somebody like me who enjoys quality AND quantity it was a great final experience. I wouldn’t say that the breakfast alone would have made me get up at 3 am, but…

Will the Internet kill the Rungis market?

Rungis seems to be confident that the Internet will not kill its business. It is not easy at all to find enough space for all the produce a city like Paris needs. Rungis has a strategic spot. All the infrastructure and processes to deliver continuously high quality in big enough quantities to the consumers via the retailers is not easy to replicate. Rungis knows how to handle perishable goods and keep hygiene to the highest level. Does this sound like a good reasoning?

All in all: Rungis wholesale market is a must-see for all who want to learn more about produce, its huge variety, origins and how it is being traded. And the breakfast is great

A little link list:

• The official website of Rungis in English
• Rungis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
• The booking site for guided tours
• David Lebovitz wrote about the market in 2010
• The Food Republic posted as well
• And not to forget the New York Times
• Probably the best guide to the other markets in Paris from Marjorie R. Williams

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Coming from North where the grey autumn weather reigned, the sun in Cassis lightened up life. The splendor of this outdoor market on the beautiful town square close to the sea made me plunge into an eternal summer. The sun rays teased my eyes, the wind caressed  the – still – green leaves of the sycamore trees. People walked around without layers of winter clothes, relaxed and enjoying the smells and sights of the produce.

Walking by all the stalls, summer vacation feeling came up with all the produce the Mediterranean / Provençal region is offering. Somehow the cheeses, dried sausages, olives, garlic, mushroom, fruit are deeply linked to easy life for me. Thinking of sharing these produce with some friends over a glass of vine is maybe pure kitsch, but it represents good life or a little paradise on earth. And it is very easy to get that feeling being at this square.

The market is located at the “Place (square) Baragnon” just a minute away from the picturesque city harbor. The square is surrounded by well trimmed sycamore trees, it is covered by tile style stones which could be suitable for an elegant dance in the evening. The benches invite for a rest and observation of people walking by. The old fountain helps to wash of the dust from your hands. Kind of a picture book square.

Still somebody has to work to provide such an invitation to joyful life. The vendors are presenting nice produce, many of them suitable for tourists as well, since the city beach is close by to munch your purchases. The offering is diverse enough to get the taste of the region. I bought a small basket full of little dry goat cheeses, which were a great snack in the evening. Furthermore a fruit paste (see picture gallery) went into my bag for dessert as well as bit of dried sausage. I missed out the beautiful olives and Tapenade (olive paste) which I truly love. The typical cubic olive soaps were left out as well. And the marinated garlic, and honey wine, and…

But the memories are still alive of this “eternal summer” feeling.

All in all: a feel good market with the goodness of the Provence

A little link list:

• The markets in Cassis with operating times (French)
• A town guide from Marvelous Provence

The post Eternal summer – Provençal market, Cassis / France appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Getting there

Walking from the tramway to reach “Les Halles de Lyon – Paul Bocuse” as the market hall in Lyon is called, was a bit of a challenge. Lots of construction was happening, tall office buildings and parking lots did not make it easy to spot the location. Considering that the city is known as a French gourmet capital, the surroundings do not reflect such a reputation, I expected some more romanticism. Furthermore the main entrance, a large glass front, is facing a busy road. This is how you are being welcomed at a small paradise which carries the name of one of the most renown chefs of our times: Paul Bocuse.

Excitement

Entering the building everything is a bit dark this early morning, no hectic yet. No glass ceiling brings in more light. Cafés are already operating and vendors are having a little breakfast, chatting with each other before going back to their stalls. I sat down had my coffee as well, accompanied by buttered breads – perfect start of the day.

I continued my walk through the aisles to get an overview of all the 50 or so stalls. The more stalls I saw the more I got excited: yes this is an epicentre of French food and cuisine! All the meat cuts with clear provenance of French regions from quality producers. The bounty of French artisan cheeses and pâtés. Seafood as used in high scale restaurants, smoked salmon which is still sliced by hand in front of the customer. Artisan French breads which are definitely different to those available at supermarkets or ordinary bakeries.

I believe everything needed in high quality for classic French cuisine is available there, not so much from other countries. Okay, vegetables and fruit are not so well represented. I was not so impressed by the chocolate makers and wine vendors, probably because they did not get my attention as they seemed to be rather brands than artisan producers. Not sure if I was too biased.

And – good for tourists – there is enough ready made food to be eaten on the spot.

French splendor

After the first round walking around where I felt like in a Christmas Wonderland, overwhelmed by the quality choice, I slowed down to enjoy the individual stalls. It was worth it.

The butchers showed meat from all kinds of regions, well labelled and presented: sheep which comes from the Mont Saint Michel region – the pre-salted ones as they are called since the grass they are feeding off has higher salt content; beef from distinct regions of France I have not heard of (e.g. Aubrac, Salers); veal raised by the mother (cow) and not separated; wild rabbits from Garenne, still in their fur (to prove that is truly game?); wild ducks; all parts of the pork which can be cooked: feet, ears and the like; the famous Bresse chicken.

The sausage side was rich as well: ham from all regions of Europe (Parma, Aosta valley, Serrano …), salamis, blood sausage, Figatellu from Corsica (liver sausage) and more. All the pâtés looked fabulous, I have never seen so many in one place.

One thing which always fascinated me since I tried it the first time in my life is French goose liver. It is one of those products where I have constantly the pictures of forced fed geese in my mind, but it is very hard to resist the temptation … For those who cannot resist they will find a very nice choice in this market hall.

The breads displayed at one stall were labelled like I have never seen it before: how the flour was milled, what type of flour grade was used, duration of fermentation, type of yeast etc. I bought some of and enjoyed it a lot. One bakery was based on a type of franchise model with a dozen or so bakeries in France. The focus is high quality and teaching their independent bakers in the right methods usage of products to have breads and pastries of superior quality. Even though I am sceptical on franchise models when it comes to food, I had to admit that the products did not look ordinary at all.

Despite being quite far from the sea, the market hall offers a great selection of seafood: live lobster, spiny lobster, oysters from all kinds of origins, scallops in their shells, sea snails, shrimps, … Of course the fish selection matched it easily, including Norwegian and Scottish smoked salmon, angler, but also huge fish livers – I forgot from which fish, but maybe you can identify it in the picture gallery.

The choice of artisan cheeses matched the overall approach of the market hall, the French regions were well represented. Be it from cow, sheep or goat milk. As I am spoiled by my favourite cheese vendor at the Siegburg market where I live close by, I did not pay enough attention to the great offering.

Other delicacies were artisan pasta, specialities like quenelle de Lyon, beautiful candied fruit, great pork cracklings called “grattons“. The latter I got to know as the French guide of an American food tourist group referred to it and warned not to eat to many of them. A warning I did not take serious after the purchase, the cracklings really tasted just great without any bad after-effects, home made ones would not beat them.

Eating out

Market halls are not only places where to buy produces and have a close contact to vendors and other customers, but they are also place where you may eat and munch your way through. The market hall of Lyon is no exception and the choices vary greatly. From a simple breakfast coffee to sophisticated little things like a fish mousse with shrimps, the offering is wide. Still it covers more French than international cuisine, some exceptions like Paella and fresh pasta co-exist easily with lobster, spiny lobster dishes and Burgundy food. There is certainly no need to leave the hall for lunch …

Summarizing my visit

I went to the market hall at around 9 o’clock in the morning when the vendors were preparing the day, sharing coffees together and taking a deep breath for the rest of the day when things got a bit more crowded. So diving in was made easy for me, vendors had still time to answer my questions and I could take pictures without disturbing anyone. And to me the visit was a great experience, I did not regret being there a single moment and seeing the famous French cuisine alive and kicking at least on the more traditional side.

All in all: One of the great places to be for produce & food – representing France at its best –  a must see

A little link list:

• The official website – only in French
• The official Twitter account and the Facebook one
• Pictures different from my perspective by Vickie Cunningham
• Laurel Robbins favours the Lyon market hall even over La Boqueria in Barcelona

The post Divine – Market hall Paul Bocuse, Lyon / France appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Louhans? Where? What?

How did I end up in Louhans, Burgundy? When I was visiting the Manosque market last year, a vendor recommended me to visit this special one in Louhans, as it is known for also selling a large variety of live animals. This caught my interest, especially since it was not a classic tourist area I thought.

Louhans is in the heart of the Bresse region in Burgundy, famous for its delicious Bresse chicken, only produced in the area. It has a very rural touch and so is the market. And it is a huge market. Spread all over the city having three sections: the flea market type one, produce stalls and the live animal section.

The live animal section

The live animal section reflects a region where people still have a strong connection to food production. All kinds of live poultry, rabbits and a like were at sale. And customers do buy those animals to fatten and slaughter them or for producing eggs. It amazes me to see such a deeply embedded tradition to produce your own food. It indicates how strongly people put focus on a cuisine based on good and fresh products. Or that backyards are still large enough.

The handling of the animals is robust, not for the feint hearted. It is about trade, not every animal has really space like in a zoo. When a customer has selected hens or ducks and the like, they are put in a cardboard box, slits are being cut in, so it becomes easier to carry them and leaving some air for the animals to breathe or stick out their neck. Feathers of the duck wings maybe trimmed – in front of everybody – to avoid them from flying away when unloaded, which happens from time to time.

The variety of poultry is very diverse: chicken of all kinds, pigeons, turkeys, wild and domestic ducks, geese, guinea fowl, quail and probably more. It seems that everything which flies and can be eaten is available there. Most of the vendors had a similar range of chicken with prices for the live animal around the 10€. What I did not see were other farm animals like calves and sheep which are being sold as well.

A special breeder

One vendor – La Ferme de Quain in Devrouze (picture) – was specialized in rare chicken breeds. He cannot make a living out of it, as the prices for those animals cannot be afforded by everybody. Still as a passionate amateur he joins the market every Monday. He did not have a lot of respect for the low end poultry offering as he considered the meat as tasteless. His favourite breed from a meat quality perspective is the Le Merlerault a very rare black chicken from Normandy which needs more than a year to gain its full weight. As the end price would be more than 50€ a chicken, it is only something for enthusiasts. Would like to taste it though, just to get an idea if it is worth it. His customers do not only come from the area, but also from neighbouring countries like Switzerland, Germany & the Netherlands. Much to the excitement of the market visitors he also showed a couple peacocks. It always makes me happy to see passionate people like this vendor who contribute to preservation and diversity leaving the world a little less streamlined.

Street food

As it was cold that day there was a need to get some warm street food. Well here we are in the rural world, classic French inland cuisine was served. This included all kind of boiled meats, sauerkraut, sausages but also more sophisticated food. The butcher “La Sornaysienne” offered pure beef tripe sausage (Andouillette) with potatoes boiled together in a mustard sauce. The portion served was immediately empty as it was so satidfying, simple but well put together.

The other sections of the market

Spread across the city the market delivers everything which is needed for the daily cuisine: vegetables, fruit, artisan cheese, meat, sausages, oysters, nougat, herbs and much more.

The Bresse chicken gets of course special attention. They have to be presented by the butcher as a whole with the blue feet, white feathers around the neck & head as well as the red comb. This way can it is assured that the customer gets the real thing. And the Bresse chicken colours also represent the ones of the French flag. Of course the butcher prepares the chicken if wanted ready for cooking.

The artisan cheeses were just gorgeous, especially if you like the goat and sheep milk ones. A young vendor who had piles of his own sheep cheeses of different ages did not have his origin in the rural world. His father decided eight years ago to leave his engineering job in Paris and to start producing cheese in the Larzac, a rather remote area quite far away. Now the family serves several markets with their products and the young son has no intention to go back urban, as he believes – despite the hard work – to have found his passion.

The little things

The typical French dried sausages came in many “flavours” with duck meat, nuts, pepper, smoked and many more. A perfect purchase for eating on the road with a baguette, just don’t forget your pocket knife.

And for the first time I saw organic purple “green” beans (see gallery). Unfortunately they turn green when cooked – of course still having a remarkable taste.

A few craftsmen: bring your knife to get it sharpened or buy an original clock from the 18th century – still working.

All in all: A great market – the mix of live animals, good products and rural traditions is impressive – also good for kids.

A little link list:

• The official website of Louhans (French)
• The markets of the area (French)
• A video report on the market (French)
• A blog post “The Madhouse Market City of Louhans”
• And to get the directions, just use the map below

The post Live animals – Monday market, Louhans, Burgundy / France appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

I love lists, all sorts of lists, no idea why. And I like good blog posts on food & farmers’ markets. An ideal combination to publish a list of the European capitals and their markets. Why European capitals? Well, I live on this continent and this way I get to know it a bit better.

This list will grow and get better over time. I am happy about any suggestion or hint – contact me on Twitter: @askans

Enjoy!

The European countries, their capitals & markets

Albania – Tirana

• I did not find a lot, therefore I have to promote my own post: the new Bazaar in Tirana – I was impressed that they were selling open tobacco just like any veggie

Andorra – Andorra la Vella

• Not yet

Austria – Vienna

• The Naschmarkt on this site during daytime & nighttime – during the day for shopping at night for entertainment and dining – a cool combination
• The Naschmarkt by epicures with lots of pictures- a little bit of history and a wide choice of produce and artisan products – from exotic to local
• The official English website
• The Rochus Market which has a great wine pub at night

Belarus – Minsk

• The Komarovski – market hall seems to be the place of attraction. The post from food.artkopilka.ru is in Cyrillic but has many good pictures. Like in many Eastern European countries there is clear structure and order in this market hall.

Belgium – Brussels

• Why waste annual leave, the blog with an overview on the Brussels weekend markets
• ottsworld.com gives a portrait of the Midi market, which has lots of Arabic influences – incl. a video

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Sarajevo

• From adventures in Bosnia an overview on food & markets in Sarajevo
• And here a short post on the Markale market & market hall from greengopost.com

Bulgaria – Sofia

• A panaroma picture from 360cities.net
• The Women’s market (Jenski Pazar) by Sofia Travel Guide

Croatia – Zagreb

• The markets of Zagreb are very well organized and have almost a “branded” appearance as they all use standardized umbrellas etc. The Dolac market is the most known one and has also a great fish market.
• Dolac market, the Dolac fish market, Kvatric market and the Trešnjevka one on this site
• Dutched Pinay travels a lot and takes nice pictures from markets – in this case Dolac market
• tatjanapasalic.com is a well known personality in Croatia: model, TV presenter & more – here she blogged on Kvatric market

Cyprus – Nicosia

• An overview with nice pictures on farmers’ markets in Cyprus incl. Nicosia by Afrodites kitchen

Czech Republic – Prague

• In the the touristic city of Prague farmers’ markets are supposed to be on the rise.
• An overview of the markets from prague.tv
• Past, present & future of the big Holešovice market from expats.cz
• My own post

Denmark – Copenhagen

• From eatyourcity.ca an introduction & pictures on the Torvehallerne & Israels Plads markets
• An introduction for tourists to the Torvehallerne food market by a food awakening
• The official site of the Tervehallerne market

Estonia – Talinn

• A list of the markets in the city from @VisitTallinn

Finland – Helsinki

• Pearlspotting describes the Market Square by the sea and the old Market Hall
• Dutched Pinay is always a good source – Kauppatori Market Square – Hietalahti Market Square – Hakaniemi Market Square

France – Paris

• There is one favourite source for me: Marjorie R. Williams, who wrote a book on the Paris markets and blogs about them
• A nice post on the famous wholesale market Rungis International Market by Cody C. Delistraty

Germany – Berlin

• The past, current status and future of the Berlin Market Halls by @slowberlin. They also posted on the very popular Markthalle IX
• A listing of the Berlin markets by angloinfo.com

Greece – Athens

• As an introduction my post on the Central Market – A must see for meat & fish lovers
• Matt Barrett has written several picture intense posts – The Central Market – an overview on some markets

Hungary – Budapest

• My post on the Central Market Hall, which has a splendid architecture
• A post on the Central Market Hall with many pictures from alwaystravelicious.com

Iceland – Reykjavík

• Not yet

Ireland – Dublin

• The Dublin Diary has a post on the Honest 2 Goodness Farmers Market
• And here my post on the Moore Street Market

Italy – Rome

• A blog specialized on the markets of Rome alone: marketsofrome.com
• The post yourguidetoitaly.com gives an overview in pictures of the markets in Rome
• Forbestravelguide.com is more decriptive

Kosovo – Pristina

• Not yet

Latvia – Riga

•  From Paris Paysanne a nice little post on the Riga Central Market
• And here a big fan of the Riga central market on Pinterest

Lichtenstein – Vaduz

• Not yet

Lithuania – Vilnius

• A little post with pictures on the Kalvarijų turgus market from Ravinder Sehgal

Luxembourg – Luxembourg

• My post
• A list of farmers’ markets

Macedonia – Skopje

• From Macedonia in 91 days a post with tons of pictures and a video giving great insights on the Bit Pazar

Malta – Valletta

•  The Ta’ Qali farmer’s market by Kristin Winet

Moldova – Chișinău

• Moldovan Life describes the Piata Centrala – the main market
• Foodperestroika, a great blog with focus on Central and Eastern European food & cuisine is highly recommended – also the post on Moldovan food

Monaco – Monaco

• Not yet

Montenegro – Podgorica

• A tiny friendly post on Podgorica’s Green Market from Wandering Educators

Netherlands – The Hague

• My own post on the Haagse Markt
• It is supposed to be the largest outdoor market in Europe with 500 stalls: the Haagse Markt as per Theleidener.com
• Local Heart, Global Soul finds the Haagse Markt impressive as well

Norway – Oslo

• From Nordic Nibbler a friendly introduction into the Bondens Marked
• And Oslo has also a market hall – Mathallen – the post from soldrom.com

Poland – Warsaw

• Warsaw’s Saturday Market in Zoliborz by My Travelling Joys
• A short overview on the Hale Mirowskie – the central market hall – from polandculinaryvacations.com

Portugal – Lisbon

• travel.sketch.write posts about the Mercado da Ribeira, which seems to be the most famous market in Lisbon
• The Mercado de Campo de Ourique is described by Portugal confidential as hip and urban

Romania – Bucharest

• My post on the Piata Domenii market
• Beautiful pictures from Oana Hogrefe on a unknown market

Russia – Moscow

• A nice introduction into the Moscow markets by The Moscovore
• A photo essay in Russian on Preobrazhensky Rynok farmers market by DaryaDarya – courtesy of where.cheap-moscow.com

San Marino – San Marino

• Not yet

Serbia – Belgrade

• A small post with nice pictures on a farmer’s market from Stellar Perspectives
• The Belgrade Green Market by Serbian Culture Shock
• Nataša von Wunderland made an extensive photo tour of the markets in Belgrade

Slovakia – Bratislava

• I had the chance to visit 2 markets: the Trhovisko Miletičova central market & the Nová Tržnica market hall
• Basic information about the markets in Bratislava from bratislava.info
• A post from daytripper.sk which characterizes the market hall very well
• A post with many pictures from 52 weeks in Slovakia
• Different: a fashion shooting at the market from Donna Iveh Fashion Blog

Slovenia – Ljubljana

• The Farmers Market on the Vodnik Square by photojoseph.com
• Meet the Ljubljana market enthusiast on Twitter: @JanaSvenska

Spain – Madrid

• Mercamadrid is the second largest fish market in the world and the largest and the biggest perishable foods market in Europe according to spanishsabores.com She writes also on the Cámera Agraria farmer’s market
• From Citylife Madrid a quick overview on the markets in Madrid
• Wanderwings has some nice pictures on the known Mercado de San Miguel

Sweden – Stockholm

• An overview on the market halls in Stockholm by Real Scandinavia
• A small post on a farmer’s market by Bunny in Stockholm

Switzerland – Bern

• The markets and their opening times by the City of Bern
• From Swiss Mirabelle an overview and some pictures

UK – London

• Of course: Borough market is leading the pack and there is a fairly large number of posts on this market. My current favourite is kind of a love letter to the market from Eat Out of the Box
• A good overview on the London farmers’ markets from the organization called London farmers’ markets
• An overview on the markets in general by the Londonist
• From WhatAWonderfulWorld a nice one on a small market: Maltby Street Market
• Westminster News Online promotes the Food Market at Southbank

Ukraine – Kiev

• From Life in Kiev a nice post on the Besarabsky Market Hall
• From akihart an extensive photo post on Besarabsky market hall
• An extensive overview on the markets by BestOfUkraine

That should be it Europe!?

The post Food & farmers’ markets of the European capitals appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

The setting

In Manosque a small city in the Provence / France has two locations for the Saturday market: one is a the Hotel de Ville (city hall)  the other one this post is about, is to be found in a short distance at the Place du Terreau in the heart of the old city. This square in the heart of the city is a parking lot on other days of the week.

The market is a mix of flea and food market. Cheap clothes and items are available. The other half of the market is focused on food, be it produce or ready made meals like paella. The crowd is more touristic in summer times and in the other seasons the multi-ethnicity of the area can easily be observed.

It is quite different to the one at the city hall, less romantic, but with more food choices, except oysters and organic produce.

What to get there

Of course all the products which should be on a (French) market are available: vegetables and fruits of the season, great cheeses (there are 2 stalls at least), dried sausages, artisan bread and others. There are also less common produce like lavender honey, Mediterranean pickle mixes, and a fish monger despite the distance to the sea.

When it comes to the cheeses it is worth looking at whole ones as they will resist pressure and temperature when bringing them back home via plane or so. I took a Tome de Pays which was about a kilogram. Since the prices are moderate it is a great culinary souvenir. There is of course also very great dried sausages which somehow found their way into my suitcase.

Anything special?

The choice of ready made meals from food carts and stalls is very convenient and appealing. Starting from roasted poultry in many variations, paella, shrimp dishes, stuffed calamari in tomato sauce, pizza, Vietnamese specialities, Moroccan couscous or tajine,  and a few other things are available. The offering changes over the seasons. In autumn and winter there will be more hearty meals available like sauerkraut and sausages.
This market will not leave you hungry. As an alternative buy some bread and cheese from the market and enjoy this satisfying pleasure.

What do the vendors say?

Well they talk quite a lot when you have time and are interested in their life and work. I immediately was presented to visitors and other vendors as an English journalist. Something I would appreciate being, but reality is different, also when it comes to my accent. But all kinds of fun was very welcomed and political correctness not taken too seriously. And they seem to appreciate tourists as well, expressing that in a friendly service and a gentle willingness to allow pictures being taken.

One vendor had a selling tactic, which was different to the other ones. The tomatoes or other vegetables, probably a kilogram or two, were already filled in open plastic bags (see picture in the gallery). Each bag was then placed in a bowl for the clientele to immediately see the volume of the merchandise. The lady owning the stall presented this as a solution allowing her to offer cheaper prices due to the quantities and it helped her to serve the clientele in  a very fast way as well. I saw this method a day before at a market in Marseille, but did not get the same explanation. In many African markets this is a standard method.

All in all: It is a nice market with good products – not a surprise in France though – worth to be visited when being nearby & hungry.

A little link list:

• What to do in Manosque
• Other markets in the area by weekday (pdf)

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