Most of us can only dream of realizing our childhood fantasies. But Philip Starck - restaurant designer and avowed socialist - had both a dream and backers willing to invest 5.5 million euros. The result is Ma Cocotte, a canteen in Paris' Marche aux Puces serving beautifully executed traditional food in a comfortable setting at moderate prices. It may be utopian, but it’s not proletarian.
Artichoke and Truffle Salad - Maison de la Truffe - Galeries Lafayette Gourmet.
I began this post with the intention of sharing my recent visit to the new Galeries Lafayette Gourmet megastore in Paris. No sooner had I begun work than I learned Dean and Deluca, New York’s first luxury food market had closed all but 6 of its locations. This news had the impact of a personal loss.
D&D opened in 1977, the year I started as my cooking school. With the closure of so many stores I felt my childhood home was collapsing. Was it just a coincidence that the gourmet food business is expanding in Paris and contracting in the States? I had to find out.
I was surprised to learn that that the gourmet food culture emerged suddenly here in the late 1970's. In 1976 farmers and food artisans began selling their sustainably raised produce, cheese, bread and flowers at the Union Square Greenmarket just a ten minutes walk from Dean and Deluca. And Whole Foods opened as a vegetarian market in Austin, Tx in 1978. Quelle coincidence!
Over the next forty years, Dean and Deluca became an international chain of 37 stores. It's current owner, a Thai real estate magnate, poured millions into a concept store that opened this spring in Manhattan's trendy meatpacking district, only to close it three months later after unpaid vendors stopped delivering. Over the same time period, Whole Foods has grown to nearly 500 stores (less than two dozen are in Canada and the UK) and was purchased two years ago by e commerce giant Amazon.
Lower Level Grocery Store - Galeries Lafayette Gourmet
The original template for a gourmet market was created in Paris 130 years ago when pushcart vendor Auguste Fauchon opened a shop on Place de la Madeleine. Fauchon grew to become synonymous with the highest quality prepared foods, patisserie and wines. Auguste's family sold out in the lean years following WWII, and the store has since experienced periods of expansion and contraction under several owners. The proud flagship store remains and was joined last year by a a five-star Fauchon Hotel a few steps away.
Fauchon's left bank competitor in recent decades has been L'Epicerie de Bon Marche, an extension of the city's oldest department store, Bon Marche's. The present owner is the luxury retailer group LVMH. Frequent construction facelifts keep L'Epicerie looking fresh and fashionably turned out. Its displays of meat, seafood, produce and cheese are as opulent and overpriced as the designer handbags in its sister store next door.
Meat Department - L'Epicerie de Bon Marche
The launch this year of Galeries Lafayette Gourmet exemplifies an acceleration of gourmet retail in this city that is trying to recover its appeal after recent terrorist attacks. The extensive project combines a spacious food hall, kiosks of famous specialty food brands and a complete grocery store covering two floors of its Boulevard Haussmann housewares store. I sampled a luxurious truffle and artichoke salad with a glass of Sancerre at the Maison de la Truffe counter during my visit there in June. My lunch cost 30€, less than half the price of a mid-day meal at its posh Place de la Madeleine location. Perk alert: the people watching is terrific.
The incorporation of a food hall in gourmet markets owes much to Eataly, the newest of the food megastores. It’s Italian creator, Oscar Farinetti, claims his inspiration is none other than the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. To date, Farinetti has opened 37 megastores around the world since 2007. All have the comprehensive feel of an Italian theme park. Is his lofty goal of spreading an understanding of Italian culture through classes, the exhaustive display of ingredients and an array of dining options sustainable?
L'Atelier de la Maison de la Truffe - Galeries Lafayette Gourmet
This April saw the arrival of Eataly Paris Marais built by the family that has owned Galeries Lafayette for over 100 years and holds exclusive rights to Eataly in France. The store is a five minute walk from BHV, the mid-priced Galeries Lafayette property across from the Hotel de Ville. I look forward to my first visit next month.
That third innovative 1970's startup, the Union Square Green Market, continues to thrive four days a week year round. It continues to inspire chefs and the other 50 plus farmers markets in New York's boroughs. While not technically a gourmet shop, the greenmarket draws its share of tourists.
An important bond forms when farmers and artisan food producers sell directly to consumers. There's an energy at a crowded open market that feels essential to our wellbeing.. I will explore the world of weekly food shopping in the US and France in a future post. Stay tuned!
Dried Herbs and Spices - Galeries Lafayette Gourmet
LEEK AND POTATO SOUP WITH BLUE CHEESE
It’s daylight savings time and I’ve finally run out of ways to cook winter vegetables. For months now I have roasted or boiled and mashed pounds of hard, homely root vegetables. With more winter conditions in the forecast, I need a quick way to keep them interesting.
My transformation secret? I add cheese, a process that sounds easy - unless you’ve served fondue to a crowd. Then the protein in the cheese coagulates over continuous heat and sinks to a sludge in the bottom of the pot. But that’s easy to fix - stir the cheese into the dish at the very end of the cooking process.
The addition of cheese is also an inexpensive fix. Avoid the pricey raw milk cheeses for vegetable recipes. Their subtlety will be lost when diluted and heated. Concentrate instead on creating interesting combinations: Diced feta or ricotta salata will enlivens beet soup or salad. A veined blue cheese adds a salty tang to leek and potato soup. Golden cheddar grated and stirred into mashed rutabaga sweetens and smooths it in mouth. Give March at the table renewed flavor!
MASHED RUTABAGA WITH CHEDDAR AND CRACKED PEPPER
(click title for link to the recipe)
I blame my Protestant family for sheltering me from all the rich, spicy flavors of Mardi Gras cooking. We were midwestern, corn-fed innocents: no Carnival parties; no Lenten fasts. But moderation has its limitations.
The announcement for citizens to shelter-in-place to avoid exposure to the coronavirus will arrive in your area soon if it hasn't already. Here in Illinois, schools, restaurants and virtually all social gathering places were closed in domino fashion on orders of Governor Pritzker over the weekend. For those of us who are always thinking about the next meal, the prospect of spending two weeks (at least) in isolation feels like forever. Our choices are limited. There's supermarket fare of pre-cooked foods and order-in pizza. If you decide to do your own cooking, well, I happen to have a plan for that (without having to consult Elizabeth Warren).
Since a bonafide stay-at-home cookbook for the current situation has yet to be written, we might as well write our own. I propose we improvise a collection of simple dishes using staples already in our refrigerators, cupboards and spice collections. The results will contain unusual combinations, but these unusual times require a spirit of adventure. As luck would have it, I have a sample recipe to share. You probably saw that coming.
If you have eggs in the refrigerator, an onion of any kind, a few spices and six cherry tomatoes you can make what I think of as one of the 'real foods' of India., Parsi Scrambled Eggs is a staple dish on hotel breakfast buffets on India's west coast. It checks all the boxes for our needs in quarantine conditions: It is healthful, delicious any time of day, highly receptive to improvisation, and it’s easy to prepare. The term Parsi is the name Indians gave to the followers of the Persian prophet Zoroaster in the 7th century when they emigrated from what is now Iran to avoid persecution. The Zoroastrian belief that the egg is a symbol of fertility and new life inspired a number of interesting egg dishes. You may want to check them out.
Let's start a collection Shelter-at-Home recipes. Send me three photos: 1. the interior of your refrigerator, 2. your food pantry and 3.your spice collection. (Don’t bother to clean beforehand.) I will then send you a recipe to try using the ingredients you have on hand. If we both agree it's a winner, I will share it on this blog. You can also send me a photo and a recipe that you've prepared from your supplies on hand. If it tests out, I will share it online.
Working in concert, we can make the most of life at the table while we stay at home.
PARSI SCRAMBLED EGGS
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or oil
1/4 cup minced onions of any variety
1/8 teaspoon powdered cumin
1/8 teaspoon powdered turmeric
1 - 3 finely chopped green chilis or up to 1/2 teaspoon powdered chili
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or 1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
4 large cherry tomatoes, each cut into 6 pieces
3 tablespoons fresh minced cilantro, parsley or dill (1 tablespoon if dried)
Optional: 6 cooked asparagus stalks cut into 1” lengths or left whole
Beat the eggs together with the salt in a small bowl, and allow them to stand 15 minutes while preparing the rest of the recipe. ( Food Geek Alert: Salt will denature the yolks and the cooked eggs will not ‘weep’ on the plate.)
Cut and measure the remaining ingredients, then heat the butter or oil in a non-stick skillet. Saute the onions until they soften, stir in the cumin, turmeric and chili peppers. Cook the pepper for a minute or two before adding the ginger. If all the seasonings are dried stir them briefly and add in the tomatoes When the tomatoes juices have reduced. Sprinkle on the freshly minced or dried herbs and pour the eggs into the skillet. As the eggs begin to set, circle the pan with a spatula turning the eggs in toward the center. Shake the pan and break up the curds while cooking them to the desired firmness. Turn the eggs out onto a plate and serve immediately.
Optional Vegetables: Boil or steam the asparagus in advance. Add cut pieces to the skillet just before the eggs, folding them in as they cook or pile the scrambled eggs over warm, whole cooked spears before serving. Other delicious vegetable additions include peas, chopped broccoli or cauliflower.
