Marché des Enfants Rouges - Paris, France

I had read from various places that this was one of the markets not to miss when visiting Paris. It’s the oldest covered market and with all the good press I was excited. When I first walked in around 10am on a Saturday the market was bare. The fruit, vegetables and fish stalls were impressive and the smells were lovely, but it wasn’t the bustling, energetic foodie’s dream I had envisaged.

Luckily we returned later around 2.30pm when we were blown away by the transformation. I couldn’t believe it. Dotted around the previously quiet produce stalls was a rotisserie, a very authentic looking Moroccan stand (selling the most incredible looking tagines). A place for gourmet looking burgers, and my favourite of all, a galette stand run by the highly entertaining and very French Alain Miam Miam. I know it sounds stupid but I couldn't have told you the difference between a galette and crepe until Mr Miam Miam told me that they were the same thing, just galettes are made from buckwheat flour.

I only ate at Mr Miam Miam’s stand while there because I was intrigued by the amount of people queuing. I wanted one of what they were having. My galette was filled with oozy cheese, some ham and my husband's addition of caramelised onions. It was tasty, huge and reasonable at €6.50.  I think however that Mr Miam Miam’s line of queues and therefore success comes from his showman manner and the fact he is heavily generous with his fillings (but my god is he slow in his delivery). As I watched him make each one I couldn’t help but wonder how he made any kind of profit. He stuck so many things in each one as though he was trying to fit a suitcase in an overnight bag.

I can now see why people recommend this market and when I head back to Paris I’ll be going there again. This time for one of those brilliantly authentic looking Tagines I think. But I'll have to remember to go early to avoid the horrendous lines, and to pop into the wonderfully smelly cheese shop that lives right next door.

My husband's perspective:

Marché des Enfants Rouges

9/10

9 Rue de Bretagne

75003 Paris, France

Tel: +33 1 48 87 80 61

www.les-enfants-rouges.com

https://www.facebook.com/ChezAlainMiamMiam