Shopping for food

I have a degree in pastry arts, am a self-proclaimed food-snob, and struggling locavore; so I had some pretty high expectations for food in Paris. The cafés and restaurants have been hit or miss, depending on how much I want to spend. But the markets are above and beyond what I’d hoped for. I shop at the Farmer’s Market in Boulder so was expecting something like that. The French market I went to was completely different. There was a huge variety of produce, as well as butchers, chartruceries, fish mongers, and stalls selling clothing. It was so wonderful to see a traditional market. In Boulder, there is a pretty limited selection and most stalls are selling the same thing. The market in my neighborhood was huge, busy, and every stall felt different. What I found a little hard to adjust to was that you don’t handle the produce. You line up at the stall, tell the vendor what you want and how much of it and they get it for you. They also hand you the produce, then ask for money. It was a little difficult because I have a really hard time thinking in terms of metric units but I liked it. It seems like the vendor is more important that way, and there aren’t a whole bunch of people handling the food. It’s just you, the vendor, and the farmer. The way that you pay was interesting because it allows trust to be built. In the states, vendors hold on to your stuff until you pay, just in case you might try to take off without paying, I suppose. But here there is a level of trust that you can get your things, then pay. The other major cultural difference I saw was all of the carts that French market-goers had. It was amazing to see that everyone seemed to have a basic item that doesn’t exist in the states. That first market, I was so envious of these carts that I went out and bought one. It’s so practical. When shopping in the US you either have an awkward plastic basket that makes it difficult to shop with, or a huge cart that blocks other people’s ways. And at farmer’s markets you end up carrying a whole bunch of bags that are cumbersome. But these carts are small enough to not get in everyone’s way while big enough to do serious shopping. I adore mine, and feel very French with it, though I get some funny looks from people.