Paris Markets - an Inspiration for Home Cooking

Parisian Home Cooking
By Michael Roberts
Photographs by Pierre-Gilles Vidoli, 328 Pages. William Morrow, NY 1981

If ever two books were meant to be read in tandem, it would have to be Markets of Paris by Dixon and Ruthanne Long and Parisian Home Cooking: Conversations, Recipes, and Tips from the Cooks and Food Merchants of Paris by Michael Roberts, Published by William Morrow and Co. NY, 1981, Photos by Pierre-Gilles Vidoli.

Markets of Paris will be your guidebook that you take when you wander through markets and Parisian Home Cooking will be the book you’ll want to read back home curled up by the fire. You might even be inspired to try some of these recipes, but I have to be honest – although I’ve had this recipe book for a few years, I haven’t tried out a single recipe in the book. Which is not by any means a criticism. Many fascinating cookbooks do not inspire one to go out and actually cook. Especially when it’s so much fun looking at the photographs of Paris markets which are brought to life by Vidoli’s focus on the faces and character of the Paris market vendors and shoppers. Food is only a small part of the market experience. He has a way a capturing fleeting moments, a surprise kiss -‘Fraternité’- at the Rue Daguerre market, a beaming former ballerina at Marché Jeanne d’Arc who looks as proud of her fruit display as if she had just returned for a second encore call.

If ever two books begged for a photographs switch (Parisian Cooking’s photos are black and white and Markets of Paris are color photos) this would have been the ideal switch. I’m a big fan of photographer Alison Harris whose color photos in Market’s surprised me (I’m used to her black and white photos such as those that accompanied David Downie’s Paris, Paris, Journey into the City of Light). I think her color photos in Markets of Paris would have better served Parisian Home Cooking, and vice versa, Vidoli’s photos were meant for Markets of Paris.

Color is such an important factor in cooking. That applies also to cook books. The blue-gray background color and sidebars for Parisian Home Cooking is unappetizing to say the least. Add to that cheap paper stock – and black and white photos – and no matter how interesting the text or how excellent the photography– I’m not inspired to cook. If Alison Harris’s color photos of the recipes had been included, I would have definitely tried some of these dishes that range from a basic vinaigrette to the traditional blanquette de veau (two of the pillars of French home cooking).

The advice of author and cook Michael Roberts who moved to Paris in 1975 and received his certificate of professional aptitude from the prestigious Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Jean-Ferrandi confirms what I have gleaned in the past several years. “Buy whatever looks best in the market, whatever is the most fresh, and prepare your food simply.” If color photos hadn’t been possible, I would have preferred none for the recipes. Likewise Markets of Paris could have done just as well with black and white photos, with a little more emphasis on the people that make Parisian markets come to life. I was surprised that Alison Harris did not include more shots of the vendors.

If you look at these books side by side, you will discover how well they complement one another. Markets of Paris will get you pointed in the right direction and Parisian Home Cooking will be a welcome book upon your return. These are two books I would definitely recommend for anyone who wants to understand the essence of Paris day-to-day life, not to mention learning how to make a good vinaigrette (which is still on my to-do list for next month).