For many years I’ve disliked Montmartre in Paris: crowds around Sacre Coeur, artists chasing you down to do your portrait in Place du Tertre, hawkers peddling Eiffel tower keychains, and streets filled with flashy souvenir shops. On my 25th trip to Paris my mind actually changed, thanks to the tour I took with Culinary Tours Of Paris.
The Montmartre culinary tour I took with John-Paul Fortney, the owner and tour guide, exposed me to the “other” side of Montmartre. This was a rather unique walking tour because it combined history, sites and food and it was done in the best way possible. Over the course of 3 ½ hours, I was entertained with stories, wine and food….visiting a different restaurant for each course of the meal and exploring Montmartre in between.
Montmartre Culinary Tour
I met John-Paul at the exit to the Abbesses Metro station and as we walked to the first restaurant, John-Paul and I started talking about food, partly because we passed by Le Grenier à Pain Abbesses, which recently won first prize in the 2015 Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Francaise de la Ville de Paris (Best baguette in Paris for 2015). John-Paul gave me insight into the whole baguette competition and industry.
Montmartre has a very large concentration of boulangeries who have won the Best Baguette award in the past. Why? John-Paul believes it is because of the “confrérie” or “brotherhood” that exists in the area: the bakers get together often and talk about what works and doesn’t work in their practice and expectations are set very high.
A really good baguette will have irregular holes. You want random “bubbles” as this will indicate that it has risen enough. The interior texture should be chewy and the exterior should have uneven colouring.
Chez Julien
The first restaurant we visited was “Chez Julien”(2 rue Lepic) where we had a charcuterie and cheese plate with red wine. What’s interesting about this place is that they have a provider from the Auvergne region who makes deliveries to them weekly.
- Cheeses: Cantal, St. Nectaire, Bleu d’Auvergne
- Charcuterie: Saucisse sèche d’Auvergne, Jambon d’Auvergne, Rillette de Porc
- Wine: Côtes de Thongue from Chemins de Bassac (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir)
As we walked along Rue Lepic, the street became much quieter and the architecture of the buildings became more interesting. Fewer stores and flashy signs. We also came upon the apartment where Van Gogh lived (15 Rue Lepic) and the Bateau-Lavoir building (13 rue Ravignan) where famous (poor) artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Cocteau lived back in the late 1800s to 1914. From what I learned, Montmartre was loved by artists because everything was cheap—accommodations, booze and taxes!
Jeanne B
At this restaurant, the inside was modern but they served classic French dishes. John-Paul feels you can’t go wrong at “Jeanne B” (61 Rue Lepic) and I agree. He had the Mitonnée de poissons comme une bouillabaisse (fish with mashed potatoes covered in a bouillabaisse sauce) and I had the Poitrine de cochon a la moutarde violette (Pork breast rubbed in mustard) with gratin dauphinois (potatoes and crème fraiche).
- Wines: Faugères from Château La Liquière “Cistus” (White: Roussane, Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, and Bourboulenc)
While walking eastward along rue des Trois Frères John-Paul shared with me his impressions of Montmartre and the restaurant scene. He felt the quality of restaurants has improved greatly in the 8 years he has lived in the area and added that restaurants are more careful with patrons who have food allergies.
If there was one impression about French restaurants I had after this tour it is that you do not need to go to Michelin-starred, expensive restaurants to have a high-quality meal. There are many who make excellent dishes with exceptional ingredients at a reasonable, if not low, price. Interestingly, John-Paul suggested that if you see carefully selected wines on a menu, it is a good indication that the food will be good.
Our trek to the third restaurant took us by some windmills. Yes, windmills in Paris. John-Paul explained that Montmartre had a large gypsum deposit. Windmills were used in the 1600s and 1700s to grind gypsum into what is known as “plaster of Paris” and to grind wheat. The popular Moulin Rouge, which is a Paris icon today, was constructed to pay homage to the windmills which were being torn down in the late 1800s.
At one time there were 13 windmills in Montmartre and today there are only two. The Moulin de la Galette is actually comprised of the two windmills which ground flour and pressed grapes:
- Moulin de Blute-fin was renamed Moulin de la Galette and is now a private residence
- Moulin Radet sits atop of the restaurant, Le Moulin de la Galette. Renoir was inspired to paint the “Bal du Moulin de la Galette” that now resides in the Musée d’Orsay
Creperie Brocéliande
While Paris has numerous crêperies, the “Crêperie Brocéliande” (15 rue des Trois Frères) is on a totally different level. On Tripadvisor, it is #2 on the list of dessert places in Paris and did not disappoint. I got my fix of apples indulging in the “La Calvados” crêpe, which was a crepe filled with fried apples, Calvados apple sorbet and flambé. I paired this with “Chouchen”, an apple apératif from Brittany. It is made from the fermentation of honey in water.
Culinary Tours of Paris with John-Paul is truly unique in that it is more than just going to a restaurant. It is a walking tour that provides you with three restaurant experiences, great food, and an opportunity to learn some fascinating things about a popular area in Paris.
A big thank you to John-Paul and Culinary Tours Of Paris for providing this unique experience. As always, all opinions are my own.
28 Comments
Michael
February 6, 2016 at 11:16 amI’ve been looking at various culinary tour options for my upcoming trip to Paris, so this is a timely post and good insight into one tour group. Merci!
Jan
February 6, 2016 at 12:06 pmYou’re welcome. Glad it helped.
Pam
February 6, 2016 at 8:40 pmI enjoyed reading about your tour to Montmarte. I think it’s great you were able to see where some of my favorite artists lived.
It’s nice when you can find some interesting history with such an informative tour guide.
Jan
February 6, 2016 at 8:41 pmJohn-Paul was great.
jo
February 8, 2016 at 7:37 amThis looks like a fabulous tour. I loved Montmartre and we did a really interesting walking tour.
Jan
February 8, 2016 at 7:44 amMontmartre is certainly an area I would return to more often.
noel
February 8, 2016 at 1:00 pmOMG, now that is a wonderful food tour and I also love walking around the back streets of Montmartre. I have stopped for crepes at Crêperie Brocéliande, I’ll have to visit the other two spots when I go back to Paris again in the future.
Jan
February 8, 2016 at 1:09 pmThat dessert crepe was SO good, I would return in a heartbeat
Karen Warren
February 8, 2016 at 10:16 pmFabulous! I love Montmartre and I always like going on culinary tours, so this would be a winning combination for me.
Jan
February 9, 2016 at 6:59 amThat’s why I really liked it. It was more than just a walking tour and it was more than just eating at restaurants.
Julie
February 9, 2016 at 7:15 amI’m a big fan of food tours, and it can totally turn around my view of a place. I think it’s the combo of a great guide and copious amounts of food. But I also have mixed feelings about Montmartre so I would probably love this tour as well. Thanks for the tip!
Jan
February 9, 2016 at 7:23 amI think many people feel the same way about Montmartre. I’m glad I was exposed to a different side.
Anne Woodyard (@MusicandMarkets)
February 9, 2016 at 7:36 amOh you certainly visited some lesser-known Montmarte gems! What a lovely way to discover hidden parts of a very touristed area – I’m thinking of other places we’ve been that haven’t been favorites, but would become more interesting with such a tour.
Jan
February 9, 2016 at 2:02 pmReally good point. I should relook at places I haven’t been fond of.
Billie Frank
February 9, 2016 at 9:40 amLoved walking and eating my way through Montmartre vicariously with you. The tour hit my favorite things- history, architecture and good food. John-Paul and Culinary Tours of Paris sound great/ Sign me up!
Jan
February 9, 2016 at 2:03 pmAnd he’s a really nice guy.
Nathalie
February 9, 2016 at 10:58 pmMakes me miss Paris! We loved spending time in Montmartre and this tour sounds like a fun time.
Jan
February 10, 2016 at 8:48 amThis tour was one of the highlights of my trip because it was so unique.
Sue Reddel
February 10, 2016 at 10:24 pmWay too many fun food things to do in Paris and this sounds like one worth adding to the list. Thanks for the great information and I learned where the term “plaster of Paris” came from – that was news to me! Thanks Jan. 🙂
Jan
February 10, 2016 at 10:35 pmRemember I told you that I’m not a foodie, yet I tend to write a lot about food in France? Guess I’m in denial! Love learning new things. It never occurred to me where “plaster of Paris” came from!
Cathy Sweeney
February 11, 2016 at 8:47 pmI loved walking around Montmartre pass the wonderful boulangeries and restaurants, but didn’t get a chance to actually stop in any of them. Quel dommage! I would definitely be interested in this culinary tour next time.
Jan
February 11, 2016 at 11:50 pmYou’d definitely have fun.
Lyn (aka) The Travelling Lindfields
February 12, 2016 at 3:22 pmIs it something about the time of year? Culinary tours seem to be really popular right now. Give it six months and we’ll all be doing ‘lose weight’ tours – lol. It does look tempting though, especially the crepes.
Jan
February 12, 2016 at 7:13 pmSo true…and funny!
Rossana
February 15, 2016 at 12:50 pmOh, I love Montmarte … did a walking tour when I was there in November. This would have been a perfect addition too! Next time! 🙂
Jan
February 15, 2016 at 12:58 pmIt was good hearing that more and more restaurants are catering to different dieting needs, too.
Irene S. Levine
February 15, 2016 at 8:47 pmThis looks like a wonderful tour. Your food photos are mouth-watering. I just bought a baguette today in Manhattan and I think it passes your test!
Jan
February 15, 2016 at 8:49 pmI never get tired of eating baguettes! Enjoy!