Lise Kvan and Sarah Mouchot at Holybelly (Holybelly & Kim Laidlaw)
As we know well, the promise of gastronomic delights is enough to inspire travelers to explore the world, seeking out hard-fought reservations and off-the-beaten-path restaurants in the name of really good food.
Adeline Grattard of Yam’tcha (Didier Gauducheau)
It’s easy to forget that behind these curated culinary experiences there is a team of dedicated professionals committed to using their talents and passions to improve and diversify the general landscape of food and dining. Certain events, TV shows, publications, and guidebooks spotlight some of these talented and resolute food professionals.
La Buvette
While these “foodie guides” are becoming more and more ubiquitous, they are unfortunately not always comprehensive as they far too often exclude women from their lineup.
Yam’tcha (Didier Gauducheau)
There are some inclusive food publications and events — in 2013, the French food guide Le Fooding hosted an event entitleded Le Clan des Madones which featured over a dozen female chefs in some of Paris’ most exciting and adored eating establishments, including Adeline Grattard of Yam’tcha and Camille Fourmont of La Buvette.
Le Bal Café (Carin Olsson)
More recently the 2014 incarnation of Omnivore Paris invited Alice Quillet and Anna Trattles of Paris’ Le Bal Café to take the stage. These inspiring and innovative women are part of a community of female food professionals that are changing the gastronomic experience in Paris, setting up shop in small spaces and unexpected ways and changing the eating experience for food lovers across the capital.
What follows is the first part in a two-part series on some of the innovative women currently shaping the Paris food scene. They are behind some of the best food and drink decisions you will make in the city and are playing a major role in shaping what has yet to come.
La Buvette
In this first installment, we focus on the women we rarely see because they are so often slaving away in the kitchen to make the food we’ve come to associate with some of our favorite Paris restaurants and cafés.
La Buvette
As half of the critically acclaimed duo Emperor Norton, Alannah McPerson Tavallai came to cooking as a way to soothe homesickness after her move abroad. It all began when she and her husband Omid started a blog where they shared recipes for all the comfort foods that they missed. Posts on tamales, donuts, and cake soon found favor among expats and Alannah remembers that “the people who were the most interested turned out to be the ones living here in Paris…they kept asking us to share.”
The rest is history in the making — from dinners in their tiny Parisian apartment to pop-up brunches, and now a full-blown bespoke catering and baking
venture. Alannah is a conspicuous co-conspirator in a culinary revolution which embraces creativity with kitchen space (Emperor Norton have arguably the most industrious approach to securing oven and counter space) and eschews a traditional approach to the baking business.
Kristen Beddard
Alannah cites many “unsung pioneers” as inspirations among women in the Paris food scene, including Kristen Frederick (Le Camion Qui Fume), “who made the impossibility of food trucks possible”, Lise Kvan and Sarah Mouchot (Holybelly), Forest Collins (52 Martinis) and Kristen Beddard (The Kale Project), saying that “these women did not accept the ‘c’est pas possible!’ answer and we’re all benefitting.”
Top image: La Buvette & Bottom image: Le Bal Café (Carin Olsson)
It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love Holybelly, because people don’t just like this cozy spot in the 10th arrondissement, they really do love it. This is largely thanks to chefs Sarah Mouchot and Lise Kvan, who work tirelessly away in their open kitchen, situated next to a giant blackboard enumerating ingredients that are currently in season.
Lise Kvan and Sarah Mouchot at Holybelly (Holybelly & Kim Laidlaw)
The blackboard isn’t just decoration, both Sarah and Lise come from a culinary background where good food made from fresh ingredients is essential. Sarah explains, “I came from the north of France, a small country town where you ate what you could grow, and my dad was really good at feeding us with what was in season.” Similarly, Lise has a passion for food which includes “an awareness towards sustainability and locality” and also extends to “a medium for creativity and expression [and] an instantaneous opportunity for cross-cultural dialogue.”
Team Holybelly is ahead of a long awaited curve that involves intention and authenticity in la cuisine. “I think transparency is going to become a big thing in the food scene in Paris” Sarah explains, “I think a lot of restauranteurs got lazy and highjacked the bistro culture, taking advantage of the French food reputation abroad, but I’m convinced it’s over now.” Lise agrees, predicting that this new attitude towards food will involve a “reevaluation and reinvention of [the French] agricultural and culinary prowess and a rejection of prepackaged, nutritionally diluted, frozen food.”
Yam’tcha (Didier Gauducheau)
Amidst debate about how and whether or not French restaurants should label the origins or qualify the preparation of their food, the fact that this argument is even necessary makes the culinary scene seem bleak. But, Lise asserts, “France is reclaiming its title of gastronomic adeptness.” After talking with these passionate and talented women one thing is sure, France’s reputation for gastronomic adeptness is in very good hands.
La Buvette
Related links:
- The Huffington post lists the best restaurant openings in 2013
- Holybelly does not only serve up delicious food, they also make fantastic coffee, as Kim Laidlaw discovered
Written by Emily Dilling Poulain for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, London, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.
WRITTEN BY
Emily Dilling
Emily Dilling is a France based writer and author of My Paris Market Cookbook: A Culinary Tour of French Flavors and Seasonal Recipes. In 2005 Emily moved to Paris from her native California and began exploring the cities markets, restaurants, and cafés. In 2010 she founded the blog Paris Paysanne, where she writes about her favorite addresses and artisans in the city. Emily currently lives in the Loir-et-Cher region of France, where she writes and works in the grapevines.
LOVE this!
Great post, Emily! And, must say I’m flattered to be mentioned in the company of such awesome ladies.