We met at school this morning at 4:30 am to take a bus to the Rungis market, just outside of Paris. Yes, that means I got up at 3:00 am, slapped on some make-up so as to not frighten any children, and headed to school.
The Rungis International Market, with a surface of 600 acres, is the second largest fresh market in the world (apparently Mexico City has one slightly larger, but this is the biggest market not open to the public). Five sectors are represented in the market: seafood and freshwater products, meat products, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and gastronomy, and finally horticulture and decoration. Back in the day, this was Les Halles, the market where all chefs go to get their products for the day/week. It grew so large that they had to transfer it just outside of Paris. This market now receives 25,000 trucks A DAY from all over the world. The market employs so many people that it houses its own kindergarten and hospital. It exchanges roughly 12 BILLION euros a year.
Before entering, you have to don a white lab coat and a white hair net. It sort of feels like what I can imagine it felt like entering Chernobyl after the radioactive disaster. When you first walk into the meat department, you are hit with a waft of Arctic air and the sight of thousands of carcasses hanging from meat hooks. It is quite a sight. We moved onto some less Texas Chainsaw Massacre-scene buildings that house dairy, cheese, vegetables, fruit, and fresh cut flowers (fish is closed on Mondays).
Despite the exhaustion from having to get up so early to see this spectacle, the energy from this establishment was infectious! It was so exciting to see where the food is derived to bring us some of the best creations from the best chefs and restaurants in the world. From wagyu beef (chained up in temperature-controlled lockers) to piles of cheeses being aged to perfection, it made me appreciate every dear morsel I have consumed in France.
One of the students asked our guide why the biggest market in the world is just outside of Paris. “Easy,” he said. “The French care about food more than any other country. The citizens still shop at markets, not grocery stores, every week.”
Alas, it is true. You can have a Carrefour or a Monoprix right across the street from a boulangerie, patisserie, fish market, or butcher, and the French will stand in line for the real deal, and not the watered-down supermarket convenient food at a cheaper price. The quality is better, the farmers, artisans and craftspeople can stay in business, and the food is better for us.
This is a country after my heart. Vive la France.
