Fine gastronomy and haute couture: Paris 2023.

Food is art. High fashion too. 3 must-see museum exhibits in Paris. 

First the very interesting one at the "Consiergerie" museum which talks about the art of the table from the Middle Ages to today. In this exhibition you will also understand the evolution of the general markets of the city of Paris, from the middle ages to today, from the Halles to Rungis.

Then in the fashion district, those dedicated to two giants of French high fashion: Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.

Consiergerie:  Paris from the Middle Ages to today, the capital of gastronomy.

An exhibition in the Consiergerie building that takes us by the hand through 7 centuries of history.

From January 6th 1378 until today.

From the banquet of Charles the Fifth in 1387 in the royal palace located on the island of the Cité to the lunch offered to Elisabeth the Second in Paris in 1957: many royals and many presidents have been welcomed by French gastronomy.

An excellence is for sure in France: Rungis. The biggest food market in the world. 

The general food market of Rungis founded in 1969, replaces the Halles of Paris historical evolution of the general market of the city from the Middle Ages to the 70s.

Rungis is a "must visit" on your gastronomy journey. Every food professional must have seen it.

But if you don't want to wake up at midnight to go to the market of Rungis and visit the pavilions of meat, fish, cheese, ... then go to Le Bon Marché. 24, Rue de Sevres. Paris.

Here you can find a small but excellent assortment of Rungis. In Paris this is one of the good addresses. Fresh products: fish and shellfish from the fish shop (look at the deep black eye of the gigantic royal sea bream) and aged meats from the butcher shop are the pride of this warehouse.

The fish at Bon Marché is fabulous . And here also the meat is great.

Concerning the Halles please watch the film showing the construction of the Halles in the late 19th century and a rare moment on the market during 1954. (Some tracks taken from the movie in the Consiergerie)

Henri Gault's restaurant guide was born in Paris, but also the home of Petrossian caviar.

And above all the Michelin Guide, already offered in 1900 to professional drivers to help them find food and drink on the road, but also petrol stations, hotels and above all where to repair their Michelin tires (galactic cleverness) ...

Today it is the Michelin guide that decides who are the protagonists of high fashion food by fueling a comparison, almost a parallel path, between these two forms of art: fashion and food.

Just as the Michelin-starred chef personally makes the final touches to the gastronomic architecture of his dish before the defilée in the dining room, so the couturier retouches the dress on the mannequin before the walk on stage.

Today it is the Michelin guide that decides who are the protagonists of high fashion food by fueling a comparison, almost a parallel path, between these two forms of art: fashion and food.

In Paris, the George V hotel can boast three starred restaurants inside, with its Le Cinq with three Michelin stars. Unique case in the world, Paris also boasts a total of 10 three-star restaurants. Chefs Alain Ducasse, Guy Savoy or Alain Passard (3 stars since 1996) have the same notoriety as the great fashion designers.

Food is art. High fashion too.

Christian Dior:

"Couturiers embody one of the last refuges of the wonderful. Somehow they are masters of dreams."

Born in Normandy in the early 20th century, he was influenced by his mother's love of gardening. His father was a rich industrialist in the nitrogen fertilizer sector, after a brilliant intuition becoming one of the first guano importers in France, he was ruined by the collapse of Wall Street in 1929. The young Christian did not give up and thanks to a loan from his father in 1928 opens a gallery in Paris where, among others, he becomes a friend of Picasso. Fascinated by art but also by architecture, he begins to love fashion as an architectural project that, starting from his body, dresses him without hiding it. In 1937 his passion turned into a job with Robert Piguet, then after serving during the war until 1942, he approached the Lucien Lelong fashion house. In 1946 he founded Christian Dior SE. The rest is history.

Through the journey into the magical floral world of Dior from the early years.

A Dior that fascinates the world of stars.

He invents perfumes, accessories, ... she Invents a world of dreams and fantasy in which the woman is happy, but she is also reassured and made aware of her role and her charm.

He attracts the most promising designers of the time: Yves Saint Laurent works with him in the late 50s. And he replaces him at the helm of Dior upon his death.

In the years from 1947 to 1957 he revolutionized high fashion not only in France but in the world, inspiring generations of designers in the years following his death.

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Yves Saint Laurent

Already as a child he dreams of his first fashion collections.

He asserts himself as best young stylist in Paris in 1955.

In the same year 1955, he met Dior who called him to help him and work for him because he as "almost the same style".

Dior left side, Saint Laurent right side in the photo. 

On the death of Christian Dior (Montecatini 1957) he became the artistic director of the French house until 1961 when he created his own fashion house.

According to Life YSL he is the best stylist in France after Coco Chanel.

Eclectic like Dior, here he is launching himself into the world of perfumes. Perhaps the best known is Opium from 1977. And here is the genius: in 1966 he created the YSL pret-á-porter. In this creative period there are many iconic creations that have remained in the history of fashion (Mondrian dress, the tuxedo,...). YSL died in 2008 at the age of 71.

Yves Saint Laurent "pret a porter" in the 60s to make haute couture affordable for every woman.

Today thanks to the burger we have made high quality meat affordable for everyone.

Is the burger the "pret a porter" of the high quality meat industry? Not all burgers can boast such a comparison.

Fast food ones often don't. But more and more we meet delicious burgers, made with fine breeds, with an impeccable taste, with their own history and personality, accessible to every budget.

I like to think that even Christian and Yves would have found some of them excellent.

Fine, but after all these tours and exhibitions where do you go to dinner in Paris?

An easy answer: The Beef Bar.

The Beef Bar. 5, Rue Marbeuf. Paris

La Fermette Marbeuf was founded at the end of the 19th century on the occasion of the 1900 Paris World Exhibition and immediately became one of the most successful gourmet restaurants in the capital. The hall with the Art Nouveau "winter garden", created by the architect Émile Hurtré, has been a national monument since 1983. In 2018 thanks above all to the intuition of Riccardo Giraudi, and to the restoration of the architects Humbert & Poyet, it was reborn to new life as the "Beef Bar" in Paris.

Ambiance, meats and exceptional service make this restaurant an important meeting point not only for the high fashion district, but also for the meat lovers looking for a great ambiance.

We enjoyed the Angus entrecote heart and the Wagyu picanha.

Great meat: grilled perfectly and served with love. Accompanied by truffled asparagus. A delight.

Followed by a delicious homemade ice cream (to share), with its "toppings".

A great evening. Don’t miss it if you are in Paris.

So which city is the fashion capital of the world? The "Big four".

According to the Global Fashion & Luxury Industry Cities IPX (Index) which compares different parameters including prestige, performance, influences of brands, media and agencies operating in four cities in 2021 for example New York is the world capital of fashion and luxury (index value 129.42), followed by Paris (127.87), Milan (100.91) and London (82.80). 

We can surely say that in design, food and fashion, Americans do everything big. Really big. But we, in old Europe, do it better. Much better.

If New York is the all-round capital (this ranking also includes Nike!), Paris thanks to its history and his great stylists is the world capital of the high fashion.

The oldest fashion city is also certainly Paris, which has taken the scepter starting from Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, devotees of fashion.

In the 20th century, we have seen that the role of the French city became even more predominant thanks to names like Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Pierre Cardin, Guy Laroche, Emanule Ungaro (son of an Apulian tailor),... and many other couturiers.

Well yes, even in Italy we don't joke with high fashion stylists.

Milan has the third position between "The Big Four". Italian stylists are equally well known as Chanel, Dior and YSL. Think about Roberto Cavalli, Gianni Versace, Giorgio Armani, Valentino Garavani, Miuccia Prada, Giulio Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Gianfranco Ferré,... and many others. For exemple Ferré was asked to became one of the major stylist for Dior, just as Yves Saint Laurent did before him.

We can say that Milan is the Italian capital of food and fashion. In fact, during the Tutto Food trade fair, which will take place this year in May from 8th to 11th, Milan becomes the world's meeting point for gourmets, chefs, fine food professionals and entrepreneurs for 4 days.

See you there? I hope so.

DJ at the Beef Bar Paris .

Anyway being inspired by excellence in other fields of human art is very important.

Understand what made great fashion designers become who they were and how they placed their work and actions at the service of the public, whether they were expressly rich or prominent through high fashion or ordinary people with "pret á porter" is enlightening and enriching. 

By exploring others, one understands one's own better.

I hope this report was interesting for all of you. Thanks for your attention.