By Sylvia Sabes

Recently I met Casanova. We were in the courtyard of the historic and opulent and very luxurious Plaza Athenée hotel, surrounded by beds of edible flowers, walls of lettuce, a seductive sparkling rosé wine, oysters, truffle butter, wild strawberries and very large morsels of raw meat. I was there for three-star chef Alain Ducasse and his annual farmer's market. Casanova was at Ducasse's market to seduce the public with his selection of intoxicating olive oils.

Alain Ducasse is a superstar on the international food scene. He has 21 restaurants—including the extraordinary Jules Verne at the Eiffel Tower and his showpiece, Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenée—and a total of 19 Michelin stars between them. M. Ducasse is also passionate about sustainable development, so passionate that recently he came out with a cookbook, Nature: Simple, Sain et Bon (Nature: Simple, Healthy and Good). Which explains why last year he decided to hold a public farmer's market to showcase his favorite purveyors of all things animal and vegetable. It was such a success that an encore was held this year.

Wall of lettuce.

The market was open to the public but was surprisingly sedate. Crowds of six or seven flocked to taste tartines of Thym Tamarre and Gaperon au Torchon cheeses, and a scuffle broke out between two high-heeled divas at the wine table when they ran out of glasses. Order was quickly restored when a penguin-suited waiter swooped by with tray of clean crystal. A young couple, who looked like they'd have absolutely no qualms over eating a blood sausage or some veal's brain, slurped raw oysters and seriously debated whether they could bring themselves to try tender raw asparagus. Two elegant grandmothers had an equally difficult time with the concept of eating a flower. They eventually decided that the psychological barriers were just too great.

Citrus that made the trip all the way from the South of France.

The term "market" is something of a misnomer. Nothing was for sale and, in fact, some of the suppliers do not sell to the public at all, but the tastings were free, and they were delicious. Especially the incredibly generous, heaping handfuls of fraises des bois (wild strawberries) being doled out like popcorn by M. Most, the wild-strawberry supplier for the Ducasse restaurants. All this was great for those of us who cannot afford Ducasse. And even better, a few of the purveyors have locations you can visit here in Paris. M. et Mme. Beillevaire offer their exceptional cheeses and perfectly balanced butters at nine addresses in Paris. The pure crystals of sel de Guérande, from Le Mulon de Pen Bron—which sparkled like diamond dust in the Parisian gray—can be purchased at the gourmet shop Épicerie Beau et Bon. And there's always La Tête dans les Olives, where you'll find golden olive oil and, if you are lucky, your very own Casanova.

Editor's Note: For gourmet tours of Paris, try our downloadable DIY gourmet walking tours. We have three!

For more info on where to shop for the best food in Paris, read our guides Foodie Haunts and Food Sources.

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By Sheila Campbell

The signs are posted all over Paris: a wide-angle photo of an enormous brown cow. The annual International Agriculture Salon—where France celebrates its culinary heritage—closes this Sunday, March 7.

Here’s what you need to know if you spend the day at the Ag Salon: Go hungry. Everywhere you turn, someone’s offering a taste of artisanal cheese, creamy yogurt, new flavors of ice cream, foie gras, honey, olive oil, sausage, bread, wine, beer—just about anything made in France.

Two of the five enormous pavilions at Porte de Versailles are devoted to eating. At the Régions de France pavilion, you can feast on oysters from Brittany, aligot (mashed potatoes with tomme cheese) from the Auvergne, foie gras from Périgord and snails and beef from Burgundy. There are also temporary restaurants, each featuring the specialties of an agricultural area. Before you know it, your shopping bag is heavy with treats to take home.

The Régions de France pavilion also includes Madagascar, Martinique, Guadeloupe and the other overseas areas considered part of France. Spices from Africa and the Caribbean scent the stalls, and Calypso music plays under the crowd noise. Another entire pavilion is devoted to foods from other countries: Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and many more. Overall, there are 38 restaurants to choose from, plus hundreds of booths selling artisanal products to eat, wear, supply your kitchen or delight your dog back home.

Enticing as all the eating is, for me the highlight of the salon was Pavilion 1, where all day long you can watch competitions for the most perfect specimens of different cow breeds. You might have to step aside as a handler walks his bull through the aisles. The deep clang of cowbells echoes through the hall. We wandered through row after row of stalls to pet the cows, sheep and rabbits. (No touching allowed for the new litters of piglets suckling their moms, and signs warn you that the donkeys bite.)

Outside, between the pavilions, my friend Donna Morris of Best Friend in Paris climbed into a huge green tractor and took it for a spin.

At the end of the day, we left well-fed and smiling, with just the lightest whiff of manure on our boots.

INFO

Hours: 9 a.m.–7 p.m. (Friday, March 5, until 11 p.m.)

Admission: 12 euros.

Metro: Porte de Versailles.

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By Sylvia Sabes

Artisanal goat cheeses marinate in an herb blend.

In France, this is not a photo op, but a very serious subject. And a confusing one. Even for the locals, which is why you'll find an entire section of cheese guides in Paris bookshops. When we first moved here, I was so curious and confused that I purchased the Guide des Fromages and spent the following year bonding with my local affineur (cheesemonger), Marie Quatrehomme. I was very fortunate to have Marie as a neighbor; she was the first woman in France to be named Meilleur Ouvrier de France, supplies many of the city's three-star restaurants, is passionate about her product and could not be friendlier. I later realized that she was also a major contributor to my guide.

The first thing I learned is that many cheeses are seasonal. Goat cheese, for example, is not a winter cheese. And I discovered the amazing vacherin, an exceptionally delicious, soft, oozing cheese that is preserved in spruce and eaten from the mold with a spoon, but made exclusively from August 15 to March 31.

Most of us know that cheeses are divided into three families: goat, cow and sheep's milk, but they are also divided by their texture and their rind. There are fresh cheeses that have not been aged at all, like feta and mascarpone; soft cheeses with a mold rind, like Brie and Camembert; soft cheeses with a washed rind, like Muenster and my beloved vacherin; firm cheeses that have been “cooked,” like Gruyère and Emmental; and those that have not, like Reblochon and the tommes; blue cheeses; and, finally, goat cheeses.

There are two cheese questions that plague visitors to France:

How do I slice the cheese? The idea is to keep an equal ratio of rind for all the guests, so if the cheese is round, you cut it like a pie. If it is a rectangle, try to cut evenly from the tip to the rind.

Do I eat the rind? The answer is vague and really depends on personal preference. If you like it, eat it; if not, leave it on your plate.

Which brings us to the cheese course itself. Occasionally, cheese is served with the hors d'oeuvres, two soirée favorites being Mimolette and Tête de Moine. There a few dishes, like fondue and raclette, that depend upon cheese, but in general it is part of the dessert course, coming just after the main dish, but before the sweets and often accompanied by a very simple salad. The cheese course may be limited to one exceptional cheese, like the mouthwatering Brie with truffles or the inspired blue with quince paste that I find at the Laurent Dubois shop. For a more elaborate offering, include no more than six cheeses and strike a balance between soft and firm cheeses, and strong and mild flavors, while keeping in mind the shapes and colors of each cheese as well. Confused? So are most of the French, which is why they head to specialty shops for expert guidance. Some “cheat” with great success by offering a platter of chevres, blues and English or Italian cheeses.

My ideal cheese plate includes a white, fluffy triangle of Brie; a firm, golden block of Ossau Iraty; an orange-blush round of Reblochon; a pungent, creamy Roquefort; a mellow St. Marcellin and a solid pyramid of the tangy Pouligny. I like mine served with a crisp Pouilly-Fuissé, but pairings are a guide apart.

INFO

Laurent Dubois
2, rue de Lourmel, in the 15th Arrondissement.

Marie Quatrehomme
62, rue de Sèvres, in the 7th.

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