Top chef Guillaume Brahimi’s secrets to finding great food in France

Here’s a tip for travelling in France: don’t do as the French do. According to Guillaume Brahimi, acclaimed Sydney-based chef and television presenter, you won’t be seeing the best of the country.

Sydney-based chef and television presenter Guillaume Brahimi.

“I don’t think French people travel that much,” Brahimi muses. “They will go to the snow, and they go to the sea. We take the beach for granted in Australia, but if you live in Paris, you can’t go to the beach on the weekend, it’s a holiday thing. So French people have a routine, they always go to the same place, if their parents have been going then their kids will go, their grandkids will go. They stick to their habits.”

Brahimi, born and raised in France, has recently returned from a part of the country he says most French people never see: the Atlantic coast. The presenter of SBS shows such as Guillaume’s Paris and Plat du Tour has a new show, Guillaume’s French Atlantic, a guide to the likes of Brittany, Normandy and the Pays Basque.

Brahimi, as you would expect, is an expert on French cuisine – not just cooking it, but touring the country and eating it. And he says if there’s one dining habit foreign visitors should adopt from the French, it’s embracing seasonality.

“When some people go to the markets in France they say, ‘Oh my god, they all have the same thing’ – well yeah, they buy the seasonal produce,” he says. “For example, when you start to see the first green and white asparagus, guess what, they’re at every market. Because in a few weeks there won’t be any more. The French really follow the season.”

There’s a good reason why many vegetable markets sell the same types of produce at the same time.

Good food in France also doesn’t have to be expensive. Brahimi says sticking to seasonal cuisine will help keep the budget under control, as will eating at local favourite haunts, particularly at lunchtime.

“Every restaurant in big cities will have a ‘formula’ for lunch,” he says, “a set menu: entree, main course, dessert. Not too much choice but very affordable because the restaurateur will go to the market and buy whatever is available, the food of the season. That is the way to eat.”

Travellers should also be aware of the hyper-locality of some produce in France, both for affordability, but also quality, and even cultural appeal.

“In Brittany during the scallop season you’ll find scallops everywhere, and you don’t need to be a Rockefeller to buy them,” Brahimi explains. “Same for the mussels, same for the fish, the oysters. You go to Arcachon, the oysters are cheap as chips because there’s an abundance of them. And they’re part of life there.

“There’s nothing wrong with a dozen oysters and a bottle of white wine on a Tuesday evening.”

“My parents live in Arcachon – I ring my mum at 5pm on a Tuesday, she’ll be with my dad with a glass of white wine and a dozen oysters. That’s a way of life. And let me tell you there’s nothing wrong with a dozen oysters and a bottle of white wine on a Tuesday evening.”

If, however, you do want to splash out on a fancy meal in France, there will always be options. And Brahimi advises checking in with the Michelin guide to make your decision.

“The Michelin guide is still the bible,” he says. “Going to a Michelin-star restaurant, you must do the experience once. I’m talking about one-, two-star, but if you want to do three-star – it is expensive, but if you’re into gastronomy, and service, and the whole experience, it really is incredible.

“But it’s also very special to go to one of these bistros that are called ‘bistronomie’ [serving high-end bistro-style cuisine]. Simple dishes cooked with the best produce. Let me tell you, a plate of white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, or spring lamb with mushrooms, it’s as good as it gets.”

Hot tip: visit the Atlantic coast.

And finally, we have wine, a vastly enjoyable drink that nevertheless can be a source of intimidation for first-time travellers unfamiliar with the French wine labelling system, or who are concerned about spending too much money. How do you choose what to drink? Once again, the answer is to stay local.

“If you’re in Burgundy,” Brahimi advises, “it’s pretty straightforward – you drink Burgundy. And if you’re in Bordeaux you drink Bordeaux.

“Saying that, if you’re in Paris, what do you drink? Have a look at the wine by the glass. You can’t go wrong with a glass of Sancerre to begin with, and then maybe a Rhone Valley or Beaujolais. And try to make a connection with the waiter, say you want to try something different to Bordeaux and Burgundy.”

And don’t forget another cherished French tradition.

“Having a pastis on the terrace of a cafe?” Brahimi says. “Nothing wrong with that.”

Guillaume’s French Atlantic is available on SBS On Demand.