Chef Marthe au Marche Gastronomique

 Sometimes in Paris the country comes to the city

 I popped round to see Chef Marthe yesterday. I mentioned I'd seen an artisanal marche by her Metro Pasteur of purveyors from all over France.

 Marthe was busy preparing for her macaron class later on - so organized.

 'This comes just 2X a year. Let's go take a look', Marthe suggested.

 Tasting everywhere - here from Corsica.

 Chef Marthe, who has secrets hidden up her sleeve (remind me to keep a notebook handy to write down all her French expressions!) said this was good pain d'epice but forget the Tourteaux fromager nearby. Really you couldn't find a better person to visit a marche with than Marthe.

 We came to a purveyer from the Alpes, M. Sylvain, Chez le Savoyard.

 Marthe whispered this viand sechee/dried meat keeps forever and is perfect for the regime/diet.

 In a clin d'oeil/wink of an eye, M. Sylvain was slicing us paper-thin tastes with his amazing Swiss Victorinox knife, (you can easily adjust the thickness you want it) and offering the small piece to Marthe

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 Who could resist M. Sylvain's charm.

 Marthe mentioned Beaufort is a wonderful cheese.

 Before we knew it Monsieur S was cutting a hunk for us, moitie-moitie/halves. Marthe said in French,’This man could sell milk to a cow'!

 We both walked away with cheese in our bags we'd never planned to buy. c'est la vie

 I continued to wander the marche by myself. Don't you love all the red stripes and signs?

 Who can never resist someone cooking on the spot. This Breton made me a fresh crepe.

 Butter + canelle/cinnamon + sucre. Look how he tamps down the salted Brittany butter in various spots.

 Voila - the perfect outdoors snack for a cold wintry day. Later I ate the fromage de Beaufort with pain au cereale from des Gateaux et du Pain + 'Mogador'/passion fruit jam from Christine Ferber-Pierre Herme.  Does it get any better than this?