Max and I continue our tour around the world to explore how the world of barbecue differs from one country to another for our “BBQ Around the World” project.
Our destination this time? France, Paris, to be exact.
Why France?
Because it's a country that, as we all know, is very strong in terms of cuisine. 7 years ago, Max and my husband went there for the French BBQ Championship and, I would say that at that time, barbecue was just starting. We wanted to see where France was in terms of products and recipes and... I was pleasantly surprised because the barbecue there is delicious.
Now, BBQ is more and more "big" in France. (At the same time, there are about 10 times more people than us, so it's not surprising that when people start to trip on something, it really progresses faster.)
How did I notice the progress? By doing a restaurant tour downtown. The restaurants have become equipped with real big wood smokers and there are even real "smokehouses". When we came out of there, our laundry smelled like smoke, which is a prerequisite to know if it's a good place.
I think they really took BBQ to another level in 7 years. Barbecue, yes, it's a way of cooking, but they took it to the level of France. They cook their piece of meat and then they prepare it "à la française", that is to say they use it to make slightly more advanced recipes, which gives incredible results.
Typical French BBQ Meals
The big trend in France is to cook with a plancha/a hotplate. Over there, they make a lot of aperitifs (small bites to grill on the barbecue) before dinner and the plancha is their cooking tool par excellence. They cook a bit of everything on it: steaks, vegetables, sausages, chorizos, camemberts… lots of foods. For them, their plancha is their grill.
And, while you might expect the French to use a lot of butter, that's not necessarily the case. They also work with other fats, like foie gras.
Otherwise, apart from the plancha, they also use a kind of catch-all pot on the BBQ to cook stews or roast chuck, in particular.
Otherwise, on the seasoning side, I noticed that they don't have a large selection of seasonings and sauces, which surprised me. Indeed, the French equip themselves more with good machines, but work mainly with mixtures that they will make themselves. There are some companies that are already established on site that sell sauces and spices, but there are no very big sellers.
A meal that left its mark on me
Among the activities we did, we had a BBQ with Rafa, from Barbecue de Rafa. Rafa is the biggest influencer in France and a real BBQ fanatic. He showed us the French BBQ culture; how hot cooking on a plancha is, etc. It was sick.
The most popular barbecues
As I was saying, what's really going down in France is planchas (if it can help you, I'd compare them to the Arteflame that we sell at BBQ Québec). It's so hot there that most manufacturers in France make planchas. Oh yes, I've seen dozens and dozens of wood planchas made by a bunch of different companies. It struck us so much that it inspired us to look for new manufacturers and distributors specialized in this since it's the big trend there.
It was actually surprising. There were so many different brands of planchas! (At the same time, the larger the population of a country, the larger the market and the more designers who get into planchas.)
Even in people's homes, you see planchas. Although in France, spaces are quite limited, people still often have either a small plancha or a small smoker. Those who have enough space can even have large planchas that have a space to hang glasses of wine or other things in addition.
In short, apart from planchas, charcoal and pellet barbecues are still quite popular in France, but this is really not the case for gas appliances, which is very different from here.
How big is the BBQ there?
In France, barbecue is very big and very good. It continues to grow and, I say, it will become so "big" in the near future that it will explode.
Planchas are definitely present, but more and more, smokehouses and restaurants using smokehouses are appearing.
BBQ Shops
We didn't visit any BBQ shops during our trip, BUT, we were at Barbecue Expo, the biggest BBQ show in France, so we were, technically, in contact with the biggest shops, on site. We even met several shop owners and people who will possibly sell our products in the future.
The prices of grills in France are quite high (especially since they are in euros, in addition), but I notice that there is a lot of innovation in the products. There were barbecues with a shell made in Italy, for example; a country that is known for the quality of the paint and the steel. There were also retailers who came from Germany, a place where the barbecues are very well designed and very innovative (they are simple, but the quality of construction is amazing), etc. Basically, France collaborates a lot with the countries that are located near it, so it was interesting to see different BBQs.
What I learned there
Going back to France 7 years later, I really realized how big a trend barbecue is there and how it's exploding. The first time I went there, it was just starting: people didn't have much knowledge about it and pretty much the only BBQ you could buy was a charcoal Weber. Now they have dozens and hundreds of models available that are all different.
What I brought to France
I wrote "I have", but in fact, it's more like "we", because Max and I did a lot of demonstrations at the Barbecue Expo. We brought our culture, our best techniques and our best recipes from Quebec there to show them how we cook and what we eat. We made, among other things, my famous filet mignon injected with butter and cognac, tomahawks, which are part of our specialties, stuffed burgers... The French went crazy.
They really loved our “more advanced” techniques, and… although they weren’t all at the same levels, they were really interested in what we were showing them.
A place to visit
If you go to France, I highly recommend you go to Paris, the city of love, cuisine, and… a city that is now increasingly BBQ.
If you are looking for a good restaurant, visit Melt. It has a real "BBQ vibe" and the meals have great flavor profiles and a nice smoky taste. Honestly, it is in my top 3 BBQ restaurants that I have visited around the world.
My feelings about France
I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't sure I would like Paris, but I did; it's a beautiful culture full of history. Also, I'll say it again, but I was surprised to see how much BBQ has advanced in recent years in France, and that feels good.
If you have the chance, don't hesitate to take a trip to France!
Happy BBQ!