But let's start at the beginning. A Taste of Paris is in town. An event where the greatest chefs of Paris all gather at the marvellous Grand Palais to serve you the most trendy food of the capital. Whose dishes your dream of tasting is long, very long. Guy Savoy, Thierry Marx, Nicolas Beaumann, Sylvestre Wahid, Stéphanie Le Quellec, Frédéric Anton just to name a few.
Armed with my ticket purchased online in order to avoid queuing I marched up to the entrance - which looked suspiciously sparsely populated - only to be told that "les portes sont fermés". In good Parisian fashion I ignored this first incident and walked up to the second entrance where the security guard told me the same story. The exhibition is closed until tonight. "What do you mean it is closed until tonight, Monsieur? My ticket says lunch session until 16:00. It is now 14:55."
My plan had been to pop round the grounds after lunch just to feel the vibes of this exciting happening and, of course, take some photos. My love for food does not extend to waiting in line for hours which would have been undoubtedly the case over lunchtime. I figured my friend and I could turn up around three after the crowds had gone back to work and indulge in dessert accompanied by coffee.
Boy, was the awakening rude. After a good back and forth in French, it became clear that the doors were going to remain closed even for us.
Brewing over the indignation, I returned home to write the event organizers an e-mail and give them a piece of my mind. Naturally, I would tweet it and comment on their Facebook page slapping them a poor rating. Maybe that would tease a reaction out of them.
Lo and behold, a Chef Pâtissier reacted to my comment. Turns out he had received the same treatment. A former collaborator at Tour d'Argent, Fauchon, Ladurée and Dalloyau I am hoping they actually might acknowledge his complaint. Still, I am chuffed to be shouldered by a true French Chef Pâtissier!
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