Life
Visiting Lyon the Food Capital of the World – International Traveller
A journey through the gastronomical heart of France – and the world – reveals Renaissance-era streets and renowned bouchons at every turn.
On arriving in Lyon, I head straight to Les Halles Paul Bocuse, joining the teeming Saturday morning crowds where it seems the whole of the city does its weekend shopping. This vast covered market is named in honour of France’s legendary chef, who famously described Lyon as the Larder of France. So it is no surprise to discover a cornucopia of gourmet delicacies, with fervent foodies gazing longingly at displays of truffled terrines, andouillettes and saucissons, foie gras, oysters, sea urchins, escargots, delicate macaroons and chocolate pralines.
Welcome to the capitale mondiale de la gastronomie – the gastronomy capital of France and the world. I take a break at the heaving counter of the market’s Fer à Cheval bar for a glass of the local Beaujolais, while Renzo Gusso, genial owner of the market’s iconic Baba La Grenouille stand, sips his pastis and reflects that “I have been cooking here for twenty years and the crowds just get bigger. The Lyonnais are simply obsessed with eating, and now over fifty per cent of our customers are tourists, including Brits, Canadians and Aussies, always game to try my garlicky frogs legs.”
It is tempting to join him tucking into a plate of charcuterie and local cheeses, but I decide to first take my bearings by jumping on the quaint funicular up to the top of Fourvière Hill, where the Basilica of Notre-Dame sits atop Lyon like an ornate wedding cake decoration. This is where the Romans originally founded Lugdunum as their capital of Gaul, and from the ruins of an ancient amphitheatre, I take in a magnificent view of the city stretching down to the waters of the Sae, lined by the grand mansions and cathedral of the medieval Vieux-Lyon quarter, then across to the baroque splendour of the Presqu’île neighbourhood that sits between two mighty rivers.
The metropolis stretches further from the other side of the Rhône to the modern 20th-century business quarter of La Part-Dieu, with a whole new city-of-the-future under construction at Confluence, where the Rhône and Sae merge. This is the perfect city to discover on foot, though these days, picturesque Vieux-Lyon is beginning to resemble a living museum with tacky souvenir stores and over-priced bistrots. Fortunately, there is still the secret attraction of the unique traboules, hidden passages that run between streets, leading the visitor into a magical world of interior Renaissance courtyards, ancient wells and fountains, stone galleries and soaring spiral staircases.
The historic streets and buildings of Vieux-Lyon, the city’s oldest Renaissance-era district.
Chef Tabata Mey of Michelin-starred bouchon Ombellule, hard at work.
THE MOTHERS OF LYON
I cross the Sane over the pedestrian Palais de Justice bridge into the Presqu’île, where the serious sightseeing begins. Walking through the bustling Saint-Antoine street market that lines the quayside, stands piled high with the freshest vegetables, flowers, fruits, cheeses and charcuterie from nearby farms, I eventually arrive at Place Bellecour, Lyon’s biggest square, marked by an imperious statue of Louis XIV. But the real buzzing city centre is Place des Terreaux, dominated by the grandiose baroque façade of the Town Hall and the outstanding Fine Arts Museum, housed in a former 17th-century convent.
Lyon remains a liveable, human city that tourism has not yet overrun, typified when I wander through the museum’s galleries, with scarcely a soul viewing masterpieces by the likes of Rembrandt and Canaletto, Gauguin, Degas and Monet. But enough sightseeing – the really important question in Lyon is where to eat. It is quickly clear there is a gastronomic renaissance in La Ville des Gones (the “Kid’s City”, as Lyon is known) where traditional bistrots, the distinctive bouchons Lyonnais, are booming, alongside a new generation of young chefs opening up chic restaurants.
For lunch, every visitor should experience a bouchon, whose set menu is always reasonably priced around €30. They seem to be on every corner, so a word of warning: to avoid a tourist rip-off, be sure to choose an authentic bouchon displaying the official sticker of a Guignol marionette. Originating in the 18th century as cheap and hearty working men’s taverns, when Lyon was the silk-weaving capital of Europe, the bouchons were transformed a hundred years ago by Les Mères Lyonnaises – ‘the mothers of Lyon’ – a generation of women cooks trained in the kitchens of grand local mansions, who started working for themselves in the bouchons, elevating traditional local dishes to a gastronomic level.
The recipes, quality and quaint decor of red banquettes, zinc bar and chequered tablecloths are unchanged today. Le Bouchons des Filles and Chez Hugon are still run by women, while I manage to get a table at the romantic Café du Jura, and feast on pheasant and fig terrine, then the ultimate nose-to-tail dish, tablier de sapeur – fried breaded tripe – all accompanied by a traditional 46cl (460ml) ‘Pot de Beaujolais’. It is quite simply a unique gastronomic experience.
Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is a sacred crossroads of produce in France.
UPPER ECHELONS
In a very different gourmet world, Tabata Mey is the hottest woman chef in town right now with Ombellule, her elegant fine dining restaurant, just awarded a Michelin star. She was trained by Paul Bocuse – the first woman he ever trusted to run the kitchen of one of his restaurants – and I can see this Bocuse discipline in the meticulous preparation of sauces, the incredible precision of her ‘cuisson’ and cooking times, whether it is delicate char, fished from Lake Annecy, or a juicy rare duck fillet from the Dombes region.
But my best discovery is Sane, opened just before Christmas by young local chef, Jean-Francois Têtedoie. It is a brilliant new idea where the minuscule kitchen is also the dining room, as we sit right in front of two chefs.
Following Têtedoie’s ever-changing recipes, the chef of the evening is Maxence, a tattooed gentle giant, who cooks up a storm. There are scallops, pigeon, monkfish, creamy Saint-Marcellin cheese, an intense mousse au chocolat, but very little choice – two starters, two mains. With the three-course menu priced at €43, an advance reservation is crucial.
Wine accompanies you everywhere in Lyon: not surprising as the city is surrounded by the prestigious vineyards of Burgundy and the Rhe Valley; while Beaujolais, the favourite local tipple, is literally at the doorstep. Renowned local vigneron Jean-Paul Brun, whose wines are served all over the world, recounts that “Lyon and our nearby vineyards of Beaujolais are inextricably linked, especially since the 1950s when Beaujolais Nouveau was launched in the bouchons of Lyon and then embraced globally.”
Brun recalls that “people used to say there are three rivers in Lyon – the Rhône, Sane and Beaujolais Nouveau. Personally, I sold my first wines in Lyon and it became my shop window. Nothing pairs more perfectly with Lyonnais cuisine than our wines – the Crus complement the city’s gastronomic specialities like duck or Bresse chicken, while a normal Beaujolais is perfect with the hearty specialities of the bouchons – tête de veau, sweetbreads, Lyonnais saucisson, pâté en croe.”
Brun mentions that Lyon boasts its own urban winery, located right in the city centre, open for tastings and blending ateliers. Chai Saint Olive is certainly a unique concept, with a modern cellar filled with oak barrels, steel vats and even a terracotta amphora. The entrepreneurial winemaker, Franck Saint Olive, produces annually around 25,000 bottles of his Made in Lyon wine, spanning a dozen different cuvées; Chardonnay and Viognier, a Pet Nat bubbly, Gamay, Syrah, Grenache and Merlot blends. Saint Olive explains how “we work with seven vignerons, but as we transport the grapes here they are officially outside their appellation, so our wines are classified as Vin de France. But that actually gives me freedom to do whatever I want, like a blend of Morgon and Régnié Crus that would be heresy in Beaujolais.”
ETERNAL AMOUR
That evening I continue my Lyon wine trail at the newly-opened Wine You Want. It certainly lives up to its name, offering a tempting 48 wines by the glass with over 600 references in the cellar. The cuisine is gourmet but at bistronomic prices – original dishes like gratin of cardoon with bone marrow, venison stuffed with foie gras – and a superb glass of Troussard from the Jura sets me back only €7. But Wine You Want is also for serious wine lovers to splash out, with vintages of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti reaching stratospheric prices.
There is of course also still time for the ultimate Lyon extravagance, experiencing the gourmet cuisine of Paul Bocuse in his mythical L’Auberge du Pont de Collanges, a ten-minute taxi ride from the centre. Monsieur Bocuse was trained and inspired by the humble cuisine of Les Mères Lyonnaises, transformed it into haute cuisine and exported Lyonnais cooking across the world.
Six years after his death, L’Auberge has become a shrine for foodie pilgrims. I can only describe the experience as travelling back in time, from the delightfully kitsch decor and impeccable old-school service, to dishes that have no connection to current cuisine trends but are simply out of this world. Unforgettable pike ‘quenelle’ dumplings in a sumptuous crayfish ‘Nantua’ sauce, a delicate truffle soup from a Presidential recipe dating back to 1975, and a never-ending dessert trolley where the waiter tempts diners with crème brlée and île flottante to a comforting riz au lait rice pudding. It is the perfect way to finish a trip to the true home of gastronomy.