All language subtitles for Guillaumes.Paris.S01E01.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

GUILLAUME BRAHIMI: Paris.

It's been called the City of Light,

the City of Love,

the City for the Senses.

For many years, it's been
the capital of fine food,

the place that literally invented
the restaurant,

and taught the rest of the world
how to cook.

I am Guillaume Brahimi.

I was born and raised in Paris,

and learned to be a chef
in some of its greatest kitchens.

Now, after 30 years,

I've returned to explore
the 20 arrondissements of Paris,

one by one,

to rediscover what makes
the cuisine so special,

and to show how great food
drives this city.

We will find the best places
to eat and drink.

Cheers!

BOTH: Sante. Bonheur.

We will meet some wonderful people
living in the city,

and I will give you some Paris
secrets only the locals know about.

13,000 bottles underneath
the 1st arrondissement.

I will also show you how to cook
20 incredible French dishes,

inspired by each arrondissement.

What a love story we've got here.

Allons-y!

It's time to see and to taste
Guillaume's Paris.

The 1st arrondissement,

in the very heart of Paris,

was the home of French royalty.

Tourists flock here to admire
the grand palaces and gardens

of the French kings and queens,

which, these days,

have been converted into
world-class art galleries,

like the Louvre.

The 1st arrondissement
isn't just about nobility.

It is called "the belly of Paris"
for a reason.

This was the birthplace
of the very first restaurant.

I am meeting Nathalie Louisgrand,

an expert on the history of
haute cuisine,

and the beginning of modern dining.

She's taking me to one of
the oldest restaurants in Paris,

on Rue de la Grande Truanderie.

Stepping into
Le Petit Bouillon Pharamond

is like stepping back in time.

It was first opened in 1832,

and it's a perfect location
for lunch,

while we talk about the beginning
of the restaurant.

Paris was obviously
the first restaurant in France,

and in this arrondissement,
the 1st.

It was not far from here.
It was Rue Du Louvre...

GUILLAUME: Rue Du Louvre, of course.

NATHALIE: ..that the first
French restaurant opened.

It was in 1765,

and it was kind of innovative,

in the way it proposed dishes,

because, for the first time,
people could choose their meal.

- Yeah.
- It was individual table.

What was, like, a menu?

Like, are we talking about, like,
10 or 20 main course?

Oh, at the really beginning,
there were only three or four dishes.

That's it.

And they needed white dishes,

because they thought
that the white colour was good.

So they used to serve eggs,

pasta with butter...

That's good for me.

..poultry.

So they thought having a white dish
was healthy?

That's what they thought.

By opposition to, for instance,

brown bread or red meat wasn't
supposed to be good for health.

GUILLAUME: One of the first
recorded menus

is indeed full of pale ingredients,

such as eggs, mushroom,
and artichoke.

For fun, Nathalie and I order some
healthy dishes

you might have found
on that first menu.

White, white, white.

GUILLAUME: When we start
cooking food,

because we enjoy it,
and because it's damn delicious.

That's a very good point!

You know, like, I want a little bit
of a love story here.

You will have your love story,
Guillaume, don't worry.

GUILLAUME: OK, OK, OK.

- It was 1782.
- Yeah.

They were the first
gastronomic restaurant,

where people took pleasure to eat

very high quality, very good food.

The place was amazing, as this one.

So, any reason why
the first restaurant

was in the 1st arrondissement?

Yes, because this arrondissement,
it's full of palaces,

it's full of very beautiful houses,
rich people.

Just after the French Revolution,
all these chefs,

who used to work for rich people,
for aristocrats,

they didn't have any job anymore.

The chefs, they had to find
a new way of working...

Of living, yeah, of living.

And that's why
they start to open restaurants.

And now there's more than
12,000 restaurants in Paris.

- 12,000?
- Yeah.

We are the capital of gastronomy.

Yes, and the French gastronomy
is also a lifestyle in France.

- Bien sur, si.
- So it's so important, yeah.

As we say in French,
le savoir vivre.

- Exactly.
- Ah? Sante.

Sante, Guillaume.

GUILLAUME: It's incredible to think
what the restaurant has become.

In the beginning,
they only served the aristocracy.

After the French Revolution,

all the people of Paris could
experience the pleasure

of ordering food and drinks.

There is nothing better than pairing
great cuisine with great wine,

and in the 1st, the place to do that
is just down the road.

Next to the Bank of France,
and Palais-Royal,

on Rue Croix Des Petits Champe,

is Les Fines Gueules.

This bar and bistro is a gem.

Hidden inside
the 17th-century building,

designed by famous French architect
Jules Hardouin-Mansart,

who became renowned for his work
on the Palais de Versailles.

Director Franck Barbotin
runs a busy establishment,

serving classic French dishes
with a modern twist.

But when he takes me down
to the cellar,

I understand where
his real passion lies.

13,000 bottles,

underneath of the 1st arrondissement
in Paris.

We are underground.

This is unbelievable.

After that aperitif,

I'm excited to cook a dish
that is classically Parisian,

and as a homage to
the original restaurants

of the 1st arrondissement,

the hero ingredient will be white.

When you walk the streets of
the 1st arrondissement,

every market, every vegetable store

will have an abundance of artichoke,

and for me, I thought about
a very, very old classic dish,

the perfect artichoke barigoule.

So the artichoke's pretty simple.

So just gently,
we're going to go around.

We're going around,

till you get to the heart
of the artichoke.

And next, a little bit of lemon.

You just massage
the heart of the artichoke.

I'm happy with that. Let's cook it.

So I'm putting olive oil here,

and here I've got another tray,

because I'm going to serve
my barigoule artichoke

with some beautiful
little cherry tomatoes.

Look at that.
I couldn't help myself at the market.

So I'm just going to leave them
like that.

An abundance of beautiful
extra virgin olive oil.

An abundance, I say.

A little bit of salt.

Fleur de sel.

There.

A little bit of garlic.

We are in Paris. We love the garlic.

And here we go, I'm going to put,
of course, some bay leaves and thyme.

And we're going to put
the tomatoes in the oven,

let's say for a good 40 to an hour,

and during this time,

I've got my olive oil here.

I'm going to put my garnish.

So we're talking carrot, celery,

just roughly cut.

Shallots.

Into my olive oil.

Of course, garlic,

and I'm going to put some thyme.

That's enough.

Some bay leaves.

Here we go. Look at that.

That's just beautiful.

So I've got my artichoke here,
I've done before.

I've got one per person.

That's perfect.

- And here we go...
- (PAN SIZZLES)

..just like that.

And now I'm going to put my vinegar.

So vinegar, white wine,

that's a pretty good start.

And some water,

or some vegetable stock.

They're going to simmer,
they're going to cook,

nice and gently.

My tomatoes are roasting in the oven,

and I think my barigoule artichoke
should be perfect.

It's been 40 minutes.
I think they're just perfect.

I'm going to take one. Beautiful.

So I'm just going to cut it.

Oh, all the juice coming out.

So much peeling, but you have to go
all the way to the heart of it,

and when you're in the heart,
it's heaven.

So just a little slice here.

Mmm.

In my artichoke, I can really taste

the thyme, the bay leaves,
the garlic, the carrot, the celery,

and, of course, the vinegar.

Here we go. So just like that.

You've done the hard work.

Just a little bouquet of tomatoes.

I'm just going to try one.

Mmm.

Wow.

And I'm just putting a couple
of spoons of my barigoule liquid.

Barigoule is a sauce you use
to cook your artichoke,

and it's all based on the white wine,
the vinegar,

the citrus, and the aromatic garnish.

Look at the colour.

And be generous, please.

So simple, so French,

so spring.

Artichoke barigoule,

with my little cherry tomatoes,
semi-dried.

Bon appetit, mes amis.

We know restaurants started
in the 1st arrondissement,

but there's a street in the 2nd

that shows how obsessed Parisians
really are about their cuisine.

The 2nd is the smallest
arrondissement in Paris.

It sits next to the royalty
of the 1st,

but the 2nd has never been
the most glamorous.

In the 17th century,
this area was a slum.

Victor Hugo called it:

Not any longer.

It is now a jewel in the crown
of the food scene.

What the 2nd lacks in size,

it makes up in quality.

The culinary epicentre can be found
on Rue du Nil.

This street used to be
the entrance to the slums.

Today, it is a must visit
for foodies.

The street is 72 metres
of incredible cafes,

bars, and providores,

including Frenchie,

a tiny restaurant
with a Michelin star,

run by my friend
chef Gregory Marchand.

GREGORY: So, welcome to
the Rue du Nil.

GUILLAUME: Unbelievable.

This street is amazing, but, uh,

I don't think it was like that
all the time.

No, it was...

So this street is in the middle
of the garment district,

so all you could see in this street
was, like, metal shutters,

and this is the street where

people used to bring the dog for a
little walk, if you know what I mean.

Frenchie was opened on
1st of April 2009.

GUILLAUME: Yeah.

I had two starters,
two main, two desserts.

- The menu was changing every day.
- Wow.

So all the other shops,

most of them, they're owned by
Terroirs D'Avenir.

They were going all over France
to pick up the best products,

to see the farmers,
and the fishmonger,

and they would come with a truck
every morning in the street.

- And then I would go, open it...
- And pick...

Pick it up at eight in the morning,

and at 12 it would be on the menu.

You see, so this was this
neo-bistronomy movement,

that we were a few to do this.

But it's like a dream for a chef

to be able to come out
and have the best butcher,

the best seafood, the best cremerie,

boulangerie, vegetables,

and you just say, "Thank you.
Let me cook it now."

That's it.
I live around the corner.

I spend a lot of my time
in this street.

Yeah. Wow.

It's a little village
in the heart of Paris.

I mean, look at the atmosphere here.

It seems like we're going against

what's going on
in the big city centre,

where all the little shops are dying,

and then the big, you know,
brands are taking over.

Here we did exactly the opposite.

That's amazing.

Frenchie is closed at lunchtime,

so Gregory is treating me
to some burgers and fries

from his fast food restaurant,
a few doors down the road.

That's right -
a Michelin chef serving fast food!

The lunch restaurant
is called Frenchie To-Go,

and it's a project we've done
with my wife,

and I wanted to re-create
this New York deli,

slash London greasy spoon.

So you need to think pastrami,

pulled pork, hot dogs,

lobster roll, fish and chips...

GUILLAUME: Pickles.

..pickles, but everything is
homemade, so we have our own smoker,

we smoke our own beef.

So this is the ribbon sandwich.

Delicious. We've got the burger...

So this is a pulled pork,
so basically this is a pork shoulder

that we rub in a lot of
different spices,

and then we put it in a smoker.

GUILLAUME: Mmm.

It tastes good.

- You like it?
- I could be in New York.

- Yeah.
- New York.

- New York.
- South.

Yeah, South, yeah.

You know, it's funny,
because when I started travelling,

in '98, when I finished
my cooking school in France...

Yeah.

..a lot of chefs from all over
the world were coming to France

to learn how to cook,

but I did the exactly opposite.

- You went away.
- I went away, and I went to England.

I mean, who would have thought
you to go to England

to learn how to cook in '98?

And I went to the States,

and so all this experience is really
what defined, today, my cuisine.

My cuisine is my story.

- It's rooted in French...
- French technique.

..terroir, French technique,

with four years of cooking school
in France,

and opened on the world,
with all my travel,

so that's why you have pulled pork
and Reuben in the Rue du Nil.

You know what?
I think you're a genius.

(LAUGHS)

GUILLAUME: I could happily live
on Rue du Nil forever.

There is so much great food
in this street.

Before I leave, I will be shopping
for some fresh ingredients

to make a beautiful baked fish
in my Paris kitchen.

Seafood in France
is a serious business.

The catch of the day is shipped
overnight from the coast

to the poissoneries across Paris.

And Rue du Nil is the place to be

if you want some outstanding seafood
in the 2nd arrondissement.

Directly across the road
from Frenchie

is Poissonnerie Terroirs d'Avenir.

This shop is part of a collective
of independent producers

on Rue du Nil.

But I'm excited to see what
the fishmonger has available today.

Someone has to do it.

Look at the colour of
the sea urchin. Unbelievable.

It's delicious, How lucky am I?

Let's go.
We're going to get a turbot.

I've got my turbot,
a beautiful flat fish,

with a delicate flavour,
that is perfect for baking.

A short stroll across the street,

I found some wonderful
white asparagus.

Let me tell you, it's really hard
to walk away from all the great food

on Rue du Nil.

But it's time to get cooking.

Look at the specimen we've got here.

It is a beautiful wild fish.

I'm going to cook it
the most simple way,

in my turbotiere.

I've got my leeks and fennel,

I've got some chopped onion,

some white wine

There we go.

I've got my celery and carrots.

A little bit of bay leaves.

Quite a bit of thyme.

I'm doing a mattress
for my turbotiere,

because I'm going to put
my turbot on top of it,

so it's a beautiful bed.

Just like that. That's it.

I'm just going to put a touch of salt

and a drizzle of olive oil.

And that's ready to go in the oven.

180 degrees for 45 minutes.

That's a perfect time, I believe,

to cook my turbot.

Next, asparagus.

OK. I'm using my peeler.

Peeling asparagus is
very calming to me.

Yeah, I know what
you're going to say,

"Oh, chefs!

"They're quite a strange breed."

I agree with that,
but I really like it.

It calms me. It makes me happy.

OK. I've got all my asparagus peeled.

I've got my boiling water,

and all I'm going to do

is put my white asparagus in it,

just like that.

What I need to do now
is an hollandaise.

I've got six egg yolks.

So I've got my water,

and I'm going to give you one tip,

you leave your egg yolk
under the heat,

and every thirty seconds,

you take the bowl,
put your hand in it,

and if it's too hot for your hand,

it's too hot for your eggs,

take it out,

cool it down and start again.

OK?

And I'm sorry, you have to repeat
that many, many times

when you're doing a hollandaise.

I'm happy. My hollandaise
is going well so far.

Let's check my asparagus.

Very simple.

I take one,

just like that.

Oh, yes. They're ready.

Beautiful.

And I'm going to let them here
cool down.

And now,

I am ready...

..to add the butter.

Just put a little bit at a time.

Look at that. Just a little bit.

That's an hollandaise.

(SOFTLY) Wow!

Look at this beautiful turbot.

Get all the juice out.

I wish I can just serve it
like that.

I'm really happy.

Look at this beautiful
piece of turbot,

and I reckon here
will be a nice slice.

Ho!

Like that.

Come see Papa.

Look at that.

Just like that.

I reckon three beautiful asparagus,

just like that.

They're still hot.

All I need now
is my beautiful hollandaise,

just a nice spoon.

I did say one spoon,
but you know me.

Do you know what?

This is why I cook.

This is why I get so excited.

It's about produce like that.

Beautiful white asparagus
with white turbot.

It doesn't get any better than that.

I just want to share it
with all the people I love,

and more.

Bon appetit, everyone.