Staying kosher in Paris, and enjoying it : the 2013 authoritative briefing.
Paris is a kosher experience !
France is the leading nation in the world when it comes to quality food. It also hosts a vibrant, diverse and fairly traditional Jewish community. Quite naturally, some kind of interaction had to take place. Especially in Greater Paris, where almost 300 kosher restaurants are to be found, not to mention groceries, butchers, wine merchants, bars and delicatessen shops.
« Kosher » really means « kosher » in Paris. It is a matter of conformity with the religious dietary laws, not of ethnicity. Traditional Ashkenazi food (Polish, Russian, Hungarian) is almost extinct or survives only as « New York Style Food ». Traditional Sefardi food (Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian) is quickly receding. What really is in demand is French high cuisine or nouvelle cuisine, Word Food or « Fusion Food », Italian cooking, Chinese and Japanese food, Indian gastronomy.
A quite impressive success story, as far as kosher restaurants are concerned, is Sushi West, a kosher sushi bar chain established in the late 1990’s. It now owns ten outlets all over Paris. While strictly kosher, it is designed and managed in order to attracts both Jewish and non-Jewish patrons. Some of the dishes have been supervised by the famous non-kosher cook Ghislaine Arabian.
Similar chains have been launched more recently, either sushi-style (Nina Sushi, Yapany) or Italian style (Il Conte, Il Palazzo).
An even more promising success story is the « butcher’s restaurant » : a close association between a quality kosher butcher and a quality kosher meat restaurants. Gaspard, in the 16th district, was a pioneer in that respect. Many other places are to be mentioned by now : from Osmose and La Fille du Boucher to Les Garçons Bouchers and Chez Victor.
Most restaurants are under the supervision of the Paris Rabbinical Court or Beth-Din (BDP/Beth-Din de Paris). Some are under the supervision of the Chasidic Lubavitch Rabbinate (Vaad Rabbanei Lubavitch) or of the Orthodox Chief Rabbi of Paris, Chief Rabbi Mordekhai Rotenberg (CIOP/Kehilath ha Haredim).
Jewish food shops may or may not be under supervision but sell only sealed products processed under supervision. In addition to the aforementioned authorities, many other French, European, Israeli or American monitoring authorities agencies operate on the French market : Rav Katz in Paris (Kehilath Yereim), the Rabbinates of Strasbourg, Marseilles, Lyon, the Manchester Beth-Din, the Israeli Rabbinate, the Jerusalem Badatz, OU, etc.
Some retail chains maintain small kosher products departments. This often the case of the Franprix and Monoprix outlets.
More details can be found on line. In French :
° www.consistoire.org : the Consistoire (National Synagogue of France) and Paris Beth-Din website ; not very user-friendly ; provides however a comprehensive list of kosher products.
° www.123cacher.com : a website about kosher restaurants in Paris ; useful and user-friendly.
° www.mangercacher.com : another website about kosher restaurants in Paris ; useful and user-friendly.
In English :
° www.shamash.org/kosher : an American Orthodox website ; the Paris section is quite complete and accurate, allows for updates, and includes comments and ratings from customers.
There are no full-fledged « ethnic Jewish neighbourhoods » in Paris proper or the suburbs, like Boro Park or Williamsburg in Brooklyn or Golders Green in London, but several « Jewish clusters » with a high concentration of kosher restaurants, eating places, caterers and shops.
As of 2013, ten such clusters can be listed :
1.The Old Plaetzel or Saint Paul Area, and the Sentier in the 4th District of Paris, around Rue des Rosiers (Metro : Saint Paul), and the Marais area. Rue des Rosiers used to be the « Jewish street » par excellence in Paris. However, the Socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, ruthlessly enforced in the mid-2000’s an urban redesigning program that transformed it into a gentrified pedestrian neighborhood. Many of the former Jewish shops gave way to fashion boutiques or gay bars. Many of the shops and restaurants are gone (including the famous kosher-style Goldenberg). The only part of the Old Plaetzel that still bears as a fully Jewish character is the Rue Pavée, where both the famous Hector Guimard Orthodox Synagogue and the Orthodox Yad-Mordekhai Great Yeshivah are located. The nearby Sentier neighborhood in the 2nd district, the stronghold of the Paris garment industry, is still quite Jewish and has a few kosher places too.
2. Faubourg Montmartre in the 9th District, around Rue Richer, Rue Geoffroy Marie, and Rue Lafayette ( Metro : Les Grands Boulevards/Rue Montmartre, Cadet, Le Pelletier). It used to be a typical Alsatian, Hungarian and North African neighborhood. Most shops and restaurants are gone. However, some new places have been opened recently.
3. The 19th District, from the Buttes Chaumont Park, especially along Rue Manin, to Porte de la Villette (Metro : Jean Jaurès). Young Orthodox or neo-Orthodox families tended to settle there throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s. Many are now leaving for the more affluent and much safer Paris West End. Still, there are many shops and restaurants in the area.
4. Belleville, where the 11th and 20th Districts meet, along Boulevard de Belleville (Metro : Belleville). Back in the first half of the 20th century, it used to be a working class Jewish neighborhood. Then, after 1960, it housed many Jewish refugees from North Africa. Non-Jewish immigrants from the Maghreb, India, South East Asia and the Far East have now largely taken over the area. There are still some Jewish shops and restaurants.
5. The Voltaire/Nation neighbourhood in the 11th District, along Boulevard Voltaire (Metro : Voltaire/Leon Blum and Rue des Boulets). A booming neo-Orthodox neighborhood. Lot of shops, some restaurants.
6. The 12th District and the Greater Paris East End (Saint-Mandé, Vincennes, Charenton). A new and rapidly expanding Jewish neighborhood, with many shops and restaurants.
7. The Greater Paris West End : the 17th District, in the affluent North-West of Paris, which has established itself as the leading kosher centre as far as restaurants are concerned (Métro : Ternes, Wagram, Malesherbes, Péreire) ; the even more affluent 16th District and Neuilly ; La Défense and Puteaux. Scores of shops and restaurants.
8. The Left Bank. Although many Jews live there, it was until recently a desert in terms of kosher food. Things are now improving. There are even some shops and restaurants in the very exclusive 5th, 6th and 7th Districts.
9. The Sarcelles and Epinay area in the Northern suburbs.
10. Créteil in the South-Eastern suburbs.
For a selection of the best kosher restaurants and shops in Paris, please visit my kosher food page :
gurfinkielkasher.blogspot.com
http://gurfinkielkasher.blogspot.fr/2013/05/kosher-in-paris-spring-2013_23.html
© Michel Gurfinkiel, 2013
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