Festive lunch in Montmartre for the Harvest Festival

I went there on Saturday. Dubitative. Weren’t they going to play the « claims of the land in Paris » to me? …
Surprise! As soon as you exit the funicular, the stands are spread out to offer you quite simply Champagne, Alsace wine, cider or beer, sangria … with everything that can accompany them when you walk upright: plates of oysters, pretzels … and even nougats and churros! When you have a glass in your hand, your heart becomes wide!
Little by little, the stands offer more refined and / or regional dishes, foie gras sandwich, duck breast, West Indian accras and samosas, Savoyard tartiflette, Auvergne cheeses …
This year, foreign countries are rarer.

As you climb towards the Basilica, one has the impression that the liquid proposals are reduced to make way for invigorating foods: suckling pig, potato gratin, truffade, charcuterie platters, which are accompanied by ‘a drink, of course! The andouillette becomes the excuse to taste a good Chablis …
The desserts arrive in scattered order … waffles, macaroons, ice cream …

Of course, Montmartre has not denied its folklore.
The traditional Grand Parade brings together through the streets of Montmartre more than a hundred brotherhoods from France and elsewhere, folk groups who have kept their customs and preserved a collective memory. A joyful and popular show celebrating the history of Montmartre and its vineyard.
The Ban des Vendanges, chanted by the Compagnons de Montmartre and the unmissable Closing Ball where we went to dinner at the end of the day, cheerfully enlivened the day.
More recent events have been developed, such as the Goût Course, the fitness workshop and the gluten-free stand.

But the main thing is the spectacle that takes place between the public and the cook-exhibitors.
Clad in aprons, they work in the open air, sheltered from the stands. They serve everything in boxes.
The public, mainly made up of 30/45 year olds, mostly French, with a good third of foreigners, swarmed.
No doubt because of the Covid, the 50/60 year olds are absent. Never mind ! Relaxation is even more appropriate. With or without a baby stroller, you can sit comfortably with friends on the sidewalks or the stairs, unless you lean on a small high table.
Sunbathing in the sun, sitting on the ground, a cone of fries in hand, we gather under the sign placed on the tympanum of the Basilica: « Bienvenue, Welcome / Here day and night / For more than 135 years / On pray to the Lord ”.
A frank joie de vivre mixed with earthiness! This incredibly nice party gives the impression of stepping into Bruegel’s paintings. A celebration that would take place in the 21st century.

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Veronique BURNOD

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