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A Tale of three cookware shops
By Ann | October 10, 2008
I’d heard so many raves about E. Dehillerin, the celebrated Parisian cookware shop, that I couldn’t wait to go there for a good nose-round. First of all, I needed cheesecloth (étamine, étamine, étamine!). I also wanted to investigate steamer baskets, and, well, who knows what other treasures I might discover? And so, armed with my very best French food vocabulary, I headed off to metro stop Les Halles, prepared for a kitchen flânerie.
At the cavernous shop, my first disappointment was that there was no cheesecloth to be found. My queries of “why?” and “when?” were met with dismissive shrugs. One salesman suggested I try another cookware shop in the neighborhood, but when I asked him for directions he ignored me. Someone else tried to sell me a 35€ sieve, and then a 70€ steamer. Now, I recognize that this is a busy shop and that the clerks here are probably ringing up multi-hundred Euro sales that make my needs seem a pittance. But I was sorely disappointed in this store. It was a relatively quiet Wednesday afternoon (the few other customers seemed to be American tourists, who, depending on levels of youth and prettiness, were also experiencing varying degrees of the brushoff) yet I found the clerks unhelpful and unfriendly. Also, I hate being upsold. I came prepared to spend and I left with nothing. Merci, mais non merci.
Stop two on the Hunt for Cheesecloth 2008 was Verrerie des Halles. Now, verrerie means “glassworks” but in my desperation, I poked my head in anyway and discovered a restaurant-supply outlet for dishware. No étamine here, but they very helpfully told me that there had been a rupture at the cheesecloth factory (rupture is one of my favorite French words; it means “breakdown” but also “out of stock”) and that’s why I’d been experiencing so much trouble.
They then invited me to browse the shop where I found narrow aisles towering with all manner of Frenchy dishware, stuff like little espresso cups, café au lait bowls, square plates, footed bowls, olive dishes, and terrine molds (I’m still kicking myself for not buying one of those huge soup tureens with the lion’s heads, like in the photo above). They also suggested I visit another nearby cookshop, and also gave me specific directions and actual names!
Finally, I found my way to A. Simon where, upon listening to my inquiry, the clerk actually seemed to whisk a length of cheesecloth out of his sleeve. After forking over 9€10, I told him his store was the third I had visited in my quest. His reply? “You should have come here first.” Indeed.
Next stop? Homemade cheese! Stay tuned!
E. Dehillerin
18 et 20 rue Coquillière
75001 Paris
tel: 01 42 36 53 13
Verrerie des Halles
15 rue du Louvre
75001 Paris
tel: 01 42 36 80 60
A. Simon
48 et 52 rue Montmartre
75002 Paris
tel: 01 42 33 71 65
Topics: Sur ma table | 4 Comments »
November 12th, 2008 at 11:40 am
What is amazing is that despite Paris’ reputation, I have found service here to be professional, courteous and attentive. Which makes the CtB experience at Dehillerin that much more sad and annoying. Restaurants are different than retail, I realize, but I fondly recall the respect and warmth with which we were treated at Taillevent. The staff there turned what could have easily been a, well, intimidating experience into something pleasant, fun and memorable. (Wasn’t free, of course …)
December 4th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I have a question for you if you have a minute. Years ago, perhaps in 1990, my wife and I purchased about 16 copper pieces at Simon’s. (I think the store was toward Les Halles rather than Montmarte, however.) All pots and skillets, Havard brand, have cast iron handles and are lined with what we thought was stainless steel, SS.
Now most have lost their lining, definitly not tin, to some degree. “Experts” I have asked about recoating say that SS lasts forever and is not recoated. One person said the coating might be less durable nickel but did not know of recoating it. Do you know 1) what coating other than tin did Havard as sold by A. Simon use, and 2) is the coating replaceable?
Thanks for any time you can spare for my question.
Joe, Sarasota, Fl, US
December 4th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
PS: I just looked at a Paris map and am remembering Montmarte toward Les Halles is where we purchased at A. Simon.
April 18th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I really like Kawa Import Export at Stalingrad, which supplies Asian restaurants.