All language subtitles for Guillaumes.Paris.S01E05.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

GUILLAUME BRAHIMI:
Paris is a city of senses.

More than anywhere else,

it illuminates the sights,

sounds, flavours and aromas.

Beautiful!

As you walk through Paris
in the morning,

you are struck by
two intoxicating smells -

roast coffee and baked bread.

- Love of bread.
- Love of bread, yeah.

This is very French,
the love of bread.

I am Guillaume Brahimi.

I was born and raised in Paris,

and I learned to be a chef
in some of the greatest kitchen

in this City of Light.

Now, after 30 years,

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

one by one,
to discover the best cuisine,

and to show you how much food
drives this city.

Today, we will see how Paris
takes the most simple ingredients

and elevates them to a grand status.

I will transform onion and bread

into the richest soup
you have ever tasted,

and we will discover
how the music of this city

inspired its most decadent dessert.

The 9th arrondissement of Paris

shares a border with
the bohemian 18th,

along Boulevard de Clichy.

Along this boulevard, you will pass
many historic music venues of Paris,

the Elysee Montmartre, La Cigale,

the Moulin Rouge,

but this area didn't always
have the romance

of a Baz Luhrmann movie.

In the 1970s and '80s,

it was a red-light district,

with a high crime rate.

The danger made it attractive
and affordable for young musicians,

and gradually the music
made this neighbourhood cool.

Now there is another unsavoury
part of Paris getting a makeover

in the 9th - the coffee.

I hate to say,

but coffee in Paris is not very good.

Short, black, and bitter.

It's something you endure,
rather than enjoy.

But there is some change happening.

I'm meeting cafe owner
Nicolas Piegay,

who was so inspired by cafe culture
in Australia,

that he set up a shop
among the music scene of the 9th,

with the ambition to improve
the coffee in Paris.

I come to Paris with friends,
with family, and I tell them,

"This is the best city in the world,
it's a light city, it's love,

"the food is great,
the bakery is great,

"everything is great,"
and coffee arrives,

it's like a punishment.

Yeah. I guess, uh,

we can't be great at everything.

We have to leave something
to Australians.

Tell me, in one sentence,
or in one minute,

what makes a great coffee?

Well, you're not going to
like my answer,

but a great coffee is one
that you think is great.

Good.

And it sounds like a...
I mean, not a very bold answer,

but it's really true.

Like, there is many ways
to enjoy coffee and to drink coffee,

and somebody who can say there is
one way to drink great coffee,

it's not true, it's not possible.

I believe...I believe you can have
the best coffee beans,

but I think the barista
is very important.

The beans are really important...

Yeah, so it's a combination
of lots of things.

..the roaster is very important,

and the barista is very important.

And you drinking the coffee,
you are very important, too.

Yeah, because in the end,
you're the one who decide.

Yeah, I can you give the best
espresso according to me,

but maybe you won't like it.

I trust you, Nicolas.

I'd love to try
the best expresso from you.

- Let's try!
- I think I'm in good hands.

Nicolas roasts his own coffee

and has created a flavour
that is sweet, bold and complex,

yet all the testing notes
work in harmony,

much like the people of the 9th.

So happy to get a good coffee
in Paris.

As we sip our coffees and walk
the square in front of the cafe,

Nicolas tell me why he chose
to open in this part of the city.

It's not just for artists,
you know, and crazy people.

There were actually people
living there...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

..having a beautiful life,
and that was the goal,

to have a great life here,
and it's still the case.

When I found this this space here,
this location,

I discovered that there was more
to the 9th than just the night life,

and it's actually
a pretty nice village.

Well, I can see now.

- Yeah.
- Hello.

There's a lot of nice little shops,

a lot of little crafts
that are around,

and of course, the neighbourhood
is well-known for the music.

It's coffee, music
and good things in general.

- And rock'n'roll.
- I think, yeah.

Thanks, Nicolas. C'est superb.
J'adore.

- Merci a to.
- Merci, mon ami.

- Merci beaucoup.
- Yeah, fantastic.

Music and Paris has a long history.

In the narrow streets
at the top of the 9th,

the music is indie and alternative,

but as you walk down the hill,

the streets and music
become grander,

until you find yourself at one of
the most magnificent music venues -

Palais Garnier, the Opera.

The steps of the Opera have become
a traditional meeting place

for locals in the 9th,

and I'm meeting Benua Carles,

a musician, DJ and artist

with a passion for
the music history of Paris.

And he brought me
the breakfast of champions

for Parisians who have been up
dancing in the club all night.

This is a typical food you have
at the end of the night.

Yeah?

When it's six o'clock,
you come back home,

you can find a crepe...

Merci.

..or a pain au chocolat
in the bakery.

Pain au chocolat.
I get it, I get it.

In Australia, we do things
differently. We have a kebab.

We have some kebabs,
and some crepes also,

but the bakery opens
at six o'clock, so it's perfect.

Parisians will have that
every morning with a coffee.

You have a croissant
or pain au chocolat.

That's the way...
That's the way they live.

As we eat our pains au chocolat,
with the great composers of the world

watching us
from the top of the Opera,

the conversation turns to music.

When did music and the Parisians
start melting together?

Well, music has always
been a big part in the city.

Yeah.

But we can begin in 1930,

when they put some lights
in the streets.

The bar rooms were very popular.

People were meeting there.

It was the basis of the music
in Paris.

Until the Second World War,

and the arrival of American music,

English music, after the war,

it became more international.

The jazz, then the rock'n'roll,

then, just after, it was
the explosion of discotheque.

The word 'discotheque'
came from France.

- Madame Regine.
- Madame Regine.

The club was in line
with discotheque.

We've got, of course, the Opera.

I heard about this story,
and tell me if I'm right,

there is an expression in French,

when you go on stage,

"Je te souhaite merde."

- Merde.
- Bon merde.

Yes, yes.

What we are talking about,
we're saying, "I wish you shit."

"I wish you shit,"
and it's because, from this place,

from the Opera,

when you have a show, very popular,

a lot of people were out
with carriage and horses...

Ah, with the horses.

..and the horses,
and if it was very popular,

there were a lot of horses,

so horses were pooing a lot,

and so there were a lot of shits
in the streets.

So "I wish you shit on the street,"
meaning "You're doing well."

Meaning you had success.

If you say, "Tonight, I'm playing
there," and I say to you,

"Guillaume, merde for tonight,"

you have to answer me, "I take it."

I take it.

- (LAUGHS) It's perfect!
- Perfect, yeah!

The outside of Palais Garnier
is spectacular,

but the inside is breathtaking.

The grand entrance alone
deserves a standing ovation.

But the story of the 9th
is always danger and music.

This opulent building only exists

because of an assassination attempt
here

on the Rue des Martyrs.

On the 24th of December 1800,

as Napoleon III was travelling
to the old opera house,

Royalists blew up a nearby carriage.

(EXPLOSION)

The assassination failed,

but Napoleon decided
to clean up the city

with safe, wide boulevards,

and he ordered a new opera house

with a more secure entrance.

Palais Garnier opened in 1874,

and has been entertaining Paris

with countless ballets and operas
ever since.

This is unbelievable,
to be here, in the Opera of Paris.

I am speechless,

and I tell you something,

that really inspires me
to do a very special dish.

Today, I'm going to show you how
to make a cake with a great name,

L'Opera.

And you know why it was called
an Opera?

Well, Cyriaque Gavillon
was a pastry chef in the 1950s,

and he wanted to make a cake
with a lot of layers.

So he made it,
brought it home to his wife,

and the first thing his wife said
when she saw the amount of layers,

and she said, "My goodness,
it looks like the Opera Garnier."

And he said, "Done.
I'm going to call it un Opera."

So today I'm going to show you
my version of it.

First, the genoise.

Eggwhites, bring it to a meringue,

with almond meal and sugar,

bake it, let it rest,

and I'm going to work on
six layers of genoise.

One, two, six - perfect.

OK.

So, first of all,

obviously, take my paper...

..and now I've got my chocolate.

So, my chocolate is just cream
and chocolate.

Here we go.

Just use a good chocolate.

I love using
quite a bitter chocolate,

so 70% cacao.

To make this chocolate, it's simple.

Melt your chocolate,

add your cream, and that's it.

Just nicely in each corner.

Next is my coffee cream.

For this coffee cream,

I made a creme brulee recipe,

egg yolk, sugar, cream,

baked in a bain marie in the oven,

around 140 degrees.

That's how we make creme brulee.

So, creme brulee recipe,
infused with coffee,

and I add some gelatine in it.

It is very simple.

The very important thing is to make
sure you've got your cream ready,

your chocolate ready,

your genoise ready,

and again,

look at that.

Chocolate.

Coffee cream...

..and again and again and again.

This is a long opera, this one.

I'm going to put it in the fridge.

All I want is my coffee cream

and chocolate to set,

and during this time, I'm going to
show you how to make the glacage.

OK?

So, cream...

..a little bit of water...

..sugar...

..little bit!

There we go. So I've got my cream,
my water, my sugar.

All I need to add now
is my cacao powder.

I'm going to whisk that.

Just taking time.

Keep whisking it.

That's perfect.
I'm going to pass it now.

Oh, yeah.

So now,

I need my glacage to cool down

so I can put my gelatine to it.

If it's too hot, it's not good.
If it's too cold, it's not good.

All you have to do with your gelatine
is put the leaves into

room-temperature water,
and your gelatine will soften.

Just like that.

Add it on to my glacage.

Here we go. That's perfect.

My glacage is ready.
I can see myself in it.

We're looking good,

so far.

My coffee cream, my chocolate
should be nicely set.

Let's have a look.

Mmm. Yum.

I am very happy,

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

so I want it to be nice, gently,

everywhere.

Voila, and be generous, Guillaume.

I am. Look at that.

I wouldn't call myself a maestro

but I'm very happy with my Opera.

It is time to cut it

and have a look how my layers went.

Just perfect.

And look at that. That's an Opera.

You can see all the layers,
the coffee, the chocolate.

Is that not beautiful?

A simple, classic Opera cake,

with honey ice-cream,

inspired by the Opera Garnier.

Bon appetit, mes amis.

From sweet to savoury...

..it's time to explore
the best produce available

in the 10th arrondissement.

The 10th arrondissement is close
to the heart of Paris,

and has two of the biggest
train stations in the city.

Gare du Nord station is beautiful,

but really most tourists
stay on the Metro,

in search of more famous attractions.

This make the 10th arrondissement
a local secret.

It feels more like a village
than a tourist trap.

In the middle of the day,
it comes alive,

as locals enjoy their lunch
by Saint-Martin Canal.

One of the biggest questions you will
face in Paris at any meal is,

"Where can I find the best bread?"

One of the best bakeries in Paris
is not far from Saint-Martin Canal,

on Rue Marie et Louise.

Sain Boulangerie
is a beautiful little shop,

where chef-turned-baker
Anthony Courteille

is part of the baking revolution,

taking baked goods
back to their roots.

This is artisan work.

Exactly. Artisan work.

It's, uh, for me it's very important

to do everything by hand,

with natural product, you know?

We use real eggs,
we use heritage flour,

we use sourdough,

we do everything by hand.

Butter. Good butter.

Good butter, of course.
We are in France, so we use butter.

This is very French,
the love of bread.

Exactly.

But there is bread and bread,

and I think what you are doing is
much more than bread, it's...

It's a love work.

It's a love work. It's a love bread.

And one of the secrets
for good bread, it's time.

Take your time.

How long does it take to make a bread
from scratch?

Uh, this one, it's around 24 hours
of fermentation.

This is the difference, you know?

- And you can cut it if you want.
- OK.

- I'm going to cut it.
- Yeah, you cut it.

- Be careful sometimes.
- Yeah.

But I used to be a cook,
so I know how to use this knife.

But be careful of your leg.

Yeah, yeah!

So you know, with sourdough,

you have some butter,

and you can smell it. It's better.

- You have a little bit...
- C'est vrai, ca.

- C'est vrai.
- Ah, thank you!

Look at how moist it is.

To say Parisians are passionate
about bread is an understatement.

In 1789, riots broke out
in the streets of Paris,

when baguettes became too expensive.

That kicked off
the French Revolution.

They say water is life,
but, in this city,

water needs to be mixed
with flour and salt.

Parisian people, before they go
to work, they come in bakery,

they take a croissant, and they walk
on the street with a croissant,

with a coffee, before to go to work.

They come in the morning,
they come in lunchtime,

to get sandwiches,
to get something like this,

and then, when they finish to work,

they come here to get some bread
for their dinner.

It's like something very cultural.

That's normal.
That's the way we live.

- Yeah, yeah.
- Savoir vivre Francais.

Anthony's bread is so special,

I'm inspired to cook something
that features this beautiful loaf,

and I know the perfect market
in the 10th

to shop for my ingredients.

Parisians love a fresh food market.

There was a time when the city
was full of huge covered markets,

selling fresh produce.

Unfortunately,

many of them no longer exist.

But here in the 10th,
on Boulevard de Magenta,

you can find Marche Saint Quentin.

Built in 1866,

this covered market is
the biggest and most popular

still open to the public.

I'm going to shop like a local
for the ingredients

to make a classic dish of
the bistros of Paris.

The market reminds me so much
of me as a young apprentice,

the Rungis Market,

and you know what was my dish there?

That's where I had
my first onion soup

and I'm going to make one for you.

I need some Comte,

I need some onion,
so let's go shopping,

and let me show you how to make
a fantastic onion soup.

- How are you?
- Good.

- Yeah?
- How about you?

Fantastic. Every time I see some
cheese, I'm always very, very happy.

Me, too.

And you can take some cheese here,
some seafood over there,

and just bring everything back
to the tables and chairs

and enjoy your lunch.

OK, so you need to come early
to get a table, yeah?

Yes.

I can't use your name to get a table,
or say I'm a friend of you,

and you can keep me one?

I'm married,
but it won't get you so far.

Married? No, OK.

Hey, listen,
I'm making an onion soup....

OK.

..and I want my onion soup,
I love putting beautiful cheese

and I love putting Comte into it.

Not too old, not too young,
you know, like...

- In between?
- Yeah, like 12 months?

Or what do you think? Or 18 months?

OK, my youngest is 8 months old.

8 months old, yeah.

I don't have 12,
but otherwise I have 18.

Do you want to try?

Of course I want to try some cheese.

- So this is the youngest one.
- Oh, bien.

But then you need to try
the other one.

And this one is 18?

- 18.
- Wow.

And if you're still not sure,

I have a 31-month.

No, no.

- Oh, that's perfect.
- It is.

It's a little bit decadent,
making an onion soup,

and grate in some 18-month-old Comte,

but trust me, it's delicious.

And the people who come here,
Marie...

Yes.

..the people who come here,
are they local?

They live in the 10th arrondissement

or do you have people from all around
Paris who come here?

- We have two kinds of clients.
- Yeah?

It's either from
the 10th arrondissement, uh,

and also we have a lot of tourists,
because you have...

- The train station.
- The train station.

Gard du Nord and Gard de l'Est,
so we have a lot of Germans,

and we have a vacuum machine, so
they can bring back the cheese home,

without fearing of the smell
in the train.

Oh, yeah, of course,
the smell in the train.

It can be quite an issue
when you buy some of this cheese.

It can.

And let me tell you,
if I was living in the 10th,

I'd be very happy to be here
and getting some cheese from Marie,

every day.

- There is your Comte.
- Merci.

Merci. I've got my Comte.
Let's get some onions.

Nice one. Like Le Crunch!

You try it.

Ah, merci. Merci beaucoup.

I've got my ingredients.

Anthony the baker is going
to visit me for dinner,

with his beautiful bread.

It's time for me to get cooking.

There is onion soup,

and there is onion soup in Paris,

and let me tell you,
there is quite a big difference.

Onion is full of water and sugar.

That's it.

So what we're going to try to do
is to get the water away,

and keep the onion with its sugar.

So I've got my onion.

I've got this beautiful cocotte.

A little bit of oil...

(PAN SIZZLES)

..and I'm going to put my onion.

Voila.

(PAN SIZZLES)

Very important,
like everything in cooking...

..if you burn it...

..it doesn't matter what you do,

the smell of the burn will be
from the start to the end of it,

so please don't burn your onion,

because we are not making
a burnt onion soup,

we are making an onion soup.

OK. Oh, the smell!

It's just great.

I'm going to add some thyme.

Voila.

Some bay leaves, just a few leaves,

some garlic.

Bien sur.

Just break the garlic cloves.

And I reckon, in about an hour,
they'll be nicely caramelised,

and that's when I deglaze
them with my port.

And look at my onion.

Nicely caramelised.

Of course, not burnt, Guillaume.

The flavour of it is unbelievable.

It's ready for my port.

Beautiful.

Port and onion - yum!

Like that. Look at that,
look at that.

Just perfect.

So what I'm doing, I'm getting rid
of the alcohol of the port,

but I want to keep the flavour
into my onion.

And when all the alcohol
is evaporated,

I'm ready to put my beef stock in it.

That's it.

The calm after the storm.

There's nothing better than being
in a bistro in Paris,

and to have a nice hot onion soup,

and I'm very excited,

because I'm going to share it
with my friend Anthony Courteille,

the boulanger from Sain Bakery,

and he's bringing some bread,
as well.

Welcome, Anthony.

Welcome to my humble kitchen
in Paris.

- Beautiful.
- Come in, come in, come in!

OK, it's great, it's very beautiful.

You have a beautiful kitchen
in Paris.

- Hey, you got me a bread.
- Yeah, of course!

(ANTHONY LAUGHS)

- It's still warm.
- It's still warm, yeah!

The bread is still warm.
This is... This is serious.

Warm bread,
straight from Anthony's oven,

and, you know, I love...

When I make my onion soup...

..I do a liaison.

- Yeah?
- And what is a liaison?

Egg yolk...

..and cream.

So I'm going to put two egg yolks,

a little bit of whip.

Very quickly.

I whipped some cream before.
Merci, Anthony.

Only the French will understand
what I am doing now.

Like, "My goodness!
He's putting cream, egg yolk

"into his onion soup,"

and it's just going to combine
everything together.

I've got my liaison done.

- ANTHONY: Chef.
- GUILLAUME: Mm.

I'm going to put one and a half
spoons of liaison.

We've got some cream.
Let's add some cheese.

- GUILLAUME: That's plenty.
- ANTHONY: That's enough?

We've got as much cheese
than we've got onion,

so it's a perfect ratio for me.

I'm just going to put my onion soup.

We are just talking about
simple ingredients here.

There is no truffle,
there is no foie gras,

it's just onion.

We're talking about
the most humble vegetable.

- ANTHONY: Exactly.
- GUILLAUME: The onion.

And it is such a great dish.

- And cheese?
- Oh, yeah.

OK.

- You want to do it?
- Which one is yours?

GUILLAUME: That's mine. You go.

We're ready. The Comte is in,
the bread is in, it's ready.

All I have to do is put it
in the oven, under the grill,

and, hopefully,
the cheese is going to melt,

it's going to go all around your bowl

and I can't wait to try it.

- It's ready, Anthony.
- It's ready? Oh!

- It smells good, uh?
- Oh, yeah.

- Very beautiful.
- Look at that.

Et voila.

You know, I really like onion soup,
so...

- Do you?
- I really do.

- Careful, it's hot.
- Whoa.

Et voila. Un petit peu?

A little bit, yeah, of course,
with onion soup, goes with red wine.

- Yeah.
- Perfect. Thank you.

- Can we try?
- Oh, yeah. Let's go.

And the idea is,

it's one of the only few dishes
you can be messy with.

It's OK if I go over.

It's the way onion soup
should be eaten.

- Mmm.
- Look at that. Ah!

Wow. Good.

- With the cream...
- Yeah.

What do you think?

- Perfect.
- It's good, huh?

Yeah, very good. I think
it's one of the best onion soups.

GUILLAUME: Mmm.

Yeah, very, very good.

Mmm.

Very nice.
It was a great day for me.

So thanks a lot for this moment.

- Plaisir.
- Cheers!

- A bientot, uh?
- Un plaisir.

Next time in Guillaume's Paris,

it's all about the journey...

So lucky!

..as I discover the most
spectacular places to eat

while travelling through the city.

First class. Perfect.

And I will show you where to find
the best chocolate factory in Paris.

Marie Antoinette would have loved
my chocolate sauce.

Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) 2022 SBS Australia