All language subtitles for Guillaumes.Paris.S01E10.1080p.HDTV.H264-CBFM

GUILLAUME: Paris is a city where the
past and the future blend

in perfect harmony.

There are places
where time seems to stand still.

Belleville has this whole
history of partying.

I must have never been invited
when I was in Paris.

(LAUGHS)

Yet the city is constantly evolving

and building on its foundation.

Paris is a city made
for eating and dreaming.

This is French beer
made by French blokes

with French ingredients.

I am Guillaume Brahimi.

I was born and raised in Paris,

and I learnt to be a chef
in some of the greatest kitchens

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, in honour of my grandfather,

I will make the dish
he loved the most -

la choucroute -

and a rustic home-cooked meal
all Parisians love to eat -

roast chicken,

with the smoothest mashed potato
you ever tasted.

(ENERGETIC ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC)

The 19th arrondissement
is a district of dreams,

with a lively, youthful spirit.

On the right bank of the Seine,

the 19th is also known
as Buttes-Chaumont, or Bald Hills,

named after the rocky hills
in this arrondissement.

Of an afternoon, the river buzzes
with the time-honoured tradition

of petanque battles

and locals enjoying a cheeky glass.

But while much of Paris celebrates
its tradition and history,

the 19th looks to the future.

This is one of the fastest-growing
arrondissements,

with young couples and families
thinking about the Paris

they want to see,

rather than the Paris that was.

Here, young Parisians
have done the unthinkable.

They have turned their backs
on French wine,

and are cultivating
a craft beer scene.

In a backstreet
near Avenue de Flandre,

a pair of local beer lovers
created a brewery

called Brasserie de l'Etre,

dreaming to change
the Parisian attitude towards beer.

Edward and Loic are two brew masters

who are proving the French can indeed
organise a piss-up in a brewery.

The first thing is we make beer
that we want to drink.

- I think that's so important.
- And the first thing before.

This is a French beer
made by French blokes

with French ingredients.

300,000 of them. Yeah,
it's a small boutique beer, yeah.

Edward takes me for a walk
to a nearby bar

where his beers are served on tap.

They are keen for me to sample
their full range of flavours

and on a warm Paris day,

I am happy to oblige.

What have we got here?

The spice?

After this beer degustation,

I'm following Edward's advice

and I'm heading to
the Buttes-Chaumont.

The 19th is a place where
Edward and Loic have been able

to follow their dream,

and the same is true for me.

It was here that my desire
to become a chef was ignited.

This is Buttes-Chaumont Park,

one of the most beautiful parks
in Paris.

I spent many of my childhood weekends
here in the Buttes-Chaumont Park

with my grandparents,
who lived in the 19th.

I'm meeting with my brother, Gael,
at a cafe opposite the park,

to reminisce about
our childhood in the 19th.

It's the first time we have
been here together in many years.

Of course, being Parisian,

our memories mostly revolve
around food,

especially the food
of our grandparents.

My grandfather was someone
who really encouraged my dreams.

Being back here with my brother
reminds me of being in the kitchen

of my grandfather,

helping with one of
his favourite dishes -

the choucroute garnie.

For me, the choucroute
was a great moment,

and when I was serving the dish of
la choucroute de Papi to us,

the family, without knowing,

I think that helped me
guide me to what I want to do,

to become a cook, yeah.

A key moment?

- Yeah, it was a key moment of...
- Key moment.

..of my future career, you know?

We were not in a hotel particulier,
or in a castle,

but that was my castle,

that was our castle
of the 19th arrondissement.

But more than a castle,

I would say it was our kingdom.

Yeah.

In honour of the 19th,
and my memories of my grandparents,

I will show you how to make
a choucroute,

a garnished sauerkraut,

but with a modern spin,

bigger and more delicious
than any you have seen before.

Today, in the 19th arrondissement,

I'm going to make a choucroute.

A choucroute is sour cabbage.

As a young kid,

my grandparents used to live
in the 19th,

and once a month, doesn't matter
if it's winter, spring or summer,

we used to have a choucroute
at my grandfather's place,

and my highlight of the day

was when I walk up
to the dining room of my grandparents

with a dish of choucroute.

I was the proudest young boy
in the room.

It was like carrying
the Rugby World Cup into the table.

So what do you need next?

You need some smoky, salted meat.

There, I've got some French speck,

I've got the Lyonnaise saucisson,

I've got my Toulouse saucisse,

and I've got my Morteau sausage,

from the town of Morteau.

Which vegetable I'm going to use?
Well, I'll tell you.

We're doing turnips, carrots,

I've got two varieties of
heirloom carrots,

and leeks,

and I did boil some potatoes
and peel them.

That's it. That's all I want.

OK, so I've got my cabbage there.

So a little bit of caraway.

My juniper berry.

I love juniper berry.

The cloves. Just a couple of them.

My vegetable stock.

You want your choucroute
to be quite white.

Voila.

My salad vinegar.

Just a touch of it,
you don't need too much.

Let's toss everything.

Top on

and here we go.

All I'm doing here,
my cabbage is already cooked,

it's already pickled, OK?

So all I'm doing here,
I'm heating it up.

I'm going to add...

..my turnips.

- (PAN SIZZLES)
- Beautiful.

- I'm going to add...
- (PAN SIZZLES)

..a touch of vegetable stock

and I'm just going to
let that simmer.

In the meantime,
I'm going to do my carrots.

It is a very rustic dish,
but, I promise you,

it'll warm your heart.

And I'm just putting them
with my turnips.

I've got my simple leeks,

and, again,

put it with my other vegetables.

Three or four juniper berries,

little bit of caraway,

and half a clove,

and let that cook, slowly, simmering.

Just a touch more butter. Sorry.

You know me and butter.
What a love story we've got here.

I'm going to cook this speck

into little batonnets,

and from the moment
you are putting your meat,

you know what's going to happen,

the meat's going to infuse
your cabbage and the stock,

and that's when you're starting
to think,

"I think I'm into something here."

Lid back on.

In the meantime, I'm going to pan-fry
my Toulouse sausages,

and I think we're looking
pretty good.

Here we go. My Toulouse are ready.

So,

here we go.

Look at that. Beautiful.

Just like that, and I'm
going to try my choucroute,

because I want to make sure
it's perfect.

Mmm!

It's good.

OK, so what I'm going to do

is I think I'm going to do
a bed of cabbage first...

..little bit of sausages...

..little bit of speck,

and my beautiful vegetable,

nicely cooked - yum.

Just a little bit of parsley to bring
a little bit of greens into it.

Not too much.

And to finish it up,
my beautiful potatoes.

Just look at the colour of it.
Just beautiful.

This is a pretty good choucroute

and I'm sure that it would make
a lot of families

in the 19th arrondissement happy

and I'm sure my Papi d'amour

would be so proud of me.

Thank you, Papi.

From a district I consider home

to a district that became home
for artists and exiles.

The 20th arrondissement began life
as a village outside of Paris.

It was an industrial area

with cheap housing.

The area was wrapped into Paris

when Napoleon expanded
the city limits in 1860.

Over time, it became
the trendy address in Paris,

driven largely by an influx of
20th-century Bohemians and outsiders

coming to live and party here.

Some, like Jim Morrison
and Oscar Wilde,

decided to stay here forever,

buried in the world-famous cemetery,
le Pere Lachaise.

This arrondissement was a place
where humble people and humble food

rose to become icons
of the 20th century,

and one local was higher
than them all.

Paris' greatest singer,
Edith Piaf, was born right here,

on the Rue de Belleville.

Given away by her mother at three,

a street urchin,

who grew up in a brothel,

her music will forever
echo in these streets.

Just down the hill from Chez Piaf

is one of the most famous
drinking venues in the 20th,

Cafe Aux Folies,

where the Little Sparrow
raised a glass and performed.

I'm meeting Allison Zinder,
a French historian and guide

who knows all about
the wild reputation

of the 20th arrondissement.

We are going to try a cocktail
called La Zezette.

La Zezette?

- This is a lady's drink...
- Yes.

..that would have been drunk
by ladies, probably coming here,

you know, the end of the 1800s,

after they got out of work,
and their patron, or their boss,

would bring them here, and they would
have this nice lady's drink,

which is actually one part absinthe

and then seven parts very cold,

quite sweet, white wine.

Yeah, like a Monbazillac,
something like that?

Yeah, a Monbazillac, and you can
serve it over two, three ice cubes.

- You get very tipsy with absinthe.
- Yeah.

The artists used to love
to drink it, because, ah,

they get crazy paintings.

Yeah, yeah, it would inspire them.

- Are we ready to try the Zezette?
- Oui.

Alright. Cheers!

- Sante. Bonheur.
- Sante. Bonheur.

- J'aime.
- Mmm! Refreshing!

- On s'assoit?
- Yes.

We take the drinks outside to enjoy
the atmosphere of the street.

Edith Piaf.

Like, my grandmother sang Edith Piaf,

my mum sings Edith Piaf,

I sing Edith Piaf.

Did she perform around here?

- She did.
- She did?

Yes. She performed in the theatre,

at that time it was a dance hall,
right behind this bar, called...

- Des Folies.
- ..called Des Folies.

Oh, how cool is that?

Des Folies was actually
a whole entire theatre

that dates from about 1842,

and it sort of changed
as the times changed.

Initially, it was a dance hall,
and then it became a cinema,

for example, in the 1950s,

because that's what the popular form
of entertainment was.

And so this, Aux Folies,
this part here,

was actually just the bar
of the theatre

and it was a little bit behind it.

- OK, like the Entracte Royal, er...
- Exactly, yeah.

Belleville has this whole history of

partying, basically.

- Party?
- Er, yeah. Party.

Never heard of it.

I must've never been invited
when I was in Paris.

(LAUGHS)

Well, I mean, all of it started
with this, er, the wall.

The Farmer's General wall,
it's called.

- OK, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- It was built in 1784, 1785.

So, basically, anyone who wanted
to go into Paris,

with building materials, fuel,

food, drink,

they would get taxed.

- So what do smart Parisians do?
- Live outside the...

Yeah. They leave Paris, they come
outside the wall, and they basically,

you know, eat on the cheap,
and drink - a lot - on the cheap,

and they take advantage of
this big party atmosphere here.

All this whole area was full
of grapevines and fruit orchards,

and so there was tons of wine
being made here.

GUILLAUME: The 20th, with its
reputation for anything goes,

has welcomed all kinds of people
from all kinds of nationalities

for more than a century,

and they have had a huge influence
on the food and culture.

It started happening
in the early 1900s.

You had Greek people coming in.

They were the leather workers, down
this street, you know, making shoes.

Then you had, you know,
Northern African Jews coming in.

There's still a lot of Northern
African Jewish restaurants there.

Yeah, Belleville was
the Sephardic Jewish...

Exactly, and also people from
Algeria, the Kabyle, or the Berbers,

even if you walk up
the Rue de Bellville,

you're going to see lots of different
signs in different languages.

- You know, sante...
- Sante, and bonheur.

..and you know what? And bonheur.
And you know what?

Thank you for telling me
all these secrets of the 20th.

We need more people like you.

Thank you.
Thank you for talking to me.

- Sante bonheur, et merci.
- Sante bonheur. Merci a toi.

With its rich melting pot of
artistic and international cultures,

next I will take you to the streets
to find the ultimate couscous,

and finish with
a luscious roast chicken,

with a side dish named after
this very city,

my famous Paris Mash.

Just walking the streets
of the 20th arrondissement,

I am struck by the incredible aromas

of all kinds of
international cuisine.

Immigrants from North Africa started
settling in these neighbourhoods

in the 1920s,

bringing with them
the flavour of home.

I've been drawn to Les Rigoles,

a bistro with
a great couscous menu.

- Hey.
- Bonjour, monsieur!

- Bonjour. Ca va?
- Oui, tres bien.

Vous etes bien?

Couscous has become adopted
by the French in a big way.

This humble dish is featured
on the menu in most Parisian bistros.

But the Couscous Royal at Les
Rigoles looks anything by humble.

MAN: Et voila.

The smell is unbelievable.
Look at that.

- Merci.
- Merci.

It's quite amazing, we're in
the 20th arrondissement of Paris,

not many tourists here, we're talking
about really the local Parisians,

very multicultural people live here,
and I tell you something,

these dishes is so fine.

This is serious cooking.

There is love in this cooking.

The Couscous Royal is delicieux.

People come from all over the world
to make the 20th their home

and there is nothing that says home
like a simple, home-cooked meal.

Of course, Paris is famous
for all cuisine,

but most Parisians, on most nights,

cook and eat very simple food.

Every butcher in Paris has a chicken
rotisserie taking pride of place

at the front door.

Even Edith Piaf loved eating chicken.

To celebrate the 20th arrondissement,
and my time in Paris,

I'm going to make a simple
roast chicken and Paris mash.

Comfort cooking at its best.

This is a dish that evokes
memories of my life here.

The taste of home, in a city
that I, and many others,

have been proud to call home.

Let's roast a chicken together.

I'm going to put it on a tray,

and I'm a big believer,
with a chicken,

little bit of thyme,
bay leaves, rosemary,

garlic,

and I think there is nothing better

than massaging your chicken
with butter.

I know you're going to say
I put so much butter.

You're right.

There is a lot of butter.

I'm going to put a touch of salt.

The salt will get the skin
nice and crispy.

Voila.

It's ready to go in the oven.

For this size of chicken,

you know, a good 1.8-kilo chicken,

180 degrees, 55 to one hour.

So, chicken in, I'm going
to make my Paris Mash.

I already put my potato with water,
very simple.

I like using small potatoes,
cold water, bring it to the boil,

little bit of salt,
let it cook through,

until you can put a knife through it.

Perfect.

I'm going to drain it, and I'm
going to peel it very quickly.

Why am I peeling them so quickly?

I want the potato to be hot.

I'm passing them to the mouli,

and after that,
I'm going to dry them off,

like I was doing a choux pastry.

You want to get
the humidity out of it,

and why you want to get the humidity
out of your potato

is that will make your Paris Mash
very smooth.

Look at that - perfect
for a puree or potage.

Look at this golden colour

of potato.

I'm very happy with that.

All my potatoes are there,
and trust me,

the more you work up your mash
at the start,

the better finish you will have.

And what I'm going to add now
is a touch of boiling milk.

Just a touch.

Voila.

And I'm going to work my mash again.

Because my mouli was good,

but not quite good enough,

I'm going to use the thinnest
of the thinnest sieves.

Here we go.

Right, just pass it.

That's it.

Voila.

And I'm putting it back in the pot,
because I need to work on it still.

And now the mash is nearly finished,

I need to add my cold butter to it.

One, two, three,

and I lost count.

So what I'm trying to do here,

I'm trying to bring some air
underneath my potato

to get my cold butter
to emulsion my hot potato,

to have a nice silky, yummy,
delicious Paris Mash.

And look at that.

Look at this beautiful
roast chicken.

I'm going to cut it, and plate one
plate, just to show you the way

I would like it to be served.

I've got some chicken jus
I made yesterday,

and in France,

especially in Paris,

when you serve a roast chicken,

we don't give you the breast,
or the legs,

we given you a little bit of both.

I've got my breast,
with some nice crispy skin.

I've got my legs.

Let's put a spoon of Paris Mash.

You know what?
Let's put two spoons of Paris Mash.

But now, my chicken jus.

Look at that.

Little bit of parsley.

You know, I'm not an artist,

a bohemian,

but I am very proud of
my chef-d'oeuvre.

It's very simple.

It's a roast chicken with Paris Mash
and there's chicken jus.

This is a kind of simple,
hearty supper

I am sure Edith Piaf
would have sung for.

Bon appetit, mes amis.

Captions by Red Bee Media
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