The decision to head over to the Salon Saveurs last month was a spur of the moment thing for a quick trip and back, so I caught an ungodly early morning train to take a two hour ride to Paris. I got to the expo center a little before the opening, which was great serendipity because during this waiting time, I met a sweet Parisian lady, who gave me a free invitation to the Salon, saving me 8 euros. Yay. She mentioned that, in fact, hardly anyone pays for the event because vendors all over town have stacks of free invites. So for those of you living in Paris and contemplating going in December or next year, just ask some of your local produce or meat vendors if they have any to give away. I noticed other people looking to give away their invites as well. Who said Parisians were unfriendly?

I love culinary oils and am constantly in search of different oils from France and luckily the Salon presented more booths of olive oil producers than even vintners, which amazed me. My favorite olive oils are Greek but I was hoping to find some French oils that could rival those from Greece. I tasted a lot of different olive oils, which were pretty good, but then one vendor gave me a little (shot) cup to taste and it totally burned the back of my throat and I started to cough and my eyes watered. He was like, “WHAT is the problem?!” I told him it was acidic (whether that was good to say or not, it certainly was true); something was strange about the oil. It was mild and sweet at first but had a killer burn effect just seconds later. He totally denied that his oil was acidic, tasting it himself by closing his eyes and taking a swig. He was so still I thought he’d died standing up. He then did that loud slurping, gargling thing that coffee and wine tasters do. Me rolled eyes and moved on to buy a bottle from another small vendor from the south, near Toulouse. My favorite olive oils remain to be from Greece, however.

My later acquisition was a jar of pesto from a small farm in Germany made with pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil (L’huile de pépins de courges) along with other ingredients. I wanted to get a bottle of the oil but thought about the weight that was starting to accumulate that I’d have to lug around. I hate carrying things!! Next stop was…more oil! Honestly, something is wrong with me. Why couldn’t I have gotten yummy sundried tomatoes or dried mushrooms or herbs or tea?? They are soooo light. So this time, it was a Moroccan vendor selling Argan oil, which I’d never had at home. Argan oil is from the nut of Argan trees that grow primarily in Morocco. The nuts need to be digested by goats before they are harvested from the …goat poop. I know. Grossssss! Actually, I read about that process AFTER I bought two little bottles, so I’m not sure I would’ve bought them if I’d known. I’ve eaten a lot of food in Morocco (especially during a month long traveling trip alone in Morocco) and I love the food so I’m sure I’ve unknowingly eaten it in some form or another. I just have to get over the nasty thought of poop oil. I’ve been wanting to cook Moroccan tajine dishes for ages but didn’t have all the ingredients. I can now also make preserved lemons so I have no excuse. When I think about it, I do remember seeing lots of goats in some beautiful trees in Morocco and thought they looked like trees growing goats. I think they were probably Argan trees. It is REALLY hard to expel the goat poo idea from my head.

After many samplings of everything: sausages, cheeses, oils, candies, chocolate, spreads, etc. I got some yummy spicy apricot chutney (I’d coincidentally just seen this southern French company featured in a French magazine). Later I grabbed some excellent parmigianno reggiano (love that stuff). The real thing from Italy. Another tip for this Salon Saveur if you go is: you can actually haggle for items, at least with the Italian vendors. I’d overhead the cheese guy tell someone he’d give him a great price on something, so it was a good practice to do that when I went over to his stand. Definitely optional but you don’t want to get ripped off. Some things at the Salon were obscenely (and unreasonably) overpriced. I don’t like to try to barter with the really small businesses since I want them to survive. (There are just too many big companies eating the little guys – it makes me sad.)

Next time, I’d probably do things differently but I’d recommend a few things if you plan on going to the Paris Salon Saveurs: 1) be rested so as not to be in a daze and wander aimlessly which I did; 2) bring a thermal isolated cooler to be able to buy fresh sausages, cheeses, produce or chocolate and keep them fresh with ice or icepacks (if you can get them to a frig within a reasonable amount of time; 3) bring a carry bag with wheels so you don’t have to shlep around heavy items; 4) check out the plants. They had live herb plants for those of you interested in spicing up your balconies or adding to your gardens; 5) try to get your hands on a free invitation. Ask around at your local food merchants; 6) If you’re looking to buy gifts, have a list ready so you can check it off as you go; 7) Some wines’ prices were crazily marked up so you might want to sample some then make a note of the ones you like; you’re bound to find them (especially the French wines) in the markets at a lower price.

Lastly, I don’t know for sure but I have a feeling the December Salon Saveur is a little bigger (with more vendors) than the Spring expo since it is close to the holidays, perfect time for finding gifts.

Tags: france, french, salon+saveurs, food+expo, paris