The Last Bouilloire in Paris

French Lessons

One of the items on my list of

"Things to Get in Paris" was a

copper kettle.  So I went to THE

place for kitchenware in Paris,

E. Dehillerin.  Dehillerin has been

around since 1820 and everyone

who is anyone in the food world

has shopped there.

Including Julia Child,  I'm guessing

most of those pans in her kitchen

came from Dehillerin, it is where she

shopped when learning to cook in Paris.

Take a look at the kitchen in the background,

 I think it looks alot like Dehillerin.

The interior of Dehillerin reminds me

of the hardware stores of my youth.

Jammed to to ceilings with products,

organized ~ yes, a bit dusty ~ yes,

fancy ~ NO!  If you are the type of

person that must shop in a Williams-

Sonama type of store, this is not for you.

But it is THE place to go for

French chefs. 

On a Spring afternoon, my brother

and I strolled over from our apartment

in the Marais, on a quest for my kettle.

When we got in the store my brother

told the salesman that I wanted a

Bouilloire, pronouncing it "boo loo wah"

and he was corrected by the salesman.

It is "boo oow loo wah".  Now, we will

never forget how to pronounce kettle in

French.  The salesman then told us they

no longer were selling the large kettles. 

There was one hanging on the wall and I

asked if they would sell me that one?

After some consultation with his co-workers,

it was decided that yes, they would.

While they worked on getting the kettle

down and packing it we went exploring

all the nooks and crannies of the shop,
including the cellar.  It is fascinating to

see all the things they carry and to think

of all the great chefs who have walked

these same steps.

Back upstairs, one of the salesmen chatted

with me about tennis while I waited in line

to pay.  I find it sad when I read about this

and other places in Paris and people say they

were treated so rudely.  Only once in Paris

was I ever treated poorly and that was by

a waiter who probably is rude to his own

Mother.  Generally people in Paris are nice,

they are more reserved than Americans but

that is not a problem.  I have found if you

behave in a nice manner, you are treated

well anywhere in the world.

Here is my much used bouilloire.

I think I have found the best way to

 learn foreign words.  Go someplace

foreign and become part of the culture.

Just ask Mr. Wonderful how to say

candle in French ~ bougie.

But that's another story...