Librairie Gourmande is a Parisian gem that has been around since the 1985. It’s a bookstore with a difference.
The Librairie Gourmande has been working in conjunction with students, teachers, food and wine professionals, and enthusiasts to support them every day by offering the most extensive collections of books on the subject of food and drink.
A specialist in French gastronomy, the Librairie Gourmande has an extensive collection of classic and contemporary texts on bistro cooking, cheese, and wine. However, the catalogue is so much more than this! The Librairie Gourmande also stocks a wide range of publications on food history, cultural studies, and the relationship between food and art.
Librairie Gourmande knows just how essential reading is to professionals who are always looking for new resources. The collection is vast, and there is no other place outside the Atheneum Bookstore in Beaune where I have found such resources and delights.
Imagine International cookbooks from every country you can think of, chef biographies, and an entire atlas of cheeses, fish, herbs, and mushrooms – one can easily spend an afternoon getting lost inside. I have on more than one occasion.
The staff is incredibly helpful and well-versed in their field. Rarely do I ask a question that they can’t answer, and if by some miracle they don’t know the answer, they will find it for me. They have been known to set aside items from other publishers or private collections when asked about particular works.
For fellow wine nerds, journalists, and students like myself, you will find the wine section is nestled in the corner of the first floor at the base of the stairs. The shelves are a pure pleasure to explore. In addition to selling stables like Introductions of wines, maps, and oenology textbooks, they also have whole sub-sections on wine business, marketing, religion, and music.
If you don’t read French, rest assured because there are plenty of titles available in English too.
For the Paris traveler, a recommendation: The librarie has a series of single-ingredient small leaflets that give numerous ways to prepare a single ingredient. I couldn’t help myself and picked up two; one for figs and the other for rhubarb. The grey weather we’ve had in Paris makes I’ve felt the need to spend cozy weekends at home experimenting with seasonal fruits. These little books are priced at just 5 euros each, creating the perfect home warming gift or stocking stuffer.
The Library Gourmande partnered with Radio France to offer cultural podcasts and segments related to their mission. A suggestion for the podcast lover, French speaker or learner.
Check out these episodes.
- Le livre de cuisine: le marché avec Déborah Dupont
- Le livre de cuisine: la restauration avec Jean-François Mallet
- Le livre de cuisine: les grands chefs avec Frédéric Anton
- Le livre de cuisine: les pâtisseries avec Jacques Gautier
- Le livre de cuisine: l’Italie avec Daniela Bini
The neighborhood around Opéra and Bourse (metro 3) is a belle époque paradise of grand boulevards, refined arcades, and mass-market art-nouveau entertainment. I suggest coupling your visit an afternoon of wandering through the Galerie Vivienne, stopping at one of Paris’s oldest wine shops, La Grand. Then have a glass of champagne in the galerie.
