What is really the "taste of Marseille" ?

Last week was held the first edition of Sirha Méditerranée, bringing together 14,000 professionals at Parc Chanot to meet exhibitors, but also speakers from the Sirha Food Forum, for 3 days of intense exchanges and inspiring masterclasses. Among the thirty conferences, one particularly fascinated us, around the definition of the « taste of Marseille ».  Bringing together Isabelle Brémond (General Director of Provence Tourisme), Laura Vidal (co-founder of The Small Group: La Mercerie, Livingston, etc.), Emmanuel Perrodin (historian and former chef of the restaurant Le Relais 50) and Pierre Psaltis (journalist and lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille), the discussion promised to be as rich as it is inspiring. And it was.

It all starts with a not that simple question, asked to the speakers of the day: "the taste of Marseille, what is it?". Almost unanimous response on stage. "It’s a voyeuristic taste, outrageous, excessive, incisive and very pronounced," says Pierre Psaltis. Comments confirmed by Laura Vidal "here, there is solar energy with a spicy, crazy side, which is exaggerated". "Sometimes even a bit ill-bred, who voluntarily leaves the beaten track" overcalls Emmanuel Perrodin. Isabelle Brémond insists on it, to differentiate three culinary identities that coexist in the region: Marseille on one hand- which wants to be transgressive - and Provence and the Camargue on the other hand, focused on local products.

Our four speakers agree that the gastronomy of Marseille is a synthesis, both of respect for the product - and therefore its temporality - and of the history of the city, not hesitating to seek from others techniques and products that it will then adapt, to the point of claiming a certain paternity, examples of minestrone or garum. "Marseille is an empirical laboratory, its history and geography have largely influenced its taste" notes Pierre Psaltis. The city is a meeting place, between here and elsewhere. Before the development of air transport, quantities of products (coffee, seafood and vegetables for exemple) pass through Marseille to be exported to the rest of the Hexagon.

Back to the 21st century. "Today, Marseille will ask you to express yourself and be fully yourself," notes Laura Vidal, "in Marseille, everyone is a foreigner." Isabelle Brémond does not contradict her: "Marseille is a laboratory in perpetual movement, with cuisine that comes from elsewhere but which is, in the end, deeply Marseillaise". To complete this statement, Emmanuel Perrodin does not hesitate to take the example of olive oil, which, contrary to popular belief, has only recently made its mark in local gastronomy. “Olive oil is a recent phenomenon. The war of fat was won only about 50 years ago, against lard. Animal fat has long played an essential role in Marseille’s cuisine," reinforcing the idea of a city constantly evolving its culinary identity.

Facing the standardization of certain tastes – coffee is now made from a single variety with only one roasting technique, far from Henri Blanc coffee-, the loss of a certain heritage -there is only one garlic producer left in Marseille-, our speakers draw a conclusion where Marseille is the perfect example: a heritage that does not question itself and does not evolve is a heritage that is dying. The taste of Marseille is very much alive.