Food
A Taste of Marseille
Marseille is often described as a melting pot of cultures and identities. This reputation certainly applies gastronomically. While Marseille is famous for traditional French dishes like fish bouillabaisse, many other styles of cooking are growing in popularity. During my short stay in Marseille, I was able to sample French, Algerian, Turkish, Italian, and Tunisian food to name a few.
I am a firm believer that one of the best ways to understand a city and its culture is through food. My understanding of Marseille would not have been as comprehensive without my lunch at Chez Etienne, one of the most famous pizza joints in the city. Today there is much evidence of Italian presence in the city. Economic and political conditions in the late 19th century brought thousands of Italian immigrants to the city. In fact, as much as 40% of Marseille’s population was comprised of Italians in the early 20th century. Chez Etienne served traditional olive and anchovy pizza in a lively but homey environment.
Another memorable culinary experience was our group dinner at La Kahena, a Tunisian restaurant next to the Vieux Port. Most of us ate delicious and authentic couscous, a staple grain in the Maghreb. My personal favorite meal in Marseille was at Istanbul Kebab in center city. This hole in the wall Turkish restaurant was run by a man who emigrated from Turkey more than twenty years ago. We spoke in a mix of French and Turkish about his experiences moving to Marseille. It was the best köfte (meatballs) I’ve eaten outside of Istanbul.
In class we read Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo, in which the protagonist was very fond of a drink called pastis. He described it as “passerelles entre les hommes” or a bridge between people (p.57). Pastis is an anise flavored liquor and hailed as one of the official beverages of Marseille. This is fitting considering the name pastis is indicative of the word pastiche- a potpourri of musical, literary, or cultural works. It has grown to symbolize the complex, mixed identity of Marseille. Miriam Saward, a French studies professor at Monash University puts it best: “just as the drink itself is opaque and cloudy, so is the city [Marseille]when it comes to pinning down its cultural identity to one thing or another.”