‘Food is the key to understanding Marseille’: a gastronomic city tour

Seduced by the cuisine of the Mediterranean port, an expat American food writer guides us around the ‘no fuss’ cafes and restaurants that embody France’s oldest city

‘Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are,” wrote philosopher-gourmand Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in 1825, and this is particularly true of today’s Marseille: food is the key to understanding the city. The kesra flatbread grilled by grandmothers from the Algerian diaspora in Noailles. The pizzas scarfed by Olympique de Marseille jersey-clad teens and families on the rocky beach at sunset. The waterfront restaurant that has served fish to generations of marseillais for more than 80 years. These foods embody the heritage, diversity and conviviality of Marseille.

I moved to Marseille from the US seven years ago, following in the footsteps of celebrated American food writers MFK Fisher and Julia Child, who were similarly seduced by the city. Exploring its flavours in my articles has broadened my culinary education, as did translating Taste the World in Marseille into English. My friends joke that I’m a “living guidebook”. I also lead food tours with Culinary Backstreets since, apart from eating, the best way to understand this complex city is to walk it.