Random Places: E. Dehillerin

I just saw the preview of Julia & Julia (the story about Julia Child, the chef, played by Meryl Streep – the best actress out there) coming out on August 7th. Watching this clip makes me hungry but also ready to pack up and go to Paris. I bring it up because most of the movie takes place in the city of Paris and one particular scene at E.Dehillerin, a little gem of a store tucked in the 1st arrondissement of Paris near the Marais District. My husband and I learned about this shop sitting next to a chef and his wife at dinner in Paris a few years ago. He mentioned this was THE place where all the chefs got their cooking utensils and at great prices. So of course we ventured there the next day.

E. Dehillerin is dusty, cramped and old (granted it has been there since 1820) but has every copper pot imaginable and lots of kitchen gadgets you wouldn’t think of to use. Shipping is easy and fast and the prices are much better than you can get in the States (I’m not sure that is still true when you add in shipping costs but I rather have the experience buying copper pots in Paris than the Williams-Sonoma store down the street wouldn’t you?).

I returned to E. Dehillerin this December with my girlfriend to buy more pots and pans (because you can never have too many copper pots – even if you don’t use them, they look so good). My friend, who doesn’t cook that much, even got caught up in the whole drama and is still trying to figure out how it came to be that she ended up with copper pots as her only main purchase during our trip together (every time we went to Hermes it was closed! Next time…).

So if you like to cook and happen to be in Paris, check this wonderful place out and make sure to ask for Franck (he’s been there like 100 years, has his own quirky French sense of humor but has the whole ordering down to a pat, especially for Americans). Which brings this all back to Julia Child who Franck mentioned used to go here for all her kitchen accessories and Meryl Streep who was just filming there the week before we stopped by.

Oh, and its not far from two of my favorite cafes in the Marais, Au Gamin de Paris and Au Petit Fer a Cheval (both on Rue Vieille Du Temple) but let’s save the topic of Paris cafes for another time.