Dining With Local Parisians!
Another hidden treasure in Paris is MamazSocialFood.com. This is a website where you can arrange to have a home-cooked or gourmet meal with a French couple or family.
Imagine — a way to interact with real Parisians! A real adventure. I loved this idea.
For the cost of a night out (I paid $$50 USD/$65 CAD) you can choose from a long list of people who want to meet and cook for you. There are plenty of menus and locations. (One woman even arranges summer picnics along the Seine for instance.)
This is how I found Marie Christine. I was looking for a woman of a certain age (naturally) who I could get to know over a nice meal.
I arrived at her apartment in the 16th arrondissement bordering the river and was greeted warmly by Marie Christine, her husband François, and their darling cat called “Chachounet”. (No idea what that means!)
The couple are world travelers so speaking a combination of French and English (they wanted to practice too!), we had lots to talk on a variety of subjects from local politics to women’s rights.
The dinner was almost beside the point, but it was delicious — we had a lovely red and yellow tomato salad with buffalo mozzarella, lightly seasoned chicken cutlets, scalloped potatoes, and a fruit salad with a crisp meringue for dessert.
And of course we imbibed from a fine bottle of French red, a 2009 Bordeaux. Oh la la!
Marie Christine has been on the MamazSocialFood website since 2014 and has entertained people from other parts of France, but also from all over Europe and beyond. In fact, she once had some Australians book a lunch at her home.
“Six people arrived at the door! They did not speak a word of French and showed up in shorts and t-shirts. We had quite the party!” she says.
I would certainly take advantage of this service again because not only did I get to experience Paris up close and personal with real Parisians but I made some more new friends!
You can find Marie Christine at
https://www.voulezvousdiner.com/en/users/marie-christine-paris-16-paris-france-3667
But you can book a meal anywhere in France at MamazSocialFood.com. Check it out.
*Thanks to my BF Shardie Stevenson for coming with me on this adventure and taking some of the pictures above!
Diana Bishop the founder of The Success Story Program and A Woman of a Certain Age in Paris as well as a well-known correspondent with over 25 years working for CTV, CBC News, and NBC News. She loves travel, writing, and all things Parisienne.
That sounds like a fantastic idea for a night out in Paris. Its all anout the experiences. No?
It is all about the experiences and the people you meet. I am making so many new friends in Paris!
Diana, what a lovely story! I will most certainly partake the next time my family and I visit Paris!
And when you do, tell us all about it. It is really a great service!
Thanks for the comment Michelle!
Michelle — how wonderful to have a reader from Washington DC! How ever did you find my blog?
And thank you for the email too! Diana
What a great way to dine and make new friends.
I love reading your blog. Enjoy your Paris adventures.
Nur.
Nur, So great to hear from you! Thank you so much for the feedback! Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you are doing well! Diana
Diana! this sounds wonderful and would have done this in a heartbeat over Christmas past when we were in Paris. Much like the other opportunity that you mentioned with PaisGreeters. We greatly enjoyed our tour through Montmartre with Yves Renault, a retired architect. He gave us a true insider view of that area and was very charming! Thanks for that tip and now this one! Keep them coming, we will go back to Paris!
What was it like being in Paris over Christmas? I have always wanted to do that but am usually home in Canada visiting with my family at that time?
I am so glad you got to take advantage of Paris Greeters. It is an amazing offering and I will be doing another outing again soon. Thanks for the post!
Christmas in Paris, where they deliver fresh pain au chocolate, croissant and a baguette Christmas morning par biciclette! Add to that a big wave with Joyeux Noel and bon journee! Who could want for more! It was a spectacular time indeed!
Really … pain au chocolat right to my door! Would that not be heaven or what? i have to spend a Christmas in Paris!
I am interested!
I am delighted to enter your name to win the Two Free French Lessons Mary Alice. Thank you for following me on my blog! Diana
I love this idea! We just came back from Paris where we had the opportunity to meet a woman in her home on the Left Bank. So interesting to get a taste of how people live in a different country! I will try to remember Voulez Vous diner for next time! Because, bien sur, there will be a next time! Cheers!
Robin,
Thank you so much for this comment. I always love meeting people and as you say, you get an idea in visiting them in their home, how they live and what they are interested in. Thank you for reading my blog! And please share your stories with us!
I love it. I can’t wait to go back to Paris now