„Il est frais, mon poisson, il est frais!“, sounds from the left: “My fish is fresh!” – „Venez, venez, venez!“, echoes onomatopoetically from the right: “Come!” This is the typical background noise of the fish market at the old harbour of Marseille. The seafood really is fresh: There, that scorpion fish, wasn’t it just winking at the fisherman? There, that crayfish, didn’t it just move? Two women tourists in bright costumes carefully step across a beach, pointing to a pile of pearly glistening discs: “What’s this?”

The lady fishmonger with hard, weather-beaten traits and short, brown hair smiles. “This, mesdames, is the eye of Sainte Lucie!” Two pairs of questioning eyes look back. With animated gestures she tells them how the martyr Lucie was denounced as a Christian during Roman times. “And this before her own fiancé! But he could not forget the beauty of her eyes. And then…”, dramatic pause, “…then Lucie tore out her eyeballs to present them on a plate to her fiancé.” Shudder. “But here in the south the eye is lucky, drives off curses, brings wealth.” Of course it is not an eye, but the “cover” of a shellfish called a “biou”. Despite this, the two ladies buy it for two euros and promptly place it in a change purse. “That’s where it will bring wealth,” adds the fishmonger.

Yvan Cadiou, a stocky man with short-cut, bustling dark brown hair, laughs about the scene. “Ça, c’est Marseille!” “That’s Marseille!” “The frenchman” appears in bold letters on the front of Cadiou’s T-shirt and just as large on the back is written “The wicked chef”. No more questions here, this has to be a cooking Frenchman. “There, the roussette, that looks really good, give me three of those,” he says. “That’s a small, harmless shark that the fishermen of Marseille occasionally haul in,” he explains to us, handing us the fish bags. “And if you really want to get acquainted with Marseille, then you carry the shopping now” – because “The frenchman” still needs pimento, mint, tomatoes and zucchini. And he’ll only find those away from the Canebière shopping district with its in part magnificent facades, which tour guides like to refer to as the Champs-Elysées of Marseille.

Rue Vacon is the way inside, directly to another continent. Live chickens flap their wings in cages, the vegetables glisten full of rich colours. Most women are veiled, men wear jelebas, haggling loudly in a mix of Arabic and French. Yvan is content, rubbing a bit of fresh mint in his hands. “Here, smell this – ça c’est Marseille,” he says. “Sometimes monumental like the magnificent Palais Longchamp is confectioner style, that in truth is only the end of a canal – and then you only turn a few corners and you’re suddenly in the middle of Marrakesh.” We again saunter toward the old harbour, up to the fort on the left, across a pub district, where every publican asserts that he alone has the authentic bouillabaisse recipe. “So, where is there really good fish soup?,” we enquire. Yvan grumbles. The omertà of French cuisine dictates that you never criticise a colleague.

And our host doesn’t even have his own restaurant. He writes recipes for cookbooks and the Champion supermarket chain, shoots cooking videos for TV and commercials. But to praise a single colleague? This is hard for Yvan. By carefully reading between the lines we nevertheless come to understand that the modern version of fish soup is served by a certain Lionel Lévy in a restaurant called “Une table, au sud”, in the form of a milkshake to be precise. We also incidentally find out that “Le Café des Epices” featuring the young cook Arnaud Carton de Grammont is currently the hottest bistro in Marseille. “But you have to make reservations, because the room is tiny.” A bit of reverence resonates in Yvan’s voice while recommending “Le Petit Nice”, the former villa of the Comtesse de Blisson located directly on the sea, where the chef de cuisine, Gérald Passédat, serves up creations such as sea anemones in cress bouillon.

“In 1917 grandpa Passédat was only able to buy the villa because, like the Comtesse, he already had a telephone. He beat out all other interested parties with a single call,” laughs Yvan. He should know, because the top restaurant in the city is located in the vicinity of his fishing hut. Two rooms, a kitchen with pink fridge, four Ikea shelves full of cookbooks, a bunk bed amidst the creative chaos. Colourful ceramic cups hang from the ceiling. Yvan unfolds his wooden countertop, cuts the centre bone out of the roussette, quarters the tomatoes in record-breaking speed. Fish, zucchini, mint, tomatoes, Soya sauce, garlic and olive oil land in a sturdy electric wok. Five minutes later fragrances ascend. Yvan covers the quay wall with a linen cloth, gets a few bottles of “La Cagole” beer from the fridge and sets out a few plates. “Voilà, small shark with mint and a view of the sea and fishing boats,” he says. “Ça, c’est Marseille!”

Marseille for Gourmets:

Le Café des Epices – Arnaud Carton de Grammont loves spices and aromas. Small, creative restaurant with a few tables and sometimes varying standard. 4, rue Lacydon, 13002 Marseille, Tel. 0033-491 91 22 69. Closed Saturday at noon, Sunday, menu EUR 20–35.

Chez Etienne – The Cassaro family restaurant is an institution. There’s no telephone just as there are no prices on the menu. This is why friendly people apparently pay a little less for a good pizza or a small fried squid. 43, rue Lorette, 13002 Marseille. No reservations, closed Sunday. A la carte approx. EUR 23.

Chez Loury – Harbour restaurant with small terrace. Despite the numerous restaurants in the immediate vicinity, there is a proper, affordable bouillabaisse here. 3, rue Fortia, 13001 Marseille, Tel. 0033-491 33 09 73, www.loury.com. Open daily. Menu EUR 28–29.

L’Epuisette – Panorama view over the sea in a restaurant located on a tiny island. Wonderful location, but pretty high prices. Vallon des Auffes, 13007 Marseille, Tel. 0033-491 52 17 82,
www.l-epuisette.com. Menu EUR 50–110.

Hostellerie Bérard – Country hotel in an old monastery with own fruit and herb garden. Beautiful view of the Bandol vineyards. Cooking courses. 83740 La Cadière-d’Azur, Tel. 0033-494 90 11 43, www.hotel-berard.com. Menu EUR 49.

Le Petit Nice – Former country residence of the Comtesse de Blisson: Gérald Passédat has made the villa in Greco style with swimming pool the destination for gourmets. Creative cuisine, top-class seafood. Anse de Maldormé (at Corniche Kennedy, outside the city towards Nice), 13007 Marseille, Tel. 0033-491 59 25 92, www.petitnice-passedat.com. Closed Sunday, Monday. Menu EUR 95–145, lunch EUR 65.

Une table, au sud – This is where bouillabaisse is a milkshake and seabream is served with ginger and galangal. Lionel Lévy is a young creative chef on the way up. 2, quai du Port, 13002 Marseille, Tel. 0033-491 90 63 53, www.unetableausud.com. Closed Sunday, Monday. Menu EUR 52–105, lunch EUR 34.

Products:

La Fabrique Marseillaise – For local patriots. This is where the original Marseille Cagole beer and the local “Fada Cola” come from. Both are available in the many Carrefour supermarkets in the harbour city. 59, rue du vallon Montebello, 13006 Marseille, www.lacagole.com.

Le Four des Navettes – “Navettes” are biscuits flavoured with orange blossoms. The Marseille original has been available here since 1781. 136, rue Sainte, 13007 Marseille, Tel. 0033-491 33 32 12, www.fourdesnavettes.com.