Colliure Week Part 2: Anchovies, Food Market, and Cafe Templiers

Collioure prides itself in producing the best anchovies in the world. On my first afternoon in Collioure, Laurie and Blair said we had to get to the anchovy plant before 4PM so we could get a tour. Anchovies are a love hate thing and I am one of the lovers, so I was eager to learn how they were produced. On the backside of town was the factory above a modest retail shop. In the large open space, two young women happily but intensely filleted and then meticulously packed the anchovies into the jars. I watched in fascination as they placed the filleted anchovies by hand on sheets of white paper placing them in straight lines before they are packed in either water, oil, or vinegar. They also pride themselves on the fact that it is all done by hand with absolutely no machinery which makes one truly appreciate the process considering how automated everything in the world has become. Anchovy and tuna production was at its peak in 1870 when there were 140 boats and over 800 fisherman, but today it has dwindled to two manufacturers on the same street, Ets Roque, where I visited, and Ets Declaux. In the window of Declaux are the beautiful old sea blue tins.

The next morning we visited the twice-weekly market in the center of town. Filled with everything from Corsican clementines to a slipper bar setup up in a truck with warm, furry bedroom slippers to locally produced jams to a fabric bazaar to the abundant bunches of garlic, the market was the highlight of a sleepy January day. The back wall of the market square had colorful, Picasso-like mural.

After the market we went for a much-needed second coffee at the Cafe Templiers, a hotel and cafe with an artistic history. The cafe was the spot where all the artists of the day convened, from Raoul Dufy to Picasso. The walls are dotted with a smattering of the 2,000 plus paintings the original owners Rene and Pauline Pous collected and left to their son. All the rooms in the hotel  have paintings from the collection.

Colliure is also well known for its local full-bodied wine made of grenache and mourvedre grapes, having one of the smallest vineyards in France. It also grows grapes for the Banyuls sweet wine and aperitif.

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

Comments

[barbara]

OMG....your photos and your narratives are fabulous. Thanks for these daily updates.....gorgeous!

[Evelyn]

Thanks for the tour of the anchovy factory. I didn't do it during my brief stay in 2009. I did spend two nights at Les Templiers, tho. What a fun place!! I loved walking up and down the stairs looking at the art...everywhere!

[Sarah T Skinner]

Great post ! The photos really make the text come alive... thanks Richard ( : I definitely want to visit.

[Chezbonnefemme]

I'm dying over here in Amerique Profonde....and I can't wait until my June visit.

Thanks for showing the Templiers photos--we have coffee there every single afternoon, as our apartment is about 25 steps away from the back entrance!

Thanks again!

Wini Moranville
Author of The Bonne Femme Cookbook

[carolyn]

Pantoufles au marché ! J'adore. I have always wanted to go to Collioure because les Fauves went for the Light. Now I know I can go in winter too. If only for slippers. Mercis et bisous à vous 3 pour la visite!