One of my favourite things is dining out.

According to an often-repeated account that was first published in 1853, the first restaurant was opened in 1765 by a Parisian named Boulanger. Boulanger’s establishment on rue des Poulies, near the Louvre, served mostly bouillons restaurants — which means, “restorative broths.” These rich broths were considered capable of restoring one’s health.

Back in the 18th century, few city-dwellers had the means for personal kitchens at home. So, before a brasserie sprung up on every corner, they ate from communal platters laid out for inn guests or bought oysters and food from street vendors. If they had a little more time and money to spend, they could visit multiple traiteurs (cook caterers) specialized in particular trades or guilds, like roasting meat or baking bread.

Because we love eating out, I would love to share some of our favourite restaurant images – taken by Wilfrid Moulin. 

Fouquet’s Paris is a historic high-end brasserie restaurant in Paris, located at 99 Avenue des Champs-Élysées

For decades, Fouquet’s Paris has been a place where people from the Culture industry would meet. It has strong ties with the Cinema, and hosts the traditional Gala dinner after the César ceremony every year.

The restaurant is listed as a historical French monument since 1990. The historical decor includes mahogany wood panelling, portraits of notable actors and actresses, and discrete brass plaques which indicate the favourite tables of famous people. Most frequent guests own their silver napkin rings with their name engraved on it.

Fouquet’s brasserie was founded in 1899 by Louis Fouquet. He called it after his French last name, “Fouquet”.

In March 2019, the restaurant was severely damaged during yellow vest protests. The restaurant reopened a few month later for Bastille day, on July 14, 2019, identical as it was before.