Some get thrills visiting amusement parks. I get mine visiting markets. I marvel at all the edible treasures, the seasonal changes of the produce, the dedication of the vendors who are passionate about their products. Mingling among this glorious bounty is a treat, a delightful, sensual experience.
Luckily, I live near Menton, a town on the French Riviera bordering the Italian side. I love its lively market and visit frequently. Join me on a market stroll.
Meet the Barelli Family
Meet the Barelli family, two brothers and a sister, who continue to sell their farm produce at the stand started by their mother in 1965. Sister Francine weighs the items, reaches for her small chalkboard, writes the cost on it, adds it up, and tells customers what they owe. I like their fresh herbs, especially dill and cilantro, which I find difficult to grow in balcony pots.
Brother Jean Pierre notices me taking photos. He reaches for “Menton infos,” a bi-monthly city newsletter, and points with pride to an article. The Menton market is a finalist in “the most beautiful market in France” competition sponsored by the television station TF1.
“All our products are natural,” he says. “We know our customers.” That’s the way at most stands. Regular customers, it seems, are friends with the vendors. They take time to chat and enjoy the ambiance, the company.
Menton’s Bounty of Fruit
One of my favorite vendors was Mario, a legendary figure at the market. Unfortunately, after breaking his leg, and then contacting Covid (not vaccinated), he had to give up his stand. I recall one visit when he proudly told me he was born on the last day of the year in 1936. He has a large garden in the hills above this Mediterranean town where he grows vegetables and cultivates fruit trees. Those duties now fall to his son.
Menton is known for its lemons, but the yellow fruit shares the spotlight with clementines, mandarins and oranges whose bold colors decorate trees in the area like Christmas ornaments. Mario’s lemons were outstanding, enormous. He once told me about all the work involved – climbing 100 steps to get to his fruit trees, which, like many in the Menton hinterlands, thrive on terraced slopes.
Talking to the Vendors is a Joy
The Barelli family, as well those selling flowers, olive oil, honey, fish, and more, man outdoor stalls that surround the walls of the market hall. Inside is foodie heaven: cheese, sausages, bread, meat, spices, pastries, wine, olives, fresh pasta, plus gorgeous displays of fruits and vegetables.
Talking to the vendors is a joy. I walk inside for more purchases and conversation. Potato man Christophe Laїolo and his wealth of knowledge on this tuber are amazing. “The potato is the base of nourishment,” he says. “You can live on potatoes alone. They contain all the vitamins. People have been eating them since 12,000 BC.”
France, he says, is the number one country in Europe for the number of potato varieties, some 160 different kinds. He offers 15 of those, as well as onions and garlic. What’s the best baking potato? “Agata” he recommends, “very creamy.” He gives me cooking instructions. I am hooked – now my potato of choice.
Cheese, Grains, Spices and More
For cheese, Patrick Pallu is my man. He has been selling this French favorite for 20 years at the Menton market. There is no shortage of selection with some 200 kinds in his storehouse. “I like cheese. I like to let people taste, to teach them about cheese,” he says. He offers me a sample of brebis à liqueur de noix (a sheep cheese flavored with nut liqueur). It is exquisite, exotic – the best cheese I have ever tasted. Pricey, but for a splurge I return and buy a small quantity from time to time, as well as Conte (he offers seven different kinds).
New to the market is Fanny Boyron who recently opened her stand which specializes in grains, rice, cereals, tea, coffee and more. Fanny is a dedicated environmentalist and joined the market to “stop enriching those big supermarket chains that are not concerned about the planet.” She sells in bulk – no plastic containers to pollute.
Spices – I am in awe of the incredible selection Caroline Forte offers. Her father was in the spice trade near Marseille. She started at the Menton market in 1987 and told me she would be celebrating her 50th birthday the next day. The overwhelming selection includes 19 different kinds of pepper. Her products, she boasts, “are not in a glass jar on a supermarket shelf all day.” They are fresh. Clients admire the colors and the smell. She lets them taste and offers advice. I regularly buy her herb/spice blend for fish.
Celebrating Wines and Local Specialities
The P’tite Cave specializes in wines of the Mediterranean. Lines are often long at Baiser du Mitron, a bakery stall offering a delicious and unusual selection of breads. At butcher Caverivière clients take a number. Six butchers, each clad in matching red, white and blue checkered shirts, chop, cut and slice to fill customers’ wishes.
Back outside near Mario, Sylvie “Tatoune” stands behind a case of goodies under a plaque in memory of Josephine Viegel, known as “La Tatoune,” one of the first vendors at the Menton market, who sold a local special, pichade, at this spot from 1917 to 1970. Sylvie offers it too, plus pissaladière, socca, pizza, quiche. “This is an institution,” she says of her stand. She sells while her children and an aunt make the products according to traditional recipes.
Socca is a specialty of Nice made with chickpea flour. Pichade is the Menton version of another Nice specialty, pissaladière, a type of pizza with caramelized onions and anchovies. Menton’s pichade is tomato-based with onions. I love it, as well as her apple beignets (a very thin type of doughnut encasing an apple slice).
The Story Behind the Market
David Rousseau, an expert on the heritage and architecture of Menton, led me to Sylvie. He also told me the story behind the Menton market which originally was an outdoor market next to the city’s port. In the late 19th century Menton was especially popular with British tourists. They were scandalized with the unsanitary conditions of the market-fresh meat displayed in the hot sun, for example. “They did not like the dirty old market,” he said. The mayor at the time decided Menton should have a covered market. The project took several years to complete, but in 1898 the market hall opened and is still welcoming shoppers.
Rousseau pointed out how the construction was influenced by the hot Mediterranean sun. “It’s very airy. There are big openings. It is protected from the sun,” he said. “It’s an eclectic style with many different elements.” The basic color of the building, traditional yellow, is enhanced with polychrome ceramic décor manufactured by a Menton factory which gives the structure a “Belle Epoque” character.
The Menton market sits adjacent to the seafront promenade at the base of the twisting alleys of the Vieille Ville (old town). It is open every morning except Monday.