Located 7 kilometers from Paris, Marché de Rungis is the largest wholesale market for fresh produce in the world: a colossal space covering 234 hectares (not including its annexes) that operates at night, catering to culinary professionals who come here early to stock up. Today, at Bistro Margot, we’re sharing a very special feature from this true French gastronomic landmark.
I arrived at Marché de Rungis also in the dead of night, as part of the activities in the Hautes Études du Goût program. At 2:30 a.m., the time I would usually be heading to bed, I geared up with warm clothes, as instructed, and, along with my colleagues, headed to Rungis for a study visit guided by Guy Chemla, a professor at the Sorbonne. He shared with us the history of the place and showed us how to select the best products.
Although it overwhelms you at first glance—Rungis covers 234 hectares, and with its annexes, it reaches 500—you don’t truly grasp the scale of the universe contained there until you start to explore it. Imagine an immense space where you need to travel by bus between the fish section and the meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables, and flower departments, yet everything has its own natural order, just like in an ecosystem. With carefully selected products from the best producers, Rungis offers not only the widest variety of products to choose from but also a guarantee of their quality: terroir products, local or international, all exceptional and meeting the high standards of the chefs who source from here.
And they are certainly not few. From high-end restaurants to family bistros, the paths of all intersect at Marché de Rungis. This is not just true for Paris—it's no coincidence that it is the largest wholesale market in the world. Over time, as we learned, circuits have formed among producers, markets, and buyers. For instance, a lobster from Brittany can go from the fisherman/farmer to Rungis and then return to Brittany through a trader or restaurateur who purchased it from Rungis.
However, Marché de Rungis has not always looked this way. Nor was it always located in Rungis. Originally, the market was situated within Paris, in the area now known as Les Halles—once referred to as “le ventre de Paris” (“the belly of Paris”), a phrase that also inspired the title of a famous novel by Émile Zola. By the 13th century, the establishment quickly became the largest market in Paris, feeding the city.
However, over time, the market became increasingly cramped and uncomfortable for urban circulation, leading authorities to decide in 1959 to move it to the outskirts of Paris, to Rungis. This transfer took place in 1969, and following the move, the former halls were demolished, leaving behind an empty landscape that people quickly nicknamed “le trou de Paris” (“the hole of Paris”). This area later became the largest metro and RER station in the French capital. The current name of the neighborhood, however, comes directly from the former market halls, Les Halles.
At Rungis, the market has experienced another period of expansion, now standing as the largest wholesale market for fresh food in the world, featuring five main pavilions: fish and seafood, meat, fruits and vegetables, dairy and cheese, flowers and decorative plants, along with a special pavilion dedicated to organic products. Although the general market schedule runs from 2 a.m. until about 11 a.m. at the latest, activity in the sections fluctuates—and it doesn’t take long for the goods to run out. We arrived at Rungis at 3 a.m., and the fish and seafood sellers had nearly finished their work. This was when the busier activity in the meat section began. The fruits and vegetables, along with dairy, followed around 5 a.m.
Because these are fresh products, buyers have the opportunity to make the best selections and negotiate the best prices—since, as it is wholesale, prices are negotiated based on volume. Over time, chefs or procurement managers have built trusting relationships with the sellers at Rungis, so sometimes their presence is no longer necessary: they place orders by phone, and the requested goods are loaded into vehicles and sent directly to the restaurant.
Of course, I couldn’t purchase anything there, but for a few moments, I imagined myself as the chef of a Parisian restaurant, coming to Rungis to negotiate and select my goods. However, I ended up having a convivial breakfast with my colleagues at the Rungis market bistro, and then we collapsed into bed at 10 a.m., much like after New Year’s Eve.
In numbers, Rungis means: 1,718,552 million tons of products arriving annually, 97,441 tons of fish and seafood per year, 1,199,008 tons of fruits and vegetables, 269,514 tons of meat products, 152,589 tons of dairy products, and 1,258,230 buyers in 2016.
In words, Rungis is an unforgettable experience for any food aficionado.
Comments