E. Dehillerin, Paris
Where should I start? Can I just tell my readers that I made a very impulsive purchase when I went to E. Dehillerin in Paris that up to this day, I still wonder how it happened? Well, I couldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy stepping into this money-drawing, forsaken place, it was magical! It felt like a labyrinth and a theme park at the same, my mind was running in circles because of the visual overload while the devil behind me was whispering, “You need to get that.” My wife and I have been planning to go here, just to witness this charming, old school shop that carries a bit of history. But instead of just admiring, I got hooked and purchased more than what I intended.
The moment you step in, you get transported back in time. You can go and check their website to know more about them and where they come from. The quaint shop is famous for its old charm, by all means, the shop doesn’t look like it didn’t adjust to the present times, it’s just that some furnitures or showcase cabinets are dated, the shelves too are just simply made of wood. But you can see that the place gets traffic and is full of soul. I basically purchased multiple tartlet molds and a chef’s knife. The moment I started counting how much I needed of each, for some reason unknown, I began sweating while it was a nice 68F day. Canele molds made out of copper were at the top of my list to buy, and I wish I got some of the copper cookware as well although we didn’t have enough luggage space to accommodate anything bulky, plus, copper is a pain to maintain. Cooking in copper is just extremely sophisticated and elegant-old world, white tablecloth dinner setting.
From all sorts of molds, knives, tiny kitchen gadgets and stock pots, they have it all. Whenever I go to “real” kitchen stores, I always look for specialized items that are difficult to find at your local kitchen store. Things such as chinois, a cone-shaped strainer, a tamis, a circular sieve that has a flat top surface made from durable stainless steel mesh, mainly used to pass purees or mashed vegetables through to obtain a smooth texture. If they carry anything by Matfer, then you have basically scored the holy grail. Matfer is synonymous to the Rolls Royce of culinary equipment. They have the best quality and are the most specialized company when it comes to gastronomy equipment. Their products for pastry are insane, I wouldn’t even think about some of the stuff they sell really do exist.
On top and at the bottom, you’ll see the magnificent copper cookware. They are just so nice to look at. A dream kitchen would comprise of several of these saute pots just hanging over your kitchen island. Of course, there are other kitchen supply shops in Paris that are housed in modern facilities and offer the latest innovation in the culinary world. But sometimes, you just want to go somewhere that offers more than what they are selling, especially as a tourist. The fact that you’re able to say that “Hey, I’ve made it, I was able to get to the Dehillerin store” is already a bucket list-worthy endeavor.
E. Dehillerin is one of the many treasures of Paris. It’s a place to that you need to go to especially if you take cooking seriously, whether at home or as a career. Purchasing new tools can trigger creativity and allow you to discover a side of yourself that you never thought you can do. That’s a good thing about cooking. You don’t need massive or highly expensive equipment to create something.
Funny enough, one of the store clerks had a hard time counting the tartlet molds that I got. So I started counting with him in French to help him out (he’s not the one in the picture). The guy was interchanging 15(quinze) for 50(cinquante), if I didn’t assist him, then I would have been ripped off. All in all, it was magical visiting the place. I hope I paid more attention to the entirety of the store and admired being there first rather than just jumping in straight to find what I was looking for. I would like to go back here, but next time, with more control. My total purchase was more than a 3-Michelin Star meal, only for molds! When I flipped the mold over and looked at the back, it said Matfer. Well, now it all made sense.