Fishwives of Paris

A Lyon bouchon is not just a bistro with a different name, and its kitsch is part of the point. Caroline and Emily break down the codes of Lyon's famously rowdy restaurants, from checkered tablecloths to tripe and pots of house wine. They trace the bouchon back to the silk workers of La Croix-Rousse, whose revolts and shared canteens shaped the city, and explain why these touristy, joyfully dated...

Bordeaux is the most famous fine wine region in France, and also one of the most misunderstood. Caroline and Emily sit down with Bordeaux expert and author Jane Anson to explain Bordeaux wine, from the en primeur futures system to the Left Bank and Right Bank divide. They also dig into climate change, the Robert Parker era, white Bordeaux, and what the Bordelais actually drink. Podcast Show Notes...

Asking for substitutions in French restaurants rarely goes the way American diners expect. Caroline and Emily unpack why swapping fries for salad earns a firm non. They trace the refusal to French values of equality, expertise, and shared meals, explore the research on choice and culture, and share practical advice for dining in France with allergies or dietary restrictions. Podcast Show Notes In...

The Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered market in Paris, burned overnight on October 11 to 12, 2026. This episode is a tribute to the market and the 17 purveyors who worked there. Emily shares what is known so far, and Caroline and Emily trace its history from the early 1600s, its place in the Marais, and the community that fought to save it more than once. They explain how listeners can...

Steak frites may be the most iconic dish in any Paris bistro, but almost nothing about it started in France. Caroline and Emily trace the fries to Belgium and the street carts of the Pont Neuf, the steak to England, and the dish itself to a 1950s national myth. They also explain why French beef tastes so different, how to order your cuisson, and why the sauce may be the most French part of all. Po...

Catherine de Medici gets credit for nearly every French culinary innovation, from macarons to the fork. This episode brings in Florence based food and wine expert Coral Sisk to test those legends one by one. Caroline and Emily trace the real origins of macarons, gelato, choux pastry, duck a l'orange, and table manners, and separate what Catherine de Medici likely brought from Italy from what Frenc...

Cancoillotte is gloopy, smelly, difficult to pronounce (CON-KWAH-YOWT), and suddenly all over French TikTok. The centuries-old cheese from Franche-Comté has been reinvented as a low-fat, high-protein fitness food, becoming France’s unlikely answer to America’s cottage-cheese obsession. But its rise reveals something much bigger, the way French attitudes toward food may be changing. Caroline and Em...

Mayonnaise is the world's most popular sauce, but nobody agrees on who invented it. This episode traces the history of mayonnaise from a Spanish port battle to a Paris pharmacist's ointment. Caroline and Emily examine the competing French origin stories, the codification of the sauce by Antonin Careme's critics, and how mustard, eggs, and oil became the modern formula loved and hated worldwide. Po...

Record heat and historic drought are forcing France's most protected cheeses to break their own rules. Caroline and Emily unpack how the AOP charters for Comté, Beaufort, and Abondance have been temporarily loosened after historic drought hit the Alps and Jura. They explain what changes when cows eat grain and hay instead of mountain grass, why terroir shapes the flavor, and what happened to produ...

French people rarely bake elaborate pastries at home, and Versaille-based pastry chef Molly Wilkinson says that is by design. Caroline and Emily talk with Wilkinson, an American pastry chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu, about why French home bakers stick to simple recipes like mousse au chocolat and yogurt cake while buying croissants and tarts from professionals. They compare that mindset to the Ame...

Macarons may be one of France’s most recognizable culinary exports, but their history is much messier than the pastel boxes suggest. In this episode, Caroline and Emily dig into the Italian origins of the macaron and the role Catherine de’ Medici supposedly played in bringing almond cookies to the French court. They explore the roughly 40 regional versions still found around France, including maca...

ishwives of Paris is back for Season 2—and this time, we’re going weekly. Starting September 1, Caroline and Emily will be bringing you a new episode every week. Some will be our full studio productions, some will be more casual webcam episodes, and we’ll be welcoming more guests into the Fishwives universe. We also want to hear from you. We’ll be sharing listener stories and questions on the show...

Duralex is the little tempered glass found everywhere from French school cafeterias to Parisian bistros—and once you start looking at its history, it becomes a surprisingly revealing story about modern France. After decades of globalization, disastrous ownership and repeated financial crises, Duralex’s own employees stepped in to save the company, transforming it into a worker cooperative and inve...

Season 2 is almost here, and we're making some big changes. In this bonus episode, we explain why we're moving to weekly episodes, introducing new formats, becoming more responsive to food news, inviting more guests, and building a closer relationship with our listeners. We also look back at our first year, share some behind-the-scenes stories—including filming the entire season while Caroline was...

Provençal rosé is one of the world's most recognizable wines, but its rise was anything but inevitable. This episode explores how rosé evolved from a low-status byproduct into a global luxury phenomenon. Caroline and Emily trace the history of pink wine from Antiquity to modern Provence, uncover the innovations that created today's pale rosé style, and examine how branding, celebrity culture, and...

The Tarte Tropézienne is one of the most famous desserts on the French Riviera, but it wasn't invented by a French pastry chef. In this episode, Emily and Caroline uncover the surprising story behind Saint-Tropez's signature pastry. From Polish immigrant baker Alexandre Micka to Brigitte Bardot's unexpected role in naming the dessert, they explore how a family recipe became a French icon. Along th...

Did you know some of the world's most sought-after wines are made with mold? In this episode of Fishwives of Paris, Emily Monaco and Caroline Fazeli explore the fascinating world of Botrytis cinerea, the fungus known as "noble rot." While this mold can devastate vineyards when conditions are wrong, under the right circumstances it transforms grapes into some of the world's most celebrated sweet wi...

The croque monsieur may look like nothing more than a fancy grilled ham and cheese, but Paris' favorite café sandwich has a surprisingly strange history. This week, Emily and Caroline trace the origins of the croque monsieur from Belle Époque cafés and the bustling markets of Les Halles to modern Parisian versions topped with truffle, caviar, and artisanal cheeses. Along the way, they unpack the b...

Have you ever sat down at a restaurant in France and realized the entire experience feels… different? The meal takes longer, the waiter seems oddly unbothered by your schedule, substitutions are met with distain, and somehow dinner starts feeling less like a transaction and more like a ritual. This week, Emily and Caroline have invited gastronomy guide and chef Allison Zinder to explain how the re...

In this episode of Fishwives of Paris, we dig into the surprising political power of food, using one very specific (and very French) example: asparagus. From a real-life diplomatic moment involving former French President François Hollande to centuries-old traditions of royal spectacle, we'll explore how food has long been used to shape public image, signal power, and reflect national identity. Al...

No one loves a maximalist style American charcuterie board more than we do. The thing is - it's not *actually* what would count as charcuterie here in France. On this week's episode, we are talking about what actually counts as charcuterie in France, and why the way we eat it today looks so different from how it’s traditionally served. Listen in as we break down the real meaning of charcuterie, fr...

What actually is a bistro, and why does Paris seem to have a different word for every type of restaurant? In this episode of Fishwives of Paris , Emily Monaco and Caroline Fazeli break down one of the most misunderstood concepts in French food culture. From cafés to brasseries to bouillons, the lines between these establishments used to be clear, but today, they are anything but. Along the way, th...

In this episode of Fishwives of Paris , Emily and Caroline unpack the real story of Marie-Antoine Carême, the ambitious pastry chef who rose to cook for diplomats, emperors, and tsars, and helped shape modern French cuisine. Beyond the dramatized version, Carême was a master of image and storytelling, even spreading myths about his own life. While he was not a spy, he was deeply connected to power...

Potatoes are one of the most iconic ingredients in French cuisine today. But for centuries, the French refused to eat them. In this episode of Fishwives of Paris, Emily Monaco and Caroline Fazeli uncover the strange and fascinating story of how the humble potato went from feared outsider to beloved staple of French cooking. Once thought to cause leprosy and plague, potatoes were even banned in Fra...

Mexican food in France is often treated as cheap street food, but chef Carla Kirsch is challenging that narrative. In this episode of Fishwives of Paris , we sit down with the Mexican-born, French-trained chef behind Alebrije in Lyon to talk about bringing Mexican cuisine into the French fine dining world. We dig into why French diners expect Mexican food to be inexpensive, why spice still scares...