There are a number of attributes that make Paris a fine place to call home (or visit) but chief among them is the food and most of us (locals, bloggers, press….) spend a whole lot of time indulging in it, writing about it and even debating it. I would wager that 60% of my meals are consumed outside of the home, an investment that my husband and I balance out by holding onto our smallapartment. It is not just a life choice that allows us to do so but good fortune, to be sure.
Yet for many, dining out (and Gastronomy-with-a-capital-G) is an empty abstraction, prohibitively expensive and a glaring reminder of the disparity between the haves and the have nots. It matters little that the culinary arts are deeply embedded in the French cultural fiber when eating well – which today equates to eating fresh and predominantly local – requires increasingly deep pockets. But eating well should not be predicated on economic demographics or social capital and won’t be if Flavio Nervegna has anything to say about it.
Nervegna is the president of Tous à Table, an organization that strives to democratize le bien manger by making culinary experiences accessible to underprivileged…
