Beneath Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, Oriental houses lay out a feast of fragrant mezze, the generous heritage of a cuisine that turns hospitality into an art of living.
At Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, the Levant makes a dazzling entrance. The word "mezze" comes from Arabic and means "taste": here it becomes a philosophy, that of a dozen small dishes set down together on the table, to be shared without ceremony. Velvety hummus, smoky aubergine caviar, herb-rich tabbouleh, golden falafels, vine leaves and kibbeh: every preparation tells of a festive, generous, deeply hospitable cuisine, one that welcomes others by offering them the very best.
Heir to Ottoman, Arab and Mediterranean influences, the gastronomy of the Levant celebrates pulses, sun-ripened vegetables and a bouquet of bewitching spices: tangy sumac, fragrant za'atar, cinnamon and cardamom. Everything rests on the quality of the ingredients, pure tahini, first-press olive oil, juice-laden lemons and freshly ground spices, and on a patient know-how that makes every plate a gesture of love.
Two emblematic houses fly these flavours high beneath the "belly of Lyon". Aklé, a Lebanese traiteur, makes simplicity, sharing and authenticity its signature, with mezze prepared fresh each morning and a fine delicatessen. A few steps away, the Maison Bahadourian, a Lyon institution of Oriental flavours, unfolds its "Saveurs et Découvertes" range: a spectacular array of tapas, mezze and kemias from the Mediterranean and the Levant.
To discover these stalls is to travel, for the length of a lunch, from Beirut to Damascus without ever leaving Lyon. It is to taste a tradition in which the table brings people together, where flavour becomes celebration. At Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, the flavours of the Levant offer what the Orient holds most precious: generosity.