Readers, I am writing you pleasantly stuffed and content while I type from my friend Greg’s computer. It put me in a better mood to take to task the French-styled keyboard which I have not used in a while and was dreading, as it takes me longer to write. Greg insisted he feed me lunch before he left me alone to type, so I demurred and said yes. Already I was feeling grateful to be able to use his computer so I could share with you my latest adventures, therefore, getting spoilt with the package was a thoughtful treat. In fact, he has been amazing and most helpful on this trip. This is the friend who christened me with the Juicy moniker which spread amongst my other French mates and now you. He made me a lovely pasta with a roquefort and walnut cream sauce with a green salad gently tossed in a tasty vinaigrette which complemented and cleansed the palate. Quick, simple and very fulfilling on this cold, grey and wet day, looking outside reminds me of London and one of the main reasons I moved back to Jamaica for the soul-warming sun. However, the sounds of Roy Ayers’ funky jazz in the background is keeping me upbeat, as well as the chocolate surprise he left on the keyboard. This is my intimate Paris for you, great friendships, excellent food and wonderful music which keeps me from feeling blue in the depressing weather.

I had the pleasure to share my Parisian life over the past few days with Jamaican mates, Nicole Shirley of Nicole’s Sweet Temptations and the adorable couple Wayne and Tanya Miller of Digicel and Pan Caribbean respectively. They came directly from Amsterdam, where Tanya had participated in the Amsterdam Marathon with other colleagues from her running club Jamdammers. When she showed me the pictures I glowed with pride seeing the Jamaican contingent amongst the other contestants in the beautiful national colours. Of course as soon as they dropped off their luggage and were refreshed I had them out in no time to immerse themselves in this beautiful city of lights.

Since it was already evening, we took a quick stroll in my neighbourhood, the Marais, which is in the Paris centre. The roads are narrow in this district, which is one of the oldest in Paris and home of the Jewish quarter and trendy fashionistas. The Picasso museum is here and lots of lovely boutiques, bars and restaurants. We walked to the imposing and regal building, Hotel de Ville, which is minutes away, and the municipal office of the Paris mayor and from there crossed over one of the many bridges which stretches across the river Seine to the Ile Saint Louis, stopped to look at the Notre Dame, then continued towards St Michel on the Left Bank and stopped to have hot chocolate and café crémes to warm us up. Feeling better, we walked west to St Germain, specifically Rue Andre des Arts to the bar L’Etage to have a drink. It was happy hour and we had mojitos with fresh strawberries and pineapple and nibbled on olives and caramelised peanuts.

We pondered on what to have for dinner, and they told me they would like to try Moroccan food since I always rave about it. Since we were in the 6th, I called my friends Juelle, who is a Jamaican-born urban planner and her partner Jean, a professor at the Sorbonne, to join us for dinner as the restaurant I had in mind, Le Mechoui du Prince, was on their street. Her colleague Beatrice from the island of New Caledonia was with them, so she came too. I have never met anyone from this island close to New Zealand and Australia before, so it was very interesting learning about this French dependency from her. The restaurant specialises in Couscous, tagines and pastillas. The food was excellent. We had an assortment of couscous and tagines featuring lamb, chicken and merguez sausage, which we washed down with a beautiful Moroccan red wine called Boulaouane.

For dessert we had crepes with honey and almonds and of course, no Moroccan meal is complete without delicious sweet mint tea at the end. The owner was an excellent host and was thrilled to have Jamaicans in his restaurant, being a lover of reggae music.

The following day we decided to have lunch before our city tour on the open-top bus rather than after, and we headed for the Rue St Anne, off Avenue de L’Opera. This street is like a little Japanese town with both sides of the street lined with lovely little restaurants and sushi bars. We opted for Aki, which specialises in Okonomyaki specialities such as the lovely omelette Tanya had with pork, onions, and bean sprouts, my other friend had Katsu, which is Japanese curry, while the rest of us had Teriyaki. Each dish came with a green salad with ginger dressing and miso soup and rice, the portions were generous. To prepare for the chill, we ended with steaming mugs of grassy, fragrant green tea.

I wanted my friends to have a special French dinner in a restaurant with good atmosphere and fantastic food. French food is regional, and the place I had in mind specialises in the southern food of Provence. Later that night, feet sore from touring and appetites once again raging, we headed to Chez Janou where I had made reservations a week before since it is difficult to get a table. This restaurant is cheerful, smoky, and packed to the brim every night where you are served the most delicious food from friendly wait staff, which is a pleasure in this city where oftentimes you can be attended to by surly, abrupt servers. Luckily for me, they are charmed by the fact I make an attempt to speak the language in my accented French, even when they switch to English I insist on responding to them in French, mistakes and all, showing them I respect their culture and want to be immersed in every sense. They love it and often I am rewarded for it.

I am speechless to describe the food, it was perfect from the taste to the seasoning to the straightforward presentation, which is unpretentious. Wayne remarked that he had never eaten so well in his life. I started with the tuna carpaccio, the others had a tomato soup, a spinach and goat’s cheese salad, a salad with potatoes and melted St Nectaire cheese.

For the main, Nicole and I had the grilled sea bass with a pistou sauce and ratatouille, Tanya and Greg the duck with figs and Wayne the caramelised pork ribs with apples. We went through two bottles of Chateauneuf du Pape, the wine from the ancient vineyards of popes. For dessert we all went for the house special which is chocolate mousse, except Nicole who had a citron blancmange with raspberry coulis. You have never had chocolate mousse like this before. Chocolate in the purest, creamiest form. They serve it in a large bowl and you can help yourself to as much as you want. Can you imagine a Jamaican restaurant allowing you this liberty? Espressos allowed us to digest our food in a dreamlike haze, so high were we of the experience.

The next day while the others were in the Louvre, I ran some errands then went tea shopping at my favourite tea shop Mariage Freres, which I mentioned in my tea article, to restock. One of the treats to myself was a rare Japanese green tea. I went to pick up the others and they followed me to my favourite patisserie, Pierre Hermes. He is a master patissier, one of the best in the world, and the macaroons are to die for, chewy then melt in your mouth. Think of odd combinations like olive oil and vanilla, white chocolate and truffle, classics like chocolate, pistachio and caramel, hazelnut and rose. These mini treasures are a tongue-teasing delight. I would not allow anyone to eat them until after I photographed them. In fact, it was a recurring theme throughout, with everyone salivating in anticipation of that first bite with me saying, ‘Hold on, I have got to take a pic first!’

On their last night, I took them to a local favourite, La Chaise au Plafond, in my neighbourhood, the Marais. While we waited on a friend to join us, we drank Kirs then ordered a bottle of Touraine to drink with dinner. We all had straightforward steak frites and finished with crème brûlées or tarte tatins, the famous upside-down caramelised apple dessert. Very French. Tres simple. An unforgettable night where I hope they will take a piece of my second home, Paris, with them. Until next week, bon appétit!

Jacqui Sinclair is a Cordon

Bleu-trained chef/food stylist & hotelier. She has worked in the world of food photography and film in Europe. A bon vivant, she is passionate about sharing her food secrets with enthusiastic home cooks.