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World famous French market serves up record-breaking banquet

France's Rungis market near Paris celebrated its 50th anniversary by throwing a giant banquet of record-breaking proportions, reserving its spot in the Guinness Book of Records.

Published: 18 March 2019 09:24 CET
World famous French market serves up record-breaking banquet
People take part in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record at the international food market in Rungis. Photo: AFP

Organisers said lunch was served to nearly 2,000 people along just over 401 metres' length of table, between the market's fruit-and-vegetable stands.

Officials from the Guinness Book of Records approved the bid, which beat the previous record of 322 metres set in 2017 on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion.

Rungis, seven kilometres (four miles) south of Paris, replaced the old market in the heart of Paris, Les Halles, when it was closed in 1969.

READ ALSO: All you need to know about shopping at French food markets

It is the world's biggest fresh produce market, covering 234 hectares (580 acres) and employing 12,000 wholesalers, producers, porters, restaurateurs and other workers in 1,200 separate businesses.

 

Many of the people who work at the market took part in the record bid.

 

 

 

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FOOD AND DRINK

Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

From cheese types to the amount eaten per year, via cheese favourites - here's a look at how France really feels about fromage.

Published: 27 March 2024 14:16 CET
Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

March 27th is the Journée nationale du fromage in France – so here are a few facts about the delicious dairy delicacy.

246

Charles de Gaulle famously once asked of governing France: “How can anyone govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese?”.

His numbers were wrong. Producers in France make closer to 1,000 varieties of cheese – and some have estimated that figure could be pushed up as high as 1,600.

8

The number of cheese ‘families’ in France. A good cheeseboard in France is generally considered to consist of at least three ‘families’ – a soft cheese, a hard cheese and either a blue or a goat’s cheese. Remember, too, an odd number of fromages on a platter is better than an even number, according from cheese etiquettists

READ ALSO France Facts: There are eight cheese families in France

2.5

About how long – in years – it would take you to try every cheese made in France, if you tried a new variety every day. Life goals. 

95

The percentage of people in France who say they eat cheese at least once a week, spending seven percent of their weekly food bill on it.

READ ALSO Best Briehaviour: Your guide to French cheese etiquette

40

Two-fifths of French people say they eat cheese every day

57

The amount of cheese produced, in kilogrammes, in France every second, according to this website, which has a counter to show you how fast that really is. It’s estimated that 1.8 million tonnes of cheese are produced in France every year.

27

The French consume, on average, a whopping 27 kilogrammes of cheese per person per year.

READ ALSO Fonduegate: Why customer service is different in France

3

The three most popular cheeses in France, based on sales, are Emmental, Camembert, and Raclette – followed by mozzarella, goat’s cheese, Comté and Coulommiers.

63

Some 63 cheeses have been awarded the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status, which means they can only be produced in a certain region.

1

France has – or at least soon will have – one dedicated cheese museum. 

READ ALSO Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

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