Introducing: Art and Food Pairings in Paris

Jan. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- After years of evaluating restaurants for readers of its Paris Insights newsletter, Discover Paris! is taking the restaurant review to a new level.  The eleven-year-old travel planning service is pleased to announce the launching of a new series of articles entitled “Art and Food Pairings™”.

Several months ago, Discover Paris! co-founder Monique Y. Wells  was reflecting on her quest to increase her food and wine pairing skills when the idea sprang to mind that she could pair art and food in the same way that one pairs wine and food.  After exploring museums and galleries that display African or black Diaspora works, she decided to couple the visual experience at these venues with a gustatory experience at a nearby café or restaurant.  Thus, the concept of Art and Food Pairings™ was born.

Art and Food Pairings™ focus on galleries and museums that present African or African Diaspora art.  Discover Paris! is committed to featuring such expositions as a complement to its Entrée to Black Paris™ tours and activities, which feature the history, culture, and contemporary life of blacks in Paris.  When possible, the art venue will be coupled with a nearby African or Caribbean restaurant.

The first Art and Food Pairing™ that Discover Paris! created combined a visit to the Musée des Arts Derniers, a contemporary African art gallery in Paris’ Marais district, with a meal at the nearby Senegalese restaurant Le Petit Dakar.  The gallery’s art exposition showcased the photography of Mali’s award-winning Malick Sidibé and Senegal’s Oumar Ly.   Le Petit Dakar restaurant is affiliated with the CSAO (Compagnie du Sénégal et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, or Senegal and West Africa Company), an equitable commerce enterprise that sells fabrics, jewelry, furniture, and other home furnishings in the neighborhood.  It has been serving Senegalese dishes in this trendy corner of the Marais since 2000.

Context Travel published the first Art and Food Pairing™ article in November 2010 on its Web site in collaboration with Discover Paris!  Both companies provide guided walking tours, and both consider the expertise of their guides as a major benefit for their clients.  Context Paris recently introduced a jazz walk – Le Jazz Hot, an American Art Form in Paris (http://www.contexttravel.com/city/Paris/walking_tour_deta...) – to its repertoire, and Discover Paris! has been hosting a tour called Black Paris after World War II in the same area of the city for several years.  The companies have agreed to promote these tours, referring clients to each other in the process.

To access the Art and Food Pairing™ article: http://www.contexttravel.com/blog/art-and-food-pairings-m...

For information on Discover Paris’ Entrée to Black Paris™ tours and activities: http://www.discoverparis.net/african_americans.html

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Discover Paris! published Paris Insights - An Anthology: a collection of lively anecdotes that is the written culmination of one American’s passion for Paris. It also publishes the Paris Insights newsletter and the Paris Insights restaurant review.