From bistro counters to luxury hotels, the humble Parisian ham sandwich or "jambon beurre" has undergone a dramatic luxury makeover.
Once the no-frills lunch of hurried, cash-strapped workers, the humble ham and butter baguette has in recent years become a gourmet classic.
When he was a student in the 1970s and "completely broke", restaurateur Gilles Caussade's lunch would be a sandwich made "with day-old bread, butter spread and scraped straight off and a token slice of ham", eaten standing at a cafe counter.
Forty years later when he took over one of those timeless Parisian bistros, Le Petit Vendome, in a chic street between the Louvre and the Opera, Caussade made a bold choice: change absolutely nothing – especially not its stonking "jambon beurre" sandwich.
From the Formica tables and the wine measured with a string, right down to the well-worn wooden board used to assemble the sandwiches, everything stayed.
Celebrities like Lady Gaga and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg to bankers, students and tourists have all come since for a sandwich – at just 6.50 euros.
Last year Time Out magazine crowned it the "best sandwich in the world".
Social media then sent demand soaring. Barriers now manage queues spilling onto the narrow pavement and a dedicated payment terminal keeps pace with the roughly 400 sandwiches sold daily from morning until midnight.
Half a baguette
Caussade said his jambon beurre rests on "five secrets that are no longer secret".
"First, half a baguette with two crusty ends – otherwise it's too dry. Then churned Normandy butter in a block, always unsalted. Salt on cured meat is salt on salt, it makes no sense," he said.
"Top quality products, 99 percent from Auvergne" in rustically rural central France. "Then the fact it's made to order because a refrigerated sandwich just can't taste like this. The bread gets soggy, the butter hardens.
"And finally, generosity," he added.
For a trio of American women in beige trenchcoats who waited 15 minutes to order, the experience lived up to the hype.
"My daughter saw it on TikTok and we had to come," said tourist Lauren Davies. "I get it, for Parisians this is what a hot dog is to New Yorkers."
Sophisticated sandwich
The upward climb of the worker's sandwich shows no signs of slowing. In 2024, star pastry chef Cedric Grolet sparked an online uproar when he introduced a truffle "jambon beurre".
At the Ritz Paris, patissier Joris Theysset said he "fully embraces" the concept, offering what may be the city's most expensive jambon beurre at 15 euros.
"A traditional 'Parisien' is usually 60 percent bread and the rest filling. We decided to reverse that," he told AFP.
His version features a rich, flaky bread shaped like a horseshoe, filled with Prince de Paris ham – made artisanally in the capital – fine shavings of Comte cheese, mustard-infused butter and slender gherkins.
"The idea is to elevate a symbol of French and Parisian cuisine using all the Ritz's expertise and premium products, while staying true to childhood memories," he said.
From Coco Chanel's little black dress to the jambon beurre, the French philosophy that true sophistication comes from simplicity still holds.
We have come a long way "from the 1970s when, with industrial sandwiches and declining bakery quality, things weren't great," said Alain Roussel, known as Alain Miam Miam, another Parisian ham sandwich legend.
From his popular stand at a bustling food spot on the edge of the Marais district, he sells 300 to 400 made-to-order sandwiches daily, overflowing with fresh ingredients in rustic bread.
"With organic bread, high quality but controlled costs," and a 13.50-euro price tag, the retiree has found his own recipe for success. – AFP
