Queer Food for Love (of the alternative)

But food, that is something that has always sat very well with me.  I am in a country that culturally fixates on cuisine, and I am all the happier for it.  I have no problem ‘identifying’ with food, or as someone who enjoys it.  Call me a gay food lover. So when I heard about ‘Queer Food’, I thought that perhaps I could reexamine ‘queer’ through ‘food’.  My friend mentioned this dinner that he had attended in October, on the third Friday of the month, and it wasn’t very clear if it happened at someone’s house or in a restaurant.  I was not yet familiar with the marvelous idea of a ‘restaurant associatif’, which is something that I now think should be ubiquitous in all cities throughout the world.  La Rôtisserie, a charming and, well, queer little restaurant in the 10th arrondissement, is an establishment which serves lunch during the week, but then rents out its space each night, kitchen and salle, to various associations in support of various causes.  The restaurant has been a mainstay in the neighborhood for ten years, and now holds evenings for more than 60 associations, mainly having to do with solidarity or sociocultural issues.  I immediately saw the genius behind this; giving a group with a specific goal in mind (to raise money for causes ranging from opening a school in a third world country to financing the artistic efforts of young theatre troupes and artists of all kinds) autonomous control of the space in order to cook dinner and invite their friends and supporters.  The prices are always ‘modest’ (read incredibly cheap), and aside from a menial fee and the expenses of ingredients, the proceeds are the associations’ to keep.               Upon walking into La Rôtisserie you get an immediate sense of its convivial atmosphere, with its mission statement (helping neighborhood associations) written around the space on the wall just below the ceiling.  And what better place to house an event for the queer community, than a creative and alternative space such as this.  The crowd is lively and rootsy, the seating is free-for-all; in a word, the event is different.  Different in that brandishing, ‘we’re here!’ sort of way.  And this time, maybe since I was being fed, the different-ness didn’t bother me so much.  Fran & Aurore, the main chefs/organizers, made good food.  Really good.  And, BIG NEWS, it was vegetarian.  Quoi? you say, in your best French.  Yes, this is a veggie-eating crowd, plum in the center of this carnivorous capitol.  Part-down-home-Louisiana-part-Asian-American Fran includes this point in what she feels is the central message of Queer Food: “Veggie Food for Queer Folk.”  Simple, right?  French Aurore elaborates: “Queer Food provides a sense of community for the gay and lesbian community outside of the consumerist confines of the Marais,” she says, referring to four years ago, when she and some friends had “had enough of the expensive, bad service in the Marais resto scene,” which serves predominantly French (read meat) cuisine.  Having lived in the Marais for close to a year, I more than understood, as I have always felt that I knew exactly what I was going to get eating out there: trendiness, attitude, and questionable quality.               But more on the food.  Whoever said meat is necessary for good winter fare hasn’t met any soy protein of late.  We started with a delicious ginger-y pumpkin soup that made me so very ready for Thanksgiving, and then moved onto stuffed zucchinis.  Stuffed with a concoction involving hazelnuts, parsley, sage, apricots and soy protein that made me forget that my plat was non-animal.  And the dessert was a deliciously sweet and autumnal crumble involving…I don’t know what, but it was good.  The recipes smacked of North Eastern American traditions, and it warmed me in a way that even the chocolat chaud here simply cannot.               The temporary feeling of the evening in this permanent restaurant associatif made for an interesting, special and social experience, felt through a communal effort, and spirit (traditional in its way) comprised of the many people that have passed through Queer Food over the years that it has grown.  But sadly La Rôtisserie is in danger of closing down.  For bureaucratic French reasons that are not even worth getting into, the property is being sold to new owners who might close its doors for good.  So please go and visit, for the Queer Food night or one of the many, many other occasions, and if you enjoy yourself (a given), then help by donating through one of the ways listed below, so that the people who run La Rôtisserie now will be able to buy it back.  I know I will help, since I hope to repeat my Queer Food experience soon, at least on the next third Friday of the month.     Queer Food for Love at La Rôtisserie   4 rue Sainte Marthe   75010 Paris   Open Mon-Fri for lunch 12-2.30pm, every evening as per event/association   Queer Food takes place on the third Friday evening of every month   Entrees are at 1.50 euros, Plats at 3, so a full dinner doesn’t run you more than 10 euros!   Tel: 01 40 03 08 30Métro : Colonel Fabien, Belleville   Websites for more info and HOW TO HELP SUPPORT (warning, they’re in French):   http://brassage.noosblog.fr   http://www.oubouffer.com/restaurant.php/jy20412     Email: [email protected]