“Where are the poulardes? I’m so hungry! Where are the calves, the roasts, the sausages? Where are the fava beans, the venison pies?Let’s eat our fill and forget this injustice!”
We all remember the scene in Les Visiteurs where Jean Reno, aka Godefroy de Montmirail, praises his appetite. Although the film takes us back to the year of our Lord 1123, to Lyon, there’s no question of venturing that far to experience it. In the capital of gastronomy, where the bouchon tradition lives on and reinvents itself, there’s no question of waiting for the long hours of the day to sit down to dinner. Thanks to mâchon, we can dine at dawn.
A tradition that goes back to the Canuts
The word “breakfast” doesn’t exist in the French language. Since the 19th century, the “canuts”, weavers mainly located in the Croix-Rousse district, started their work early (or finished late), so they had to break bread at dawn. As the rooster crowed, the workers sat down at table to share charcuterie, cheese and other traditional dishes, not forgetting the pot de vin. It’s a popular tradition that, over time, has built the legend of Lyon’s gastronomy, along with its many brasseries of the time, figures such as Mère Brazier and the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau.
I chew, you chew, we chew…
The term simply comes from the verb ” to chew”, which perfectly illustrates what to expect. But above all, mâchon is synonymous with conviviality and sharing. Cervelle de canut, tablier de sapeur, andouillettes, grattons, tripes… you name it. Bruno Benoit, historian and specialist on the city of Lyon, writes: “The mâchon lyonnais is the morning mass of the real gones […] It seals the deal because, in Lyon, you don’t know each other until you’ve eaten together.”
There’s also the “Francs Mâchons” collective, a group of gourmands who start chewing at the crack of dawn to list restaurants that offer this unique breakfast. Over 50 places are listed in and around Lyon. We recommend, among others, Le Café du Jura (Lyon 2), Les 4G (Lyon 9), Au Petit Bouchon (Lyon 1) and Les Frères Barbet (Oullins). Just like Paul Bocuse, the Gros Caillou or the Fête des Lumières , mâchon is Lyon’s DNA.
Let’s end this post like a mâchon we’ve shared: “Y’a pas quelques soissons avec de bonne soivre, un porcelet, une chèvre rôtie, quelques cygnes blancs bien poivrés? These amuse-bouches have whetted my appetite!”