E. Dehillerin Paris

For any self-proclaimed foodie, E. Dehillerin should be a must stop on your next trip to Paris. Packed with anything and everything you could ever want or need cooking related, this Les Halles institution has attracted famous chefs from all over the world for over two hundred years (Julia Child was a regular when she lived in Paris). Various prestigious cooking schools visit regularly to glean inspiration and knowledge from the shop keepers, part of five generations of traditional french cooking masters.  Installed over two levels, you will find an extensive selection of copper, cast iron, and stainless steel pots and pans,  a wide variety of pastry molds and  accessories,  in addition to an impressive collection of cutlery. I love exploring the towering shelves of copper pots in the dimly lit basement, then poking around the tightly packed table of accessories upstairs to find kitchen gadgets I never knew I needed. Last trip, I purchased a couple wooden crèpe spreaders or rakes for making galettes at home. A little french and an obvious passion for cooking will go a long way in asking the shop keepers for advice or help. For those that might not be able to make it to Paris in the near future, the shop does sell a small part of their exhaustive catalog online.