Sylvie Mercier

📍 Lyon, France

🗣 French, English, Italian

Lyonnaise born and raised, former chef, current market obsessive. Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France — more Michelin stars per capita than Paris, a bouchon culture that is entirely its own thing, and the Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, which is the best covered food market in the world. I left professional kitchens to do this because I wanted to share the city's food culture with people who actually want to understand it. I take small groups to the bouchons that Lyonnais eat in, to the market stalls that chefs use, and for a glass of Beaujolais in a cave à vins that's been here since 1932.