The blue storefront stands proudly on Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg. Madame Petrossian, the guardian of this temple, has been introducing gourmets to the most delicate discoveries for thirty years. Looking back, she remembers the joys, the family gatherings around the table, having learned everything from her mother-in-law Irène, affectionately nicknamed “Mame” by her children and grandchildren. In Armenian culture, the mother (“mayrig”) is a gift. A calming, comforting figure that unites. For Mother’s Day, this chapter is to be savored rather than recounted…
As far back as one can trace, history and the arts are full of dining scenes.
One thinks of the Symposium of Plato in mythology, the countless “Last Suppers” depicting Christ’s final meal, Fitzgerald invites us to the parties of Gatsby, and Claude Monet reveals daily life in his still life Le Déjeuner.
In the Petrossian family, family meals brought together long tables on Sundays as well as holidays.
It was Mame, the clan matriarch, who welcomed guests constantly and spared no effort. Hours spent in the kitchen preparing, ensuring impeccable service, simply for the pleasure of hosting and sharing. On the table, the most emblematic dishes of Armenian culture, a mix of cuisine filled with emotion, blending Caucasian and Mediterranean influences.
Sometimes white fish, sometimes meats to accompany pilaf rice, then the essential Beurek, and Koulitchs (a cylindrical yeast cake with Corinthian raisins) specially prepared for Easter with colored eggs. In Armenian families, children’s happiness matters, and behind this story lies a tale of transmission, a key element of education.
Values of respect, honor, solidarity, and perseverance are passed down from generation to generation. Also, the will to perpetuate culinary traditions and customs, with recipes whispered from mother to child.
Far more than a simple celebration, Mother’s Day is a moment to recall the importance of transmission, values in shaping our identity, and unconditional love, the cornerstones of every strong and resilient individual.
A reminiscence like a Promise at Dawn…
Photography: Nicolas Anetson
