FOOD NEWS
The Best Specialty Food Store In The Entire World, According To
Ina Garten
By Kalea Martin
When Ina Garten claims "store-bought is fine," she has a different definition of "store-bought" than the rest of us, as she only shops in the gourmet food section of her local grocery store. Since her store-bought staples are items considered specialties, it makes sense that she prefers shopping at a specialty food store, and the one she says is "the best in the world" is in Paris.
Though La Grande Épicerie translates to "the big grocery store" in French, its size isn't the only thing that makes this culinary emporium special. The 2,900 square meter store, located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, is also home to 13 different restaurants and has a selection of more than 30,000 gourmet food products, many of which are made in-house.
Judging by her Instagram post, which mostly features pictures of pastries, the patisserie is likely her most-shopped section of the store. She also highlighted the produce section and mentioned the wine in the caption, writing, "La Grande Épicerie is the best specialty food store in the world! It's a full city block in the 7th and it has every imaginable wine and food you could want."
Most know Ina Garten as being from The Hamptons, but she also lives in Paris part-time and has had a home there since 2000. When she described the store as her "local grocery store" on Instagram, she wasn't exaggerating, as she told Fodors that her home is between the 6th and 7th arrondissements near Bon Marché — the department store housing La Grande Épicerie.