A Chef Driven Guide to Marseille
Moitié-Moitié Pizza
Dear Pizza Tourists,
Let’s take a moment of appreciation for the grungy gateway cities to our summer travels. Like Naples is to the Amalfi Coast, Marseille is to the French Riviera, Bangkok to Koh Samui (White Lotus)...It’s important to remember that these unique cities are all worth a few days of exploration.
Over the last couple of summers I’ve returned to the south of France for business and fun, visiting the quaint towns of St. Rémy, Uzès, and Arles, basking in the painter’s light, marveling at the rugged limestone calanques, and breathing in the salty air of that deep blue Côte d’Azur. No wonder so many artists, like Picasso and Van Gogh, flocked to these towns.
But Marseille has been tugging at this pizza tourist for a while now. It’s one of those gateway cities often overlooked. With access to fantastic produce and affordable rents, it’s starting to regain recognition (from Paris, no less) and has been buzzing with young chefs, pop-ups, and exciting new ventures. Marseille holds so much important history.
Moitié-Moitié: Here, the popular pizza is moitié-moitié—half-half. One side red sauce with anchovy, the other with bubbling gruyère or emmental. The cheese originally replaced mozzarella as it was cheaper to source, benefiting the customer and the pizzeria. Sometimes with a drizzle of pistou (France’s take on pesto).
Marseille in October, 2024
Stayed a couple nights at a simple Airbnb near the city center
Went running one morning through the port and past the fisherman market
Spent hours in a specialty general store
Drank crisp Provençal wine with seafood on a rock perched over the sea