Travel Between The Pages

My very first encounter with a Parisian waiter reinforced every stereotypes of French restaurants. To be fair, it was an early morning visit to a railway station café after a night train from Amsterdam. My traveling companions included three other Americans and a Palestinian filmmaker that we meet on the train. Our very first Parisian waiter corrected everyone’s bad French, slammed the dishes onto the tabletop, and at the end of the meal dropped our change onto the table like it burned his hand. Still, one always wants to romanticize their first Paris restaurant experience.

Last week, thousands of spectators gathered to watch more than 200 servers compete in Sunday’s “Course des Cafés,” the newly-revived version of a century-old race. Hordes of Parisian waiters hurtled down the streets of the capital with full trays in hand.

Waiters and waitresses traversed a 1.2-mile loop starting and ending at City Hall, suited up in traditional crisp white shirts, black trousers, neatly tied aprons and in some cases, bow ties. They each carried a tray loaded with a croissant, a full water glass and an empty coffee cup.

The goal: Cross the finish line as quickly as possible without running, spilling or carrying the tray with two hands at the same time.

“Through the streets of the Marais, you will have to slalom with agility, avoid obstacles with a skill worthy of Opera dancers and demonstrate speed without haste,” said Eau de Paris, the city’s public water company and sponsor of the event. “It will not only be about speed but above all balance.”

Judges at the finish line inspected contestants’ trays, docking points for sloshed water, broken dishes and empty glasses, according to the New York Times, which reported that most people finished in under 20 minutes.

Men’s winner Samy Lamrous finished in 13 minutes and 30 seconds, while women’s winner Pauline Van Wymeersch clocked in at 14 minutes and 12 seconds.