Is the spurt in sales of Indian curry in Paris a sign of changing tastes?

There has to be more to the reports that the Marks & Spencer foodhall outlet near the Champs-Élysées in Paris sells more chicken tikka masala (CTM) ready meals than any branch in Britain. The very idea that the French may be forswearing their Coq au vin for spicy poulet Indien seems a recipe for heartburn.

Food, after all, is the nearest thing to an official religion in secular France and the turmeric-isation of it would surely have far-reaching repercussions. There are few signs of large-scale conversions, however. So one must look at other possible reasons for the curious sales figures of this particular food item sold by the British retailer.

The craving of average Britons for a ‘curry’ at least once a week is well-known. Perhaps the spike in CTM sales is in no small measure due to the hunger pangs of British visitors to Paris — some 2.1 million of them went last year — who would naturally gravitate towards familiar brands and flavours.

Considerably less tourists from India make it to the City of Light every year, but they too would probably display an affinity for CTM, which would add to the figures of the outlet. The French, however, should conduct their own investigations into this spurt, to determine whether there is indeed any culinary conversion afoot or whether it is merely British propaganda.