Florence Kahn, the stunning Jewish institution in the Marais that hasn't aged a day

Florence Kahn 's life deserves to be made into a film. Half-litwak, half-polak (Lithuanian on her father's side, Polish on her mother's), the chef was able to make her mark, learn on the job and impose her style in a culinary world dominated by men who, at the time, didn't necessarily take too kindly to the arrival of such a pugnacious woman on their turf.

Brought up in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, it was in the Marais (the Pletzl for those in the know) that Florence Kahn discovered and nurtured her love of cooking. At Finkelsztajn, the neighborhood's must-visit yellow patisserie-caterer opened in 1946, she learned the trade and the traditional recipes inherited from her ancestors - tchoulent and other linzertorte.

It was only natural that Florence Kahn should rush in and take over the bakery next door, Monsieur Perelman's famous blue store with its magnificent mosaic listed as a Monument Historique, which she renamed after herself. That was back in 1988.

35 years later, theAshkenazi Jewish institution on rue des Ecouffes is still firmly rooted in the neighborhood. Time has passed, but the bakery hasn't aged a day - and neither has its owner. From the original bakery, Florence Kahn retains her love of good bread, a delicacy emblematic of Jewish tradition.

Here, Shabbat hallot come in poppy, sesame and raisin varieties, as do bagels baked in water before being put in the oven, in the purest New York Jewish tradition. Cumin bread, a true Yiddish broyt, is made according to a traditional shtetl recipe, while Rogalik bread is topped with browned onions, cumin and sesame seeds.

So many breads and buns that used to be found on family tables, and so many plump beds to welcome Florence's recipes, the iconic (and absolutely delicious) pastrami sandwich of course, highlighted with onions, eggplant caviar, peppers and those famous Malossol pickles cured for months; but also the chopped liver sandwich, which has quite a taste of home.

At the counter, the choice is tough. Would you prefer pirojkis, cheese beureks, fish balls, pickled herring? Or perhaps you'd prefer to indulge in a range of dips that are so good (so good!), led by tarama with dill ("taramour" according to the creator), smoked eggplant caviar, and above all that unforgettable chopped liverdip, a great classic of Polish Jewish cuisine, which combines poultry livers, eggs and browned onions. A must-taste.

Florence Kahn 's cuisine is a cuisine of love, a cuisine of color, a cuisine of discovery. It's not for nothing that Florence Kahn 's aura has spread beyond the borders of the Marais and beyond the frontiers of France: the boutique-caterer is a unifying meeting place, a social and cultural link between generations, nationalities and desires.

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The desserts are all to be savored with eyes closed: indecently creamy cheesecake in plain, lemon, red fruit, pistachio or blueberry; naughty pavé with poppy seed; demonic chocolate babka; not forgetting Polish mame strudel andVienneseapfel strudel with apples, walnuts, raisins, orange peel and cinnamon. At Florence Kahn, you're sure to find an authentic piece of Ashkenazi culture and gastronomy.