© kevindooley

An Australian film crew recently traveled to Paris in search of the best French recipes for their behind-the-scenes gourmet cuisine series "French Food Safari." SBS host Maeve O'Meara and celebrity chef Guillaume Brahimi worked tirelessly to explore the best French restaurants, regional delicacies and produce markets in a limited time frame.

The resulting show makes it look like a fun holiday for the crew, but O'Meara confessed that some days they didn't even have time to eat properly. The French sound recordist employed with the crew was very upset by the fact that the production company tended to only have time to eat what they were filming on a given day, which sometimes meant only eating chocolate or cheese for the entire day. He was used to a two-hour lunch break during an 8 hour work day, but the Australian crew worked from 3am to 11pm every day.

© Charles Haynes

Mussels are a feature ingredient in many classic French recipes. They are also a great bargain for seafood lovers compared with many other ocean delicacies. In New Zealand, a large bag of mussels that can feed up to 10 people will cost only $20.

New Zealand has native mussels called greenshells which can be purchased cheaply in the supermarket, or gathered from the coast. Those collected from the coast can be scrubbed before cooking, and it pays to gather more than you can eat because those that are cracked shouldn't be eating. Moules mariniere is a classic French recipe that's easy to prepare at home. You simply cook the mussels in a pot with white wine, onion and garlic that have been finely chopped. The total cooking time is just 5 to 10 minutes.

© david.nikonvscanon

French recipes for pastry are rightfully famous world wide. Top tier French pastry chefs take getting their elaborate desserts very seriously, and it literally takes years of practice to master this art form. The top French pastry chefs earn the title of Meilleurs Ouvriers de Fance. This honor is only given to a chosen few who win an invitational contest.

Now they are the subject of a new documentary, as filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus follow three chefs as they ready for the M.O.F event. In this competition they will assemble an array of cakes, petits fours and chocolate sculptures. These three chefs are competing with 13 others in the 3 day French competition held in Lyon every four years. They prepare for months ahead of time, testing recipes and preparing strategies.