<p>John Laurenson explores the enduring appeal of stock. A century and a half ago, a butcher at the big Parisian food market Les Halles started selling beef broth – ‘bouillon’ in French - to the people who worked there. In a few years this had developed into what was perhaps the world’s first restaurant chain. By the end of the Nineteenth Century there were hundreds of ‘bouillons’ in Paris. </p><p>Today, with inflation making traditional French restaurants too expensive for many people, these big, affordable eateries are making a comeback. </p><p>The French aren’t, of course, the only people to discover the delights of this simple, warming, nourishing food. John learns how bouillon influenced Vietnam’s iconic dish, pho, as a result of the French colonial presence in the region in the 1800 and 1900s. </p><p>Producer/presenter: John Laurenson</p><p>(Image: A dish of stock with chicken and herbs with a ladle sticking out of it. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)</p>
