According to legend, the origin of the pieds paquets (or feet and packages) goes back to the creation of the Phocaean city, 2600 years ago. Gyptis, a Celto-Ligurian princess, chose Protis, a Phocaean captain who had just arrived, as her husband. As a token of love, she offered him a cup of wine, rolled lamb pansies stuffed with meat and fragrant herbs. This dish was then considered to be the ancestor of the Marseilles parcels, to which lamb’s feet were later added. In reality, the recipe for pieds paquets was created by Louis Ginouvès, a chef in the Pomme district of Marseille, in 1880.
An atypical speciality of Marseille, pieds paquets are mainly cooked in autumn and winter. This dish is traditionally made up of lamb offal (bellies and feet). Each piece of belly is stuffed with lean pork, garlic and chopped parsley. The lamb’s feet must be white and hairy before being put on the flame for the crunch.