Follow the men in white hats

Where do Parisian chefs eat out? paul levy shares a secret

With the publication last week of the 2007 red Michelin Guide to France, we now know where serious foodies are supposed to dine in Paris.

The top accolade of a third star has gone to Yannick Alleno's pretty Le Meurice; to L'Astrance, the tiny 25-seater where Pascal Barbot dishes up his celebrated avocado and crab; and to the beautiful Pre Catalan, where Frederic Anton serves his famous fish cooked with fresh seaweed. We even know where to avoid - Taillevent, which has somehow lost its prestigious third star after 34 years.

What Michelin doesn't tell you, though, is where the most serious foodies - the chefs themselves - go to eat on their days off.

Le Pere Claude is in the 15th arrondissement, at 51 Avenue de La Motte-Piquet, south of the Eiffel Tower. Here, away from their kitchens, chefs revert, becoming complete carnivores.

Claude Perraudin's son and daughter,

What Michelin never tells you is where the most serious foodies – cooks themselves – go to eat

Ludovic and Laetitia, serve no-nonsense, best-quality grilled red meat or spit-roasted chicken, preceded by an impressive variety of house-made terrines, ranging from a thick slab of jellied, herbed pork with a gobbet of pink foie gras in the middle, to a gelatinously wobbly, lightly garlicky veal brawn.

For those too wimpish to manage two meat courses, a salad of langoustine tails is also served. Fish is available, and of perfect freshness, too.

But you might as well go the whole hog (or steer) and have onglet - the juicy, strongly flavoured skirt steak that French butchers reserve for themselves, which has to be eaten bloody (it toughens when overcooked).

I did a bit of chef-spotting with Gilles Pudlowski, who writes the Pudlo/Paris guide used by Paris insiders. We clocked Jacques Maximin, all the way from Vence, plus Andre Menut and his sons, owners of La Grande Cascade, enjoying themselves at about €60 per head, with wine. Don't tell anyone.