Following the success of Wagon-bar. A Short History of the Railway Meal, presented at the Rencontres d’Arles in 2024, Ground Control is hosting the sequel to this exhibition: Food-express – Photographs of a Kitchen in Motion, designed by Arthur Mettetal, historian and curator.
A proposal developed with the support of the Orient Express Endowment Fund, the SNCF group, and Newrest Wagons-Lits.
A vibrant extension of the Wagon-bar exhibition, between railway and culinary history
Conceived as an immersion into the world of railway meals, past and present, Food-express explores the rituals and imagination associated with cooking on the move. This group exhibition unveils a rich visual heritage, combining archival images, contemporary photographs, and objects. It offers a journey through eras, trains, and flavors, from the first dining cars to trays served at 300 km/h.
Presented for the first time in Paris, this new version of the exhibition offers never-before-seen content: behind-the-scenes images of on-board catering, rare documents from the archives of the SNCF group and Newrest Wagons-Lits.
Presented in the Cathedral’s exhibition space, the exhibition will include a life-size reconstruction of a passenger car. An invitation to rediscover, between nostalgia and modernity, how we ate and still do on the rails.
A railway venue for an exhibition that takes the train of memory
A former SNCF postal sorting facility, Ground Control has occupied this vast building since 2017, transforming it into a space for life, culture, and exploration of great collective narratives. The exhibition’s location is a tribute to this shared history and to the railway imagination that still inhabits the site.
The Cathedral space, with a glass roof spanning over 200 m², hosts this project at the intersection of art, memory, and popular culture.
A kitchen in motion, reflecting Ground Control’s food offerings
This take on railway catering resonates with Ground Control’s DNA. Here, you order at the counter, share large tables, and take your own tray, just like on the Mistral or Capitole trains. A nod to the onboard services that marked the heyday of rail.
Through its demanding and committed culinary offerings, Ground Control reinvents the idea of meals in motion. Its nine restaurants are all Ecotable certified, demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainable and accessible cuisine.
About Ground Control
Nestled near the Gare de Lyon in a former SNCF postal sorting hall, Ground Control is a place of cultural, ecological, and convivial experience: 6,500 m², 900,000 visitors/year, 350 events/year.
Food-express – Photographies d’une cuisine en mouvement
Until October 5, 2025
Ground Control
81, rue du Charolais
75012 Paris
www.groundcontrolparis.com
