France's Favorite Grocery Store Only Sells Frozen Food. Surprised? You Shouldn't Be.

"France seems like a food lover’s paradise, filled with open markets brimming with the season’s freshest fruits and vegetables. But when I moved to Paris in 2008, everyone was whispering about another place to shop for food. “It really makes my life easier,” my friend Jérôme tells me. “It’s my secret to a stress-free dinner party,” says another friend, Pierre. It’s called Picard — and almost everything they sell is frozen. From green beans to blueberries to foie gras-filled filo pastry pockets, Picard’s products are known as the French home cook’s best-kept secret. But how did a country that celebrates seasonal produce fall in love with a frozen food chain? Today, we look at Picard Surgelés — how it started, why people love it, and whether it might ever come stateside."