If you are in Paris and are looking for fast café service in Paris, perhaps you should seek out Pauline van Wymeersch at the Le Petit Pont café facing the Notre Dame cathedral or Samy Lamrous who plies his trade at La Centrescarpe in Paris’ 5^th arrondissement. They were the winners of the women’s and men’s sections of the revived Course des Cafes, a two kilometre race through the streets of the historic Marais district around City Hall.

Wearing Traditional aprons and white shirts and carrying a tray bearing a traditional breakfast of croissant, coffee and a glass of water, around 200 waiters set off with the goal of completing the course without running or spilling spilling a crumb or a drop. Lamrous completed the race, run for the first time since 2011, in 13 minutes and 30 seconds while Ms van Vymeersch finished with a time of 14 minutes and 12 seconds.

Apart from the prestige, they were presented with medals, two tickets each for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, and a night’s stay in a Paris hotel.

Let’s hope this traditional race is back to stay.