Ground Control in Paris is hosting a new photography exhibition titled "Food-Express: Photographs of Cuisine in Motion," which runs until October 5, 2025. The exhibition serves as a sequel to the successful "Wagon-bar: A Brief History of Railway Dining" that was presented at the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival in 2024. The show is curated by Arthur Mettetal, a historian and exhibition curator, and has been developed with support from the Orient Express Foundation, SNCF Group, and Newrest Wagons-Lits.
Conceived as an immersive experience into the world of railway dining from past to present, Food-Express explores the rituals and imagination associated with cuisine in motion. This collective exhibition unveils a rich visual heritage that combines archival images, contemporary photographs, and historical objects. The display offers visitors a journey through different eras, trains, and flavors, from the first dining cars to meals served at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour.
Being presented for the first time in Paris, this new version of the exhibition features previously unseen content, including behind-the-scenes images of onboard dining services and rare documents from the archives of SNCF Group and Newrest Wagons-Lits. The exhibition is housed in Ground Control's Cathedral space and includes a full-scale reconstruction of a passenger car. The presentation invites visitors to rediscover, through a blend of nostalgia and modernity, how people ate and continue to eat while traveling by rail.
Ground Control, a former SNCF postal sorting facility, has served as a cultural venue since 2017, transforming the vast building into a space for living, culture, and exploring collective narratives. Hosting this exhibition pays tribute to this shared history and the railway imagination that still inhabits the location. The Cathedral space, a glass-roofed area spanning more than 200 square meters, accommodates this project at the intersection of art, memory, and popular culture.
The focus on railway dining resonates with Ground Control's DNA as a venue. Visitors order at counters, share large communal tables, and carry trays reminiscent of the service on famous trains like the Mistral or Capitole. This approach serves as a nod to the onboard services that marked the golden age of rail travel. Through a demanding and committed culinary offering, Ground Control reinvents the concept of dining in motion, with all nine of its restaurants certified by Écotable, demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainable and accessible cuisine.
Ground Control is located near Gare de Lyon station in a former SNCF postal sorting hall and serves as a venue for cultural experience, ecology, and conviviality. The 6,500-square-meter space attracts 900,000 visitors annually and hosts 350 events per year. The Food-Express exhibition can be visited at Ground Control, located at 81 rue du Charolais in the 12th arrondissement of Paris.
