Another life changing day. Last summer on my way to Europe I bought My Life in France by Julia Child to read on the plane because it was on sale at the airport and I had forgotten to bring a novel. I ate up every word on my way over, but didn’t think I’d be in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu the following summer. Vanja surprised me with a week in Paris enroute to his parent’s home in the Balkans this summer and I surprised him with all of the cooking classes I booked there!

The Bread Baking Atelier was the only full day course available the week we were there that fit into our schedule. I was excited. I had just taken a Bread Baking course with my Bread Baking Idol : Richard Bertinet, at his Cookery School in Bath, UK, when we were in London, in March. This would be the perfect follow-up: Le Cordon Bleu.

Our last Saturday in Paris, July 17th, 2010, I got up super early (as usual) and was down for coffee at 7 am. I found my way to the Jussieu Metro Station close by (on the Left Bank, where we were staying) and followed the Metro route Vanja and I had mapped out the night prior, arriving at my the final stop by 8 am. I had thought rush hour traffic might mean delays, but not this morning. It was Saturday. What was I thinking?

I found myself on a main street that was not too busy with a grocery store already open and thriving across from my final metro destination (below, left). It was still a little before 8 am. Two very short turns and half blocks later, I found myself on a very quiet car-lined street and saw the familiar “bleu” on a windowsill on the right hand side of the street about one third of the way up. It was very a inconspicuous and reserved swipe of colour and I couldn’t be sure this was the clue I needed until I drew closer. I crossed the street to take my first photo (below, right). The street was eerily quiet and I savoured that moment.

This understated street had held the soles of many passionate and determined food lovers padding their way to this highly esteemed culinary institute. And, here I was. On this street. Thinking of all who had come before. This unexpected silence gave me time to reflect upon my good fortune just to be standing here alone… in this silence. To think and to savour and to just be in the moment… thinking and savouring on this fine morning filled with promise.

I walked across the street and peered into the windows. The silence was broken by two people coming down the street from the end opposite of me speaking to one another in very loud and animated tones. I moved back across the street…

…watching the boisterous couple stand in front of Le Cordon Bleu peering into the window exactly as I had moments before. Then they entered: …quiet, again.

Oh! They are open. I will go in, too. It was only 8:10 am. (Above is a view of direction I had come from with Le Cordon Bleu on the left.)

I was greeted warmly by the bilingual (at least) receptionist, providing me a package and directing me to the breakfast room to enjoy a French breakfast, and await being picked up by our English Translator for the Bread Making Atelier. The room was charming and filled with young students in professional looking cooking jackets. Clearly, these students were not taking day courses. Most had photo ID around their necks and were in small groupings drinking wonderful steamy cups of strong French coffee and chatting and laughing together before their morning class.

I took a chair at the empty table you see below to the left. I placed my precious package on it, and went to get a coffee. I adore French coffee. Not enough, I suppose, to drink it at home, but I would not dream of drinking anything else while in France. It is a definite part of the vacation charm. I do add milk. Just a little. And the orange juice was fresh and vibrant and provided just the boost of energy I was missing without knowing it!

I admired the rolls,  but didn’t indulge. Then I sat and unpacked my package with trembling fingers. The confident students were leaving in small groups and their seats were filling with others, like myself, with new packages and nervous smiles anticipating the magic of this and wondering how it would unfold.

A knowledgeable couple joined me and we engaged in a lively visit. The gal insisted on taking my photo once I put on my apron and now I am happy she did! I never saw them again. There was another Atelier for a half a day on Entertaining Friends that they were going to. Very shortly after, a woman who was to become our Translator, called our class to the door and took us up three flights  (there were four in the building, I think) to the Bread Baking Class. Enroute, (and in front, as always – or trying to be… pant, pant…) I tried to take it all in.

Here I am! Hello, hallowed halls! Hello, Julia! Hell-o! Hell-ooo!

Hello, Chef Daniel Walter! He was waiting for us in the kitchen busy prepping with two student assistants. The classroom was warmed immediately as his smile drew us in. What a lovely human being. This man was the most warm, kind, passionate person and our Chef for the day. He spoke no English during the class, though it was clear he understood some. However, our Translator, whose name I have (so unfortunately) long forgotten, was incredible. Her timing was impeccable. Her descriptions precise. Her caring about our questions and our personal needs and understanding surpasses any possible expectations of mine. Chef Walter communicated so much knowledge and humour through his twinkling blue eyes. This was definitely the perfect pair for our day.

The facility was also perfect. The class usually accommodates 14 students. Today, there were 10, so there was plenty of room for us on the most massive granite island I have ever laid my eyes upon. But, this IS Le Cordon Bleu! What else did I expect? Really, I have no idea. I had no expectations, and the only frame of reference I had was that of the images painted in my head through Julia’s novel. Her room was in the basement. This one was on the third floor. Her room was a modern room for the 1950′s. This is the year 2010. Probably some things never will change, but so much has. Each chose a place around the island in front of the  “working place settings”.

I chose to be on the side of the island near the door in the middle, right beside the gal above with the pink band. And, lucky for me, because the room was so open, Chef Walter chose to work directly across from me, instead of at the end of the island where he usually does (he said).

I smelled chocolate. Directly behind me was a chocolate tempering machine (above, left) and it must have been turned on for quite awhile. The aroma was intoxicating! To the right, above, is the entrance to to the room flanked on one side by a set of double ovens (that makes four commercial convection ovens) and flanked on the other side of the entrance by a proofing machine, the tempering machine and room for the sheet trolleys.

“Ah-hem!” Came the humour filled throat clearing from Chef Walter. Our adventure was to begin!

I have prepared an additional three instructional posts of this complex day to simplify the happenings and hopefully make it possible for me, and you, to be able to bake wonderful bread from this shared experience:

• Bread Baking in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu: White Bread and Rye Bread
• Bread Baking in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu: Kugelhof, Fougasse and Country Loaf with Tips on Epi
• Bread Baking in Paris at Le Cordon Bleu: Tips on How to Shape Brioche

Above, are the links to the posts that will follow this overview.

After our morning of friendship building, dough making and bread baking, noon hour had arrived and it was time for our scheduled lunch. We were all ready for a little nourishment. Especially water. I had no idea how dehydrated I had become throughout the morning. We returned to the same room where we had been served breakfast. The nourishment that had been prepared for us was truly lovely, and again, unexpected.

I was struck by the focus on health and simplicity. Melon and prosciutto is a classic combination, yet this was without hesitation, the best melon I have ever tasted. It reminded me of my first trip to the Balkansand eating a tomato. My taste memory of tomato was reawakened from my childhood. Yet, I had no previous experience with a melon this flavourful. The prosciutto laced it with salt and wrapped it in a bold chewy, yet melt-in-your-mouth texture all at once: heaven on this hot summer day.

I think this shrimp and avocado combination has been a regular on their lunch menu as there are a couple of other posts about Atelier’s at Le Cordon Bleu that mention this dish. And, why not? It is gorgeous, delicious, nutritious, and easy to put together.

The egg, mushroom and tomato salad followed with a similar presentation.

There was also tossed salad and dressings.

The buns awaited at the end of the line with the red wine and the fuzzy fresh fragrant peaches. I had water, but I so very much appreciated the possibility of the wine for lunch. It was just perfect.

When our Translator stood in the lunch room, we all knew our 45 minutes had expired. Back to the classroom for more baking and dough making.

As we climbed up, soft wisps of warm yeasty bread baking vapours floated down the staircase. Upon arrival, it was clear that Chef Walter had not stopped for a minute. The doughs from our morning had been baked into gorgeous crunchy looking golden crusts. He was thrilled to show them off. We were drawn into the warm humid room with the heady aroma rising to greet us. The afternoon was not as intense, but was productive.

By midpoint, our breads were piling high in front of each of us: rye, white baguettes and buns, kugelhof, and country loaves.

When we finished our last project, the tastings began. I have heard that bread should sit for a couple of hours to be at its optimum before tasting. Chef Walters didn’t mention anything of the sort. He was cutting into the rye and slathering it with unsalted butter as soon as it came out of the oven.

I was captured by his relationship to dough. There was a tender reverence in every manner he used associated with touching the doughs and the breads. It was fascinating to watch this artful devotion to each creation. He handled it like he was dancing a fine dance all day, and when his learned nose buried deep into this moist slice of rye, his satisfaction was apparent.

This was the loaf he held up to the group as a wonderful example of an artisan design. Beam-beam-beam!

I got another big smile and a thumbs up from him for my my baguette. I was a very proud student. He finds it very difficult for new students to form and create “acceptable” artisan breads by hand. He added that is was also difficult for professionals to do by hand as well as the machinery available to assist with the process as the use of this equipment creates such incredible results.

Oh, yes, I was really pleased with my results this day.

Yet, what you see above is not all. We are enjoying the end of the day, still waiting for our fougasse and brioche to come out of the oven.

Chef Walter was actually born in the I’Ile-de-France and carried out the majority of his career in Paris. He attended Jean Ferrandi and earned his CAP in pastry (Certificate d’Aptitude Professionelle). Following this, he attended the Brevet de Maîtrise Pâtisserie in 1976. He was clear with us from the beginning: I do not specialize in bread. It has been many, many years since I have worked closely with bread [prior to my work with Le Cordon Bleu teaching the Ateliers] as I am a pasty chef who has spent my entire life exploring the wonderful world of French Pâtisserie. (This is my recollection of his translated worlds.) Yet, he was definitely an expert in this area though it was not his specialization.

He was a commis Pâtissiernfor La Chaurnière, then pastry chef at Deauville, and later the same at La Petit Marquise.

In 1975, he opened his own pastry shop in Paris in the 14th androssiment. He was appointed counsellor of technical education for the organization of CAP examinations at a Parisian Hotel school and carried out this responsibility from 1992 to 2002.

In 1988, Chef Walter was awarded the title of Maitre Artisan, and in 1999, his company was honored with the award for the Best Pastry Shop in the Paris region.

He sold his company in 2004 and has worked as a consultant Chef for practical classes and workshops at Le Cordon Bleu since 2005. Lucky us! (Isn’t the crust above communicating a very loud crunch through the screen?)

As I was researching Chef Walter, I discovered that he has been fondly referred to as Chef Grandpa by many of his young students though I will say that he is much younger than he appears in his tall stately cap.

Look at the beautiful crusts he provided us the opportunity to create. Working with this Artisan Master was an incredible gift and one that I shall never forget.

I knew we were leaving for Belgrade early in the morning, and dining at Jöel Robuchon’s L’Atelier after this class, so my loaves would need to find a home. Time to taste the Kugelhof. (I want a Kugelhof pan now.) What a lovely delicate buttery bread. This is very similar to brioche, but the butter is melted into the batter instead of worked into it.

Packing up to leave was not an easy task. I had two of these massive long bags filled with bread and each was very heavy, but I was so excited for Vanja to see and smell each wonder.

So, their awkwardness and weight didn’t discourage me from lugging them out into the steamy summer air and back onto the metro to take to the hotel for Beavie and Vanja to marvel over.

And Beavie really did get excited. But, Vanja? He didn’t even look into a bag. He was exhausted from his walking through the city that day, and he was hungry, so we were up and out of the hotel after a brief freshening up to our last meal in Paris.

I left Beavie buried in the Kugelhof. Who wouldn’t be happy stuck in this almond covered buttery sweetness?

The really sad thing is that I had bad packed my apron, recipes, the entire package I had been given with all of the extensive notes I wrote into one of the bags with the bread in it. And all was left in the hotel early the following morning as we departed to take the Metro to the airport.

I wrote to Le Cordon Bleu weekly first asking, then pleading, for another package and the recipes. But, it was holiday season. Finally, last week, my pleas were answered, and just yesterday I received a new package (sadly, sans notes, of course), certificate and all!

I will definitely find a home for this. And, as I write, I am recalling so much of what I wrote…..

I like to start every post with a picture of food, but this time, the location seemed most appropriate. I had reserved a month or so before we left and we had to re-confirm the day before. Reservations are only accepted for the 6:30 seating which is when the restaurant opens. The night we were there was a Saturday; there was a line up of people with reservations waiting for the opening, but when we left, there was no one waiting to come in.

We actually walked right by it the night before walking back to our hotel from the Musée d’Orsay which made finding it this evening easy. I had wanted to eat one night in an exceptional Parisian restaurant. I knew of Jöel Robuchon and of Alain Ducasse and did as much research as I had time for to find out about other great places. I was looking for Michelin Star Chefs. In the end, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester closed for the summer and the Thursday we were there would be their last night open for a month. I booked us in. It looked spectacular. Then thought about it. I really wanted to have dinner out on the last night, so it was L’Atelier that got out business. It is a unique project of Robichon’s where he wanted to restaurant built around the kitchen so the diners could enjoy a personal interaction with the chef and the experience would be a much more intimate one for the diners. I love visiting the kitchens of incredible restaurants. I always ask and they do expect that, and have always welcomed taking us back to thank the chef for our meal. At least, that has been my experience. The opportunity to dine while watching the chef cook was a tremendous appeal to me.

There is a prix fix tasting menu here as well as other menus to order from. Most reviewers have said that this is a place for tasting and not for eating. I just loved that Vanja didn’t have to have the prix fix menu. He could order whatever he wanted and not worry about having to eat something that didn’t appeal to him. However, because they have such an extensive menu (and it is extensive for this kind of restaurant), they are very happy to replace any part of the prix fix menu with an alternate option. All places are, but it is actually advertised here.

Before we entered, while standing in line, I was disillusioned. I cannot help but compare this experience (the one waiting for me) to ours at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck. We waited for quite some time in the garden at The French Laundry for the restaurant to open and were so impressed by the respectful formality and attention to detail we observed through the windows of every staff member preparing for opening. I am sure most were completely unaware we were there. At The Fat Duck we were greeted like family.

Yet, here, the staff was clearly aware of the crowd gathering outside. The hostess sat (in a rather revealing pose) and chatted and laughed on her cell phone through the glass for all to see. The cleaning lady was still scrubbing the floors with the blinds open and it was not a pretty sight. At all. She was not careful about where she put her dirty rags. I was truly surprised that there was not any attention paid to us and the impression that this kind of work might make upon us: right in front of us, the casual and unappealing, almost disrespectful manner the workers carried out their opening tasks in. It was clear they were being watched and they were completely irreverent.

And, yes, once again, we were first in line. We had only been 20 minutes early. The restaurant opened 10 minutes late. We were greeted by that same young woman who had been on the phone without her even looking at us. A young man checked off our name, and she guided us to the very back corner to the last two chairs (above right). It was far too dark there for any good photos of food, so I asked if we could please sit here (at the corner of the bar, by the front). Hmmm… Well, she would have to rearrange her seating plan. The man behind the bar told her it would be fine and to do it. She was very flustered and did allow us to sit where I wanted, but was not happy about it. Too bad. We were the first ones in and everyone was to sit around the kitchen. Someone else could have that dark back corner.

We were sitting in high bar stools. I was excited as I perched on my stool and peered into the darker room looking for the kitchen. Where was it? There was a man instantly in front of us asking us what we wanted to eat. I said I would have the prix fix menu and then Vanja decided to, as well. He had had quite some time to think about it outside. He asked for options for the caviar course. The young man suggested the langoustine, and so that was it. And to drink? Water, please. We had decided after out experience at The French Laundry when three glasses of wine totalled 150 US dollars to just enjoy the food at these kind of restaurants and drink at others. The bread appeared on the upper bar counter immediately, sans butter.

And where is the kitchen. We were clearly sitting at the bar. Everyone was. I got up, and walked to the other side of the restaurant. When you come in, there is an opening into the kitchen that you can stand at and watch the kitchen from, though it is still a bit away, and the hostess is right there with her table. There are then two doors: one to the right and one to the left and each side of the restaurant is exactly the same. There is an L- shaped bar on the left side, and the reverse L-shaped bar on the right side. Both sides surround the bar. The kitchen is at the back and very difficult to see much from any position.That was really disappointing.

The restaurant website even explains the concept as a kitchen opened on a circular bar with 36 seats that allows clients to follow the service, to watch the succession of dishes, and to compose their own meal according to their appetite, as the menu offers all the great classics to taste in small, tapas-style portions. A large choice of carefully selected wines is available by the glass. Attentive service, warm and casual ambience and impeccable cuisine directed by Joël Robuchon.

Below, I am taking the photo from our set at the corner of the bar. If you look carefully, you can see the 5 legs of ham hanging from the ceiling inside of the open walls of the kitchen. It is lined with the jars of vegetables . Can you see it there? In the middle, at the bottom, is a leg of prosciutto in a cutter and a blurry man moving behind it. That is one of the cooks. But, most of them are down where the photo ends. That is where they are working. And, if you are looking from the other side, it is the same. So, during the dinner, you cannot see anyone preparing your meal, at all. Vanja, and some of the dinners, could see the Chef de Cuisine  standing directly behind the opening by the front door expediting all of the food in the kitchen. He was the only one talking. I could not even see him. The other chefs and cooks were behind the open dividers filled with objects that made it very difficult for anyone to see them.

To say the service was fast would be an understatement. Honestly, we hadn’t even sipped our water or said anything to one another before the amuse bouche appeared. It was presented to us at the top of the bar and we were told it was the amuse bouche. When I asked what it was, I was told, “Cold Soup.”  I think it was a butternut squash soup. It was a tasty non-descript, non-memorable taste. I really wanted to know what was in it. Our waited spoke English very well, but there was very little desire to ensure he had answered my question as he turned to chat with another guest in the middle of answering me. This was basically how the entire meal went, but, I will go on.

First, before the young man turned away, I did ask for butter with our bread. His helper heard me. That is always a treat for Vanja and I and we very much enjoy butter with our bread when we are out for a nice meal. We never have it at home and it is just such a pleasure. The butter was placed on a piece of slate and also served on the high bar in front of us where the bread was sitting. Our water was just behind that bar within the reach of who I supposed was our waiter. The butter was also non-descript. The I still recall the two butters served at The French Laundry: the salted one, and the none salted one with the detailed description of where each was from which I really did appreciate. And the butter at The Fat Duck was equally as memorable. This butter was not. But, it was only butter. The amuse bouche was beautiful. Both Vanja and I admired the presentation and the delicate tuille standing in it. I was still aglow with anticipation!

The couple next to me, around the corner of the bar, were exceedingly friendly: on vacation from Australia and had a wealth of information for us from their Paris experiences. Alas, it was out last night, but I was still listening intently. Isn’t the paprika sprinkled on the plate an artistic touch (below, left)? You can get an idea of how high the serving bar was on the photo below. It was very similar to a kitchen where there is the high bar and the eating bar in front of it.

I am not kidding you when I say as I put the spoon into my empty cup from the last bite that one waiter was whisking it away while his helped was standing behind him with our first course when was in front of me within 15 seconds of my spoon hitting the bottom of the cup. It looks so gorgeous. I am crazy over caviar! I have had some really good caviar in my life. Never eaten Beluga caviar yet, but it is on “the list”! What kind of caviar is this? I ask. “It is from China.” I do not lie. That is what he said. What kind of caviar from China? I question further. “From a fish from China.” I just looked at him, in shock, actually. At that point, he turned and said something to another fellow behind him and the answer came back: “Osetra: a kind of Sturgeon.” I didn’t dare ask what kind of Osetra caviar at that point. The dish was called simply: Le Caviar. The first part of the menu, describing th ecomponents of this dish and the first half of the menu, is below. You will notice we didn’t get what we were supposed to, and I only noticed that after, as I was looking so forward to the soft shelled crab that never arrived!

But, at this moment, the caviar had no flavour. I know that is hard to believe, and I am now sounding like a pouting child, but it is true. There was no flavour in it. Nothing fishy. Nothing salty. It was like eating water bubbles. The texture was nice. I was very confused as I would have thought it would be impossible for caviar to have such indiscernible flavour.

It looked lovely. Below is the first half of our prix fix menu which was very loosely followed throughout the evening.

Vanja got his langoustine and both were succulent and buttery and wonderful. I had a very small taste and the plump and succulent texture played an important role in the pleasure. What was the green leaf salad accompanying it? We asked, but there never was an answer. The waiter got interrupted by his helper and we did not find out. It was tasty and something like a Brussels sprout.

Next, we were both served the most gorgeous and flavourful heirloom tomato salad either of us has ever eaten. The glass dish does not do the presentation justice on the wooden counter. This dish was a work of art both in presentation and in the powerful simplicity of the flavours the dish delivered. Incredible tomatoes. Fruity and full bodied olive oil. A drizzle of the most lovely Balsamic and seasoned to perfection. We would have both licked our plates, but the food was coming at us so fast we almost felt we should duck! We had decided to leave enough food on our plate to play with for a few minutes. It was hard. This was the star of the evening for Vanja and a scintillating highlight for me.

I still get so much pleasure from just looking at it. This is when flavour and taste and texture are so important in a dish. When I study this dish, my taste memory instantly recalls the fleshy sparkle of the tomato oozing with its thick tangy gelée swirling into the savoury fruitiness of the rich olive oil lifted with the depth of the Balsamic. The herby leaves and peppery flowers added such an unforgettable mouth feel and fresh flavour explosion that I am enjoying it again, almost as much, right now.

Next came the foie gras. I have wanted to try foie gras with cherries as it is accompanied with them so much. What a gorgeous dish. Crisp tart sticks of crunchy green apple perfectly complimented the unctuous flawlessly caramelized foie. The deep and earthy sweet firm cherries and the fresh young toothsome almond was another thrill and the foie became a completely different dish when eaten with this accompaniment. I could not get enough. It was oh, so lush and flavourful and sumptuous. My feet were swinging under my bar chair as I celebrated this moment quietly in my chair. Mmmm! The leaf garnish was very beautiful, but not flavourful. Does anyone know what it is? This dish was my favourite. The cherry glaze was light, but bright, and perfect with the foie. My only complaint is that I had a lot of veins in my piece. This was not pleasing. It was actually disturbing.

Isn’t it gorgeous? I knew by now not to ask what kind of cherries they were. Out waiter was spending endless time laughing and visiting with a couple a few chairs down (the woman was very loud and very drunk) and we had to wave a helper down for some water. Below is the remainder of our menu.

Interestingly, we did not get the soft shelled crab, or the egg on the posted menu (and the menu above was presented to us and the one we chose to have); there was no mention of any replacement or any apology or conversation about allergy or preference when the alternate dishes were presented. This was just sat in front of us without any explanation. What is this, please? I knew I wasn’t expecting anything like this, though I couldn’t recall what I was expecting. “An espuma of mushroom: layered with a mixture of parsley on the bottom, followed by a light cream, a layer of sautéed mushrooms, topped with the mushroom espuma [mushroom foam]. We suggest you spoon to the bottom and eat a little of each layer together.”

Isn’t it a pretty dish? I love layered food. I was enamoured with the idea of this one. I dug to the bottom with delight and eagerly put the spoon in my mouth when I heard Vanja’s “Mmmm!” The mushrooms were really delicious butter sautéed mushrooms suspended in a light liquid that looked like cream but didn’t taste like cream. It tasted like a very light warm milk. The mushrooms were a really scrumptious bit of butter ssautéed mushrooms in an unexpected presentation. There was no additional texture sensation as could have happened with a thick cream at the bottom. Even if the warm milk had a thicker texture over the soupy parsley, it would have added interest to the dish. Vanja (bless his silly palate) hates parsley, and ate his layer without a problem. It was a vibrant green, but had no other flavour than mushrooms.  A beautiful dish of light and tasty fried mushroom soup. I was disappointed as it had so much more potential. I am not being spoiled here. I am really very easy to please. This is a two Michelin Star restaurant, and Jöel Robichon is the chef that currently holds the most stars of any chef. As I am writing, I am pouting. I have never had a soft shelled crab. It is on my list and I am really disappointed that it was substituted without any explanation. The staff here could really learn a lot from the staff at The Fat Duck or at The French Laundry, and many other places I have been that are not three star restaurants. Truly. I have learned to expect respect (a demonstration of value) and information from my servers when eating at such acclaimed places.

However, I am also a very positive person. We are in Paris, for goodness sake! We are out eating at a lovely restaurant and have some very interesting company. I find a big smile crawling back across my face!

Below, you will see how we were all seated. There were 18 seats on each L shape: 10 on our side, 5 across the front, and 2 just across from us. (…an L-shape with room for 3 on one end.)

You can see the space across from us, below, and the preparation space on the bar. Notice the smoked salmon on the white platter just waiting to be served? The gal from Australia beside me ordered that for her appetizer, earlier, and was raving about it. It was served with an herbed créme fraiche and a triangular waffle-iron shaped potato galette. She insisted I taste it. I said “No, thank you.” three times. Then, I succumbed. (Vanja was embarrasses!) It was absolute heaven! Now, that was a dish to write home about. Simple. Unexpected (the galette shape and flavour) and a deadly combination. Also, very simple. I can do this! And, I will!

I loved that little sharing. She also had the Special of that night which was poached Blue Lobster (presented live on a large platter for each guest not ordering the prix fix to see) and though it was extremely small when prepared (quite surprising considering the one on the tray appeared to be almost two kilo), she was very satisfied with it, as well. I was so entertained seeing their plates come to them and talking about their choices. She was clearly a foodie. They were very kind regarding me photographing my food. They didn’t laugh, but were clearly amused. And who wouldn’t be. I was amused, myself!

I keep trying to check out the action in the kitchen. Now you can see, above the jamon leg (left centre, below), one of the Chefs working, again. There were about 9 cooking when I went into the kitchen at the end of the evening. I asked who the Chef de Cuisine was this evening and was told something I couldn’t understand. I asked if the name could please be written it down. I was told I could check the website: the names are all there.

I found the following video on YouTube that really represents our experience well. Our food was different, but the presentations were similar and it is an excellent depiction of the setting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjL5goLzgs8

Honestly, it may sound like I am a demanding and high maintenance guest, but truly, I am not. We took very little of our server’s time compared to other guests. I had our waiter’s assistant write the name of the Chef de Cuisine down for me. It reads: Axel Manes (not noted on the website but a lot of information can be found about him through a basic Google search), and Pastry Chef (also different than the one on the website): Olivier Bagnolt. I tried to find such a person. None exists. François Benot is the only name anywhere similar that I found as a pastry chef, and the one listed on their website. (There was no Olivier as a pastry chef, though there certainly is an Olivier Limousin as an important right hand to Chef Robichon. I was told there are three Chef de Cuisines and that they alternate shifts, but that one is not “above” the others.

See the massive magnum of wine, above, right? I thought it was a decoration. But, it is not. Several glasses of red were poured from it throughout the evening. It did not seem to fit.

Another dish appeared in front of us. I was very full by this time. Vanja wasn’t. It looked superb. The plating is another work of art. I couldn’t eat it at all. Don’t even ask what it was. I tried. I know I should have known better by now but my desire to know what I was eating and to learn about the food here exceedingly surpassed the possible (probably?) embarrassment of asking what I was eating every time I was served something. It was a kind of white fish. Maybe halibut. Maybe sea bass. I know they are very different in texture and flavour. This was more like sea bass, but it was still really hard to tell. The fish tailed tuille of parmesan was stunning though it is said one is never to serve cheese with fish. It was a lovely touch to me. The olives were a bright compliment, too. I was ready for their briny goodness and really enjoyed nibbling them with the crunchy stalks on the green garnish.When I didn’t finish, the assistant was clearly concerned. I was in the washroom and Vanja told me that he didn’t want to take my plate. He was then worried I didn’t like it and wanted to get the waiter to solve the problem. This was nice to hear.

I was frustrated with the culture in this restaurant. I sat in my chair starving for the answers to my questions. What was I eating?

There was a choice of three items for what we were told was the main course. I wondered how I could manage. I chose the quail with truffled potatoes and was so happy to see how small the serving was. The potatoes were divine. I have never had a shaved slice of truffle before. This was my first one. It was a summer truffle and I would guess one similar to what MoNa foods had on display at Indulgence, 2010. It was a very mild truffle. Nothing like the fragrance of the ones shaved into the soup of our neighbouring table at The French Laundry. I could smell the aroma across the room that evening. This dish was light and lovely. I have cooked quail before. It is a rich and full bodied lovely little bird with succulent dark meat. These bites were lovely. I had tastes and gave it to Vanja. I ate all of the potatoes. Somehow, they fit. Yum.

Vanja chose the veal sweetbreads. I had adored the sweetbreads we ate at The French Laundry with the rabbit. I have enjoyed them other places, as well. These looked sumptuous. Vanja said they were really delicious. Remember, he loves liver and kidneys, so this was really no surprise. I could no longer taste anything. I was just too full. I love how flavourful these appear with their tasty jus artfully strewn on the plate. It looked like it was served with cooked Romaine which Vanja said was “tasty”. I love deep fried sage leaves. I did eat those!

We had really slowed down our plate cleaning by now. But, the staff was not pushing us, or frustrated by this. There was no one waiting for a chair. It was comfortable to take our time. Without realizing it, I was ready for dessert. When these wild strawberries appeared, I sat up straight in my chair. I am crazy about them. The Limoncello gelée was really fun. It was bouncy and chewy and powerfully citrusy! Perfect with the sweet forest morsels in their edible wrapping. The quenelle of Fromage Blanc ice cream was heavenly with these berries and the bouncy citrus fun.

Vanja wasn’t impressed. He thought it was an easy gimmick.

The Australian gal next to us had been moaning throughout her chocolate dessert. It was about two times bigger than the one below, but I knew we were getting a tasting of the same and I was really looking forward to it. I would like to have all of the information of the layers involved in this pot of complex chocolate perfection. I can only tell you what I tasted and that will be difficult. You can see there is something in the bottom that I was really unaware of. That would be a rich chocolate sauce. Maybe two. Then, there was a huge dollop of ganache with a molton bowl of thick pudding-like chocolate decadence sitting inside the ganache. There were Valrhona chocolate pearls with crispy centres floating inside of this. This was all topped with a crunchy mound of goey chocolate crumble and surrounded by a flat two toned donut disc of dark chocolate. Oh, my. What a finalé!

I almost always want a coffee in a place like this as it is such a pleasure to savour the evening we have just participated in and linger a bit more before departing. I did not even think of a coffee after eating this. Did you notice I suddenly had room for dessert? Two desserts? Somehow, the sugary goodness of these desserts had no problem finding a place in my tummy.

I wanted another Le Chocolat Tendence. But, we got up to leave, and as we did, I took pause at the window into the kitchen at the doorway and asked the hostess if I could take a photo of the kitchen. At that very moment, Chef Axel Manes turned and saw me with my camera. “May I take a picture of you?” I asked. “Yes, but come around to the kitchen, and we will have one together! I really did not want a photo with him. I wanted one of him. For some reason, every time I get a photo with a Chef, I hate it. I have one with Todd English of Olives when we were there, in Boston, and I have others. I don’t want me in the photo. But, I can never decline such a kind offer, so there we were, being led back to where we had sat and completely around the bar to the very end to enter into the kitchen area.

Below are the photos I took from the window before Chef Manes turned around. I didn’t have my camera set for movement, but you get the idea.

And here we are. I cut myself out of the photo. Chef Manes was gregarious and warm and confident and welcoming. And has a great pose, don’t you think? It is similar in other photos I have seen of him. He was so young and so capable. I asked him where he was from and found out that he hails from Brussels. English came easily to him. He asked where we were from, and then said that one of his Chefs was also from Canada: from Montreal. All were working intently with their heads down, but the restaurant was definitely no longer at peak flow. Most diners were on dessert and a couple of seats only were on second seating. (It was 9: 20.) The Chef from Montreal raised his head and looked at us and smiled, then continued what he was doing. It was all a bit of a blur.

Chef Manes then insisted that Vanja also get in the photo and had a staff member take the photo. When we got home, there wasn’t one there.

I was actually happy to meet the Chef and get a closer look at the kitchen, though it was quite a blur. We didn’t expect to be there. We had our photo. I hadn’t asked for a tour and it didn’t seem appropriate to go back to the door and watch some more. Though. I did want to.

We stepped out into the fresh evening air, sun setting and looked at one another. Vanja was still hungry. He was disgusted by the bread crumbs all over his eating space throughout the entire meal and by the clearly awkward serving arrangement. I could not disagree.

What was your favourite dish? he asked. I had to think, and I remembered the flavourless caviar, first. “I don’t know? What was yours?” The tomato salad. And I think its sad when the tomato salad is the highlight of the evening at a restaurant like this, he added. Again, I could not disagree. “The foie gras!” I loved it. “And the chocolate dessert!” Ok. He said. The dessert should definitely be that high on your list with this kind of tasting menu. Again, he was right. Sadly, some of the dishes were completely forgettable.

We looked at each other again. “It was disappointing, wasn’t it?” I said. No doubt about it was his matter-of-fact response.  I know there were bright moments in the evening. But, overall, it was very disappointing. I felt very sad. It was a very strange feeling. I wanted so much to celebrate the triumphs of this restaurant and our experience here. But, it just was not possible.

After travelling so far, then being cooped up in the hotel room, Beavie was fit to be tied and so excited to be out for the day! I wanted to go to an outdoor market in Paris. I read about them all and in many more places than one. There is no one major outdoor market in Paris as there is in London at Borough Market. Each little neighbourhood has their own open air market and it was very difficult to know which one to choose as each one reflects the personality of the neighbourhood and I know nothing about neighbourhoods here.. Anyone I wrote to and asked (who answered) did not give a definitive answer. I learned that it was like asking what chocolate is best from a chocolatier. “What do you like?” It all depends upon what you are looking for – and I had no idea. I did know I was looking to find items that were new to me. I want to see specialty foods and what most of the French would find at their market. I think it is not easy to get a grasp of the later unless you visit a few markets in Paris. This one was a good place to start as it is very close to the touristy spots. Mind you, they all are. However, it was a bit disappointing.

The day was sunny and hot and lovely for going to the market and on tp a picnic. Beavie observed a lot on his day out. For one thing, the boxwoods are alive (not plastic) and have new growth on them! For another, the metro seats and windows are dirty: not super dirty, but enough to encourage one to not sit on furniture at home after sitting on the seats.

And Beavie found the buskers that entered the trains constantly blasting their little speakers and playing and singing along for spare change to be incredibly annoying. It happened very often. Even on the RER. Never make eye contact with them. If you do, you are done. And the metro was jerky, but incredibly fast. The speed made it a great mode of transportation despite the inconveniences. (Beavie fell over at the first take off!)

We were at Rue Cler in no time and looking for the market. Where was it? We were early, of course: 8 am. They should be setting it all up, now. I love to be at the market when it is getting set up. It is early, and fresh and there is so much activity.

But not too much was happening. There were a few delivery trucks here and there, and the permanent grocers were getting their wares out and on display. Empty boxes were strewn in the street in front of the fruit and vegetable stand, but where were the farmers?

The store fronts were as charming and as Parisian as one might expect, but I am a little confused.

Juesslin Charcuterie is setting up and the doors were open. They nodded to my request for photos, so I started to investigate here while waiting to see what was to unfold; Vanja took Beavie for a coffee. Beavie wasn’t bored, but there wasn’t too much going on at this point.

The meat was gorgeous and different than at home. It was not as glaringly different as in London as all of the cuts and kinds of meat were labelled there in English. I couldn’t understand everything on these labels. I did understand the kind of meat, but definitely not the cuts and many were definitely new to me.

Above were some little wrapped fillets (middle) very similar to what I saw everywhere in London (and nowhere at home). Look at that gorgeous osso bocco, above! Below are some house made sausages.

The veal and rabbit look lovely. It is so hard to find veal that is raised ethically in Edmonton. Here, it is everywhere. And, I have eaten rabbit and truly enjoyed it. It is not easy to find in Edmonton and I do like cooking it. Change is good. They used to carry in at Superstore as regular stock when it first opened. No more. However, we haven’t any local source for it, to my knowledge, anyway.

I am always intrigued by local charcuterie and house made sausage: especially the dry and smoked ones.

Above, left, the patés and loaves look very similar to what they did in London. You can buy roast chicken at the market, here, too, mom. but not on the spit.

After reading Rick Steeves review of Rue de Cler Market, Vanja had a difficult time deciding where to drink his coffee: where the locals do, or where the cool people do. He chose the one with the most people. Not this one. It was the one where the “cool people” go. Beavie would have it no other way.

This pâtisserie was also filled with a variety of delectable looking items. The staff wasn’t too friendly, but what can I expect? I am taking photos (with their permission) and salivating all over their food. It probably wasn’t as tasty as it looked.

Clearly, (well, not so clearly…) the photos here are all taken through glass.

I wanted to taste every single quiche (2.50 Euro each) and the crusts looked so perfect. I should have bought those rings at E. Dehillerin!!

And the tarts! Oh, the tarts! Our pies do not come close to the perfection of these fruit pastries. Just look at them. Oh, my! The time taken with the presentation of each tasty morsel is motivating. I want to go home and recreate these! Now!

It is also a little disconcerting. Gorgeous pastries, everywhere. I realize that some taste better than others. That is why some pastry shops are famous. But, so many have perfected the art of making them look lovely.

The brioche I baked at my Breaad Baking class at Le Cordon Bleu (post yet to come) on the Saturday after we were were here was actually baked to look exactly like this. I thought it was too dark, but it is baked to a very dark crust.

I cannot recall ever laying my eyes on this kind of baguette (the viennoise, below): stunning. And, clearly, formal.

This is the kind of meringue I have seen all over Italy and much bigger, but rarely here. Then again, I am certainly not a local! But, I don’t like meringues like this. I find them too sweet. But make them into a Pavlova or break them into a creamy dessert and you have my undivided attention!

Time to see if Beavie and Vanja are finished their coffee. It is after 9, almost 9:30 am actually, and not too much has been “set up” at all on this street. It is apparent, after walking it, that the vendors are all permanent stores. That I didn’t expect and found disappointing. Some never did open, like O&Co. I was disappointed about this as I had just finished the oil I had purchased there from another trip and was hanging out to get more, but the door never opened. Most stores didn’t open until 10 am. I was told these were “summer hours” when I asked, and some not until 10:30 am (again, summer hours, even though the information on the internet indicated opening time to be any time after 8 am.)

Let’s go and buy some Espelette pepper I have found it. (I had completely forgotten about it the day prior when I did the Kitchen Ingredient shopping). I discovered it prior to coming and it was on my shopping list. Then, Chef Justin used it on the shrimp skewer recipe at La Cuisine when Vanja and I cooked dinner together there in a class on Bastille Day. It was a must buy.

Yes, I am enamoured with the pigeons. We don’t have them at home, either.

Beavie was r-r-r-r-ready! Vanja was not. But, he came anyway. See how Parisian Beavie is? He is sitting, facing the street, watching all of the people go by while having his morning coffee. Ah! This is the life!

I had to stop a few places that were now open to peek in, along the way. Look at the gorgeous meat here! It was open before, but there is much more out, now. As we were planning on picking up some meat, cheese, bread, and other items from the market for a picnic, I didn’t want Vanja to miss out on any choices.

I went ga-ga over the meat wrapped in the caul fat, below, left. I would love to get my hands on some of that regularly, and easily, in Edmonton, like one can in most parts of the European world. Why is it impossible to find. Restaurants do use it. Where do they get it from?

There was a lot of puff pastry pots stuffed with savoury items. The long, thin shredded cheese (a different shred that is usual) decorated many food items making them look like delectable pom-poms. It was new and appealing. (I wished I wasn’t too big to ride on the piggy!!) Wheee!

This shop was full of delicacies that were beautifully prepared. The carpaccio looked deadly delicious! I am constantly charmed by terrines. They are gorgeous and only one’s imagination can limit the possible combinations. Of course, there are traditional recipes.

I have said that dried sausage appeals to me. It does. In every country there is a specialty. And, sometimes, in a city. For example, when I was in Firenze (Florence) last, the guide told me about the one there. I forget the name. People travel and take it with them. She was taking some for her mother in Venezia(Venice). Does anyone know what this is called? I bought some and brought it home for Vanja that year. It was so delicious. My mouth waters thinking of it. And, I need to recall its name! In Bosna, there is Kulen. It is incredibly delicious and full of paprika. I love it. I will be writing about it with my Bosna post, soon. I didn’t know what the Parisan specialty was as I didn’t know anyone to ask. But, I am curious. I certainly am!

Smoked salmon was revered, everywhere we went. At Jöel Robichon’s Atelier Restaurant in Paris (another post, coming soon) it was served as an appetizer with dill crème fraiche and a potato galette (made in a waffle pan). Pure heaven. It was in terrines, and rolls and covering such gorgeous little savoury cold pots as this one. I must! I must! I must use it more. I love it. It glistens with goodness.

I find the photographs I take very motivating and they often serve as the catalyst for an idea that I create at home (or attempt to)!

This cheese shop was still setting up. We would be back!

And we bought our charcuterie at Davoli, later. I never did see Ulysse have any business, though the chairs went out about 10 am.

We were headed for the above grocery store to buy the espelette pepper. I took photos of all four corners on the street. Another coffee shop.

And from where we just came, above, with a little closer view, below.

It was early in the morning, but it is never too early for a good ice cream. I see Berthillon is now sold in other locals than the original spot across from Notre Dame.

And the street continues…

We went into Top Halles. Beavie spotted it first. I had said I would get two. Vanja saw the price first. I had thought the code was the price. Each 40 gram bottle was 10 Euros. This is not a cheap item. Whew! Beavie was very careful not to break the jars!

Look! Red glistening currants! I grow them, but they rarely all ripen at once, like these – though my grandmother’s used to. Help, gardeners out there! What am I doing wrong? And they are very prone to worms and bugs, but I love them so much, I keep at it. I spray the wood in the spring and the fall when there is no growth with the duel mix that kills bug eggs.

I grow and love the black currants, too. The looked huge and gorgeous this year, just before we left for our trip, but I hear they have become worm infested. I was spraying them with soap, daily, before I left. I am really sad about this. I welcome suggestions!

Beavie is celebrating this find with me. I am crazy over these tiny tart treasures. I love them in everything. I remember that grandma Maude grew red ones and white ones. I don’t recall her having black ones. Maybe she did. We would help pick them, and they were always ripen all at once. I thought of them as bobble earrings. All of the bobbles had to be pulled off of the earring without bursting any of the juicy fruit. It was such fun! But, I did not like eating them at all. They were exceedingly sour to my tender palate, then!

Isn’t Beavie sweet? We had so much crazy and silly fun this day. So many people were laughing with us. The gal in the store thought we were nuts and totally enjoyed Beavie’s modelling for his shots. (I was prepared for disapproval and thankful for her spirit!)

There are fresh sour cherries for sale here, too, above, right. That is so rare. I do grow them in my back yard, but have yet to have a really good crop. This would have been the year, but the unheard of snowstorm on May 29th shrivelled most of the blossoms.

Have you ever seen flat peaches? I have not. Nor, has Beavie. These were advertised as flat white peaches and they were everywhere around Paris. Even the little grocery stores had them out front on display with the other fruit in season.

See how flat they are, below, right?

The figs are in season here, too, Lequan (below, left)!

The almonds, below, can be found like this (in their original pod) at the Italian Centre Shops in Edmonton, usually around this time of year, too.

I have never seen zucchini this shape (round, below), either! There is such an interesting variety of produce here.

Remember to double click if you want to compare prices at home to here.

There were two or three specialty wine stores here. I didn’t see any of them busy, but we were gone by 11:30 am. They actually didn’t even appear to be open. However, we are not wine drinkers, so didn’t try to enter any.

Ah, we bought some red currants and are now stopping for some cheese.

I know. Where does one start? Beavie was just quivering with delight and for the most part, sniffing satisfied him just like taking photos satisfies me. One cannot possibly eat as much as one would like!

And looking and sniffing and listening is such a pleasure. Truly.

There was a foreign Stilton, but it wasn’t the one from Neil’s Yard Dairy, in London. Most of the cheeses were local artisan cheeses and all begged to be tasted: rigorously. We bought too much, but it seemed like so little at the time.

Vanja’s treat to himself cheesewise is always the big holey Swiss. He is adventurous only through tasting whatever I buy.

Above left, is a cheese cake. I believe it was a savoury cheese cake. There were no tastes in the Rue de Cler Market. Anywhere. That was not surprising once I realized what kind of market it was. But, also, disappointing. At a market, I want to taste to learn and to decide what to buy. No tastes here.

There was a house made butter at the back. Not from this cheese house, though. However, it was not the artisan butter David Lebovitz is crazy over.

As I have seen in Dubrovnik, in Neal’s Yard Dairy, and in most European cheese markets, quince paste (below, left) is sold as the ultimate compliment to cheese. It keeps a very long time, and I still have some from Neal’s that I bought in March.

I love all kinds of cheese, but the French are particularly famous for their artisan soft cheeses, so bought the round below (left) and the gal at the counter then recommended the heart shaped cheese, above, right. She said she liked it better and that it was (as I understood her) a famous French cheese. It was fantastic. The St. Felicien cheese was a bit too tangy and stronger, though it was not a strong cheese at all. Nice, but not nearly the nutty and buttery depth of flavour the Neufchatel with the AOP approval had. I was so happy I tried them both, and so sad that half of each ended up in the hotel fridge upon our departure from Paris two days later.

I had to drag Beavie out by his tail. Who knew? I do understand. I have such an interest and love for all kinds of artisan cheeses.

And now the fish. We were not buying any for the picnic, but with a shop like this, we had to stop and ogle. I know I say this in every post that I write about fish: I have never seen such gorgeous fish! It is true every time!

If you are interested in reading what each item is, remember to right click or double click to enlarge each image.

I asked what this was, but the man did not have the English word. He said “squid”, but we found squid. Maybe they are cuttlefish? Does anyone know? I will look it up when I get home. They were so fresh, they almost jumped in my bag and begged me to take them home!

We were investigating everything, when out of the corner of my eye, something on the ice bed moved! I jumped. Then we saw it again! The crab imbedded in the ice was alive. Look at the three photo of it, below. You will see it is moving as each photo is a bit different. It was clearly camera shy because it stopped performing as soon as I started shooting it!

The photo above, right, is identified and priced, below, right. It was in a tank with other alien looking creatures.

The shop and the side opposite the ice bed was laden with “fishy” items made to take home. Such delectable gourmet dishes that I was completely speechless. (That is why Vanja loves shopping with me at places like this!)

Another savoury salmon cup in gelée: stunning. Unmolded fish terrines in gelée, below.

And there was Davoli right beside the fish store. It was completely set up now, with the outside table selling hot prepared items like the meatball stuffed tomatoes, below, right.

Here,we purchased the charcuterie for the picnic. The Andouille below, left looked lovely. Thank goodness we only got one slice. The taste was so terrible it is not possible to politely or honestly describe it here! Suffice it to say that seeing this photo turns my stomach (and Vanja’s). My grandmother used to make a gelée she called head cheese, as did many prairie farmers. This terrine, below, right, reminded me of it though the ingredients are completely different!

Vanja loves fine patés. We bought a slice of the one, above, left. It was really delicious. He was crazy over it and devoured almost all of it later during lunch.

A slice of each of the salami’s to the right, above. Both were very tasty. The smaller one was better.

Above, right, also looked like a savoury cheese cake. Very rustic. I loved the look and will have to investigate recipes, though it is hard to beat a variety of hard cheeses on a plate.

I have the pans for the baba’s below. Never made them. Yet. And the gnocchi! Isn’t it gorgeous? There is that finely shredded long cheese again, garnishing it.

This is what the famous Croque Monsieur should look like. These were the best I have seen.

Foie Gras is definitely one of the top 10 items on the foods I love list: and, back onto the street. Phew! That was intense!

Just around the corner from where Vanja had coffee is an Epicerie where I want to snoop into, but the delivery guy has been standing outside of the store for about an hour so far with his boxes all unloaded beside him. It is not open, so I snoop at the macarons in Christophe Roussel. It was just opened and the gal was flustered. “Come back when I have organized the window!” The flavours were exotic and everything looked incredible.

There was a red strawberry chocolate bar, and look: The candied oranges I made earlier this year for mom’s 80th are dipped in chocolate and selling for 90 Euro per kilogram. It is a good thing to know how to cook!

I did succumb and left with a small bag of macarons for the picnic.

Finely, it opened and we bought some mixed spices. “No photos, please.” I will post all of my purchases when I get home. It was an interesting store, but nothing like G. Detou or anything like I had expected.

We stopped quickly at the bakery to buy our baguettes and I purchased a piece of an egg flan as I had seen them everywhere and wanted to taste one. This one had sour cherries lining the bottom.

Oh! There’s the other cheese shop! I knew there were two! This one was supposed to be a very special one that drew Parisians from all over the city. I stepped in. I stepped out.

The smell was horrid. It was like sour and bad rotting milk. I couldn’t possibly spend a minute there.

I didn’t realize that we were so close the the Eiffel Tower at Rue Cler, but Vanja had his plan. So, with the Lenôtre bag filled with our goodies we trecked down a couple or streets and over to the Champs de Mars for our picnic under the Eiffel Tower!

Past a couple of charming neighbourhood shops.

Past the charming and repetitive Parisian architecture.

And, voilà! There it is! There it is! Now, I have been up the tower about 5 times, and Vanja, twice. But, this was Beavie’s first time, and the first time is absolutely thrilling. You don’t imagine you will ever lose that thrill, but you do.

Past the Rue Belgrade. (The even spell Beograd like the Americans do, in Paris.)

And here we are! In the park under the Tour d’Eiffel!

Can you see Beavie on Vanja’s shoulder, above? Me, either. So, look below!

I wanted to get our picture together, each with a French baguette. We should have been wearing a tam and riding a bike with it under our arm, but I am happy with this. However, how silly of us! We were right there. Right under the Eiffel Tower with our baguettes and did not get it in the background. What was I thinking? I would have never done that on earlier trips! We will just have to do this again!

I know Vanja had visions of us on a blanket in the park having a traditional picnic. But, we hadn’t any blankets, and I wasn’t about to sit on the grass as I have a cleanliness fetish, so we unpacked everything on a lovely bench overlooking the park and the tower.

The kind young gentleman we bothered, took our photo again. And by the food this time. I still forgot to have the tower behind us!

Beavie is famished and dove onto the food table!

We over did it, didn’t we? But it was such a wonderful moment in time. Ripping gorgeous crusty bread from the baguette and topping it with a dollop of creamy artisan French cheese.

Then a cherry tomato or a handful of tart glistening currants. The water was mine and the wine, Vanja’s. What is a picnic in Paris without wine? (Even though we don’t drink it?) Somehow, like magic, he really enjoyed it here.

The meats above were all perfect. The one below, never ever buy it! And the cheeses…

Just look at them. Oh, they were so tasty and creamy and tangy and buttery and nutty and lush. Such a dream.

My favourite photo of the food is below: postcard perfect!

The park is a busy place. The play school children were going somewhere. A gypsey accosted us with the “Is this your ring?” scam right while we were sitting on the bench having our picnic. This was the second time for me (the first was in the line at the Louvre) and the second time for Vanja this trip. Then he said he was hungry and would be share. “Non!” “Non!” and double “Non!” We give our money to organizations that help the poor, instead!

And look at this sour cherry flan! It was incredibly heavy and very filling. I could not eat much of it at this point. It was not sweet at all, by Western standards. I enjoyed it a great deal.

Beavie was distracted by the pigeons, too! We had fun feeding them. That was probably as bad as giving the gypsies money would be.

Now, for the French macarons with the exotic flavours….

Even Beavie was happy to have only one bite of each. They were almost flavourless. Truly! They were “OK”. If I had made them, I would have been happy with them, but not thrilled. They were really not very good at all. And the exotic flavour labels felt like a scam! I am certain that was not the intent. But, there was barely an almond flavour detectable in these cookies. The caramel chocolate one was tasty, but more like a chocolate bar. Definitely a novel way to preserve the shelf live of a macaron!

Now, it looked like there were some performers setting up something in the park. Not a moment of boredom, here!

But, we were fed, edified, tired, and wanted to go back to the room for a rest before going out for the evening. Vanja had packed up and was coming to meet me at the flowers where we walked back through the beautiful park to the metro for our hotel.

I never imagined that one day I would have a lovely market fresh picnic in the park under the Eiffel Tower with my wonderful husband. Never. It was a dream I never dreamt, yet it happened. And, now I will never forget it.

(And Beavie? Well, Beavie is still speaking with a French accent. He had the time of his life!)

G. Detou at 58, rue Tiquetonne was our second stop on our trip, but definitely my favourite as it was the ingredient store! As I am still away, sitting in a wireless (and air-conditioned) café in Bijeljina, Bosna, I have not yet taken group photos of what I purchased, but I will when I arrive home in a week, or so, and update this post. I walked in to the tiny little space and felt immediate disappointment as I scanned the four walls of the tiny space. There was nothing here. What could be so exciting about this store that I was recommended to come by all chefs so far?

A gentleman approached looking helpful and said something very quickly in French, so I responded, “Essence violette?” with my voice lifting at the end of the second word. Please say yes! “Oui!” was his enthusiastic response as he guided me around a little corner past the register window and pointed up high on the shelf. I nodded, and he brought it down opening it for me to sniff. Swoon! I think I am in love! No one knows what lengths I have gone to up until now to find this essence, and here it is! I will not elaborate, but allow me to say that I have several at home from everywhere, all bad. This is it! I definitely show my passion and he pulls down other essences: lavender? passion fruit, cassis, rose, etc… I have rose, but, yes to the all of the others, and some more, I am sure. “verveine?” I would love to get that one. “Ah, non!” he bows his head in shame and tells me they have been out of it for over three weeks. (They could have been out of violette, so I swallow my disappointment.) These essences are very special. The cassis is also incredible and one of my other very favourite flavours. I regret not getting two violette bottles, already. I took the photo below without even realizing that I was taking a photo of the precious violette pearls I had been searching for.

What else? Ah, the pistachio paste that I saw in the fridge at La Cuisine during our cooking class: one large can, please. The owner of La Cuisine kindly gave me the address and a very high recommendation to G. Detou. Thank you!

Oh! I recall Helene, of Tartlette, having violette pearls that I wrote and asked her about. She had said her sister had bought them for her in France and she didn’t ask where. “Violette pearls?” “Ah! Oui!” came the readily enthusiastic response and I was guided to a shelf right in front of my eyes that were to blind (or overwhelmed) to see the treasures in front of me. Oh, my! All kinds and all sizes of violette and other pearls. Yes, please.

Colours? Yes! Now, I must say that it has so far been my experience that every time I speak French I am answered in English. Every time. Except here. This gentleman cannot speak fluent English, but he does understand the basics and was such a pleasure to work with. When he saw my obvious delight as I discovered treasure after treasure, he became a partner in this experience and took me from shelf to shelf to shelf showing and explaining and offering. I felt truly blessed to be in his hands. He took me over to the bulk packaging of vanilla beans: fresh Bourbon and Tahitian beans for under two Canadian dollars a piece in a bundle of 24 each. I bought one of each (of course) and I did buy several colours, too. Not as many as I wanted. As always, but too many, as well.

I spotted the tonka beans in front of the register behind the window as the gal was writing my bill (as in E. Dehillerin, nothing is computerized, and all is by hand: old, old school).  I asked about it and he opened the lid for me to take in the remarkable fragrance. “Un, s’il vous plait!” That was added to my bill, too. He explained that you grate it onto the top of desserts. I left this store in less than 30 minutes with two heavy bags of “groceries”. Vanja was just crossing the street to meet me at our agreed upon time, and I was actually finished early! (I could have stayed longer, and definitely bought more, but had to consider our luggage home.)

But, let’s recap the day from the start. I digress. As always, we were up early, but not as early as usual. G. Detou opens at 8:30 am, and E. Dehillerin, the first on our route, at 9 am. I took the photo below as it indicated we were very close to E. Dehillerin by the street signs, but look at the E. in the background! We are right in front of the store without me even realizing what I was looking at!

We arrived t E. Dehillerin at 8:45, so decided to wait instead of going on to G. Detou. If I had known how close G. Detou really was, we would not have waited. All of these stores are within minutes of one another. And all are a little South East of the Louvre. We got off the bus and headed for the Rue de Louvre (or, as Julia Child’s used to call it: the Roo de Loo). She lived up the street (South) somewhere from where we were, but apparently E. Dehillerin at 18, rue Coquilliére was her favourite kitchenware store. I am certain it has changed very little. The window displaying verrines might be the only difference.

I admit that the smallest things excite me: first spotting the store, the sign on the side, the street name, the window displays. This time I was absolutely licking the windows!

I had come for two specific items originally: canelé molds, and brioche pans. Since the class the night prior at La Cuisine, I added a piston to my list. I had heard it was expensive, but so are the other items. However, I know all will be considerably less expensive here than through an internet order at home. I have checked. Look at the lacy paper doilies. I have always loved these. As I have been to Paris five times prior, always at Easter, it was also fascinating for me to see a traditional lamb mold.

If you look past the reflection in the window above, left, you will see many, many round tart molds. I was crazy for not buying one. What was I thinking? There were more sizes than imaginable. I recall Béné showing me that she had one when I had my first French Macaron lesson from her. The photo on the right are the larges pastry tips I have ever seen. What in the world are these used for?

There is a little coffee shop across the street. The perfect place for Vanja to read the papers while I shop. Actually, an hour in this store was plenty for me. However, we were there when there was no one else there, so I didn’t have to fight the crowds or wait to see anything or get any help. The door was open at 10 to 9, but when we “wandered in” tentatively, we were “greeted” with a definite “the store opens at 9″, en Français. I waited until 5 after before I was brave enough to venture in, again!

In the window, above, left, a racelette machine appearing to be the quality used in Borough Market to please the hungry crowds when we were there in March of this year. The mold, above, confused me. Anyone know what it is for? Actually, the gentleman that had originally “barked” at us when we came in early, was lovely. He didn’t answer in English when I spoke in French, though it later became apparent that he could have. He found my piston, canelé (two sizes – the traditional size was really heavy gage copper), and the brioche pans for me right away. “Non problem,” to photos, and he placed everything for me in a pile to add to as I looked around. By the way, the largest canelé mold was 15 Euro and are almost impossible to find online. When I have, they were 25 to 30 US dollars a piece, not including postage. Though these were very expensive they were definitely the best price I could find anywhere for the past few years.

The store was packed from ceiling to floor and was a little overwhelming, at first: like too much chocolate. But, I persevered! To the right, above, in the little green bins are all shapes and sizes of miniature petit four and tart tins. I already own many, but had so much fun looking at the vast selection. I did add to my collection, but not any new shapes. I just added numbers to some I already have.

There were no miniature brioche tins here, today. There were some, later, at Mora, but in a package of 24. I wanted three sizes, but settled for two: the traditional size, and the large size. The piston I bought is gorgeous and beautiful and shiny and bright with no plastic parts and I think I may just display it as a piece of modern art in my kitchen! I cannot wait to use it. I believe it was 110 Canadian dollars. I know. Outrageous, yet, I will use it a great deal. I have been using a lot of inappropriate and colourful vocabulary when I prepare special foods in small glasses in my kitchen as I haven’t had one. This will save my soul! Below are some of the examples of the miniatures in the bins, but there are so many more.

The larger pans and bakeware had me spellbound. The cookery pans and pots were incredibly precious. I stood and looked and held and fondled the one, below, right, for quite some time.

And there is a downstairs, too, primarily for the oversized equipment, restaurant-wise.

The copperware was the best selection I have seen anywhere. And, what you don’t see, you can just ask for and it will be brought out from behind the cashier from a mysterious, but clearly well organized “stash”.

Oh, I should have done more research on what kind of copper caramel sauce pan I want. I guess it is a good thing I didn’t know. There was enough I did know!

Everywhere I looked, I saw things I had heard of, but never seen, and many I had never heard of. I learned a great deal. When I asked the kind man if the tool, below, left was for fish, he responded that it was definitely for scaling and filleting the fish. Had I lived where there where fish, it would be in the bag, but we don’t grow fish on the prairies.

Aren’t these pans gorgeous, below? I wanted the rooster, too. It felt so French cuisiney. The oval pans were just a pleasure to look at. All of them were. It was like I was at the Art Gallery of Kitchen Ware. I was charmed, educated, edified and enthralled. The white ware was also spectacular. Thank goodness I had just loaded up at the last Edmonton Gift Show… however, there are many terrines that were calling my name. No doubt about it.

My “pile” grew and grew. I will photograph the treasures and post them here once I return home: the brioche pans, canelé molds, the piston, doilies, a massive scraper, a paté or terrine mold (a long and narrow one) and a couple of other items I really cannot recall. It will be like Christmas when I get home and unpack!

Everything was done on paper. The young man checked it all, as Vanja put it in the suitcase (which I had insisted we bring knowing myself) and then the electronic bill was printed. We got 65 Euro back, or will, eventually, as we posted the stamped envelope they gave us from Customs. There are advantages to spending so much, Vanja! We got money back!

Now off to G. Detou!

It must be close! Here are the street signs we needed to find!

We were there in about 90 seconds. Leaving G. Detou, across the street was La Bovida. It was clearly a place for kitchen ware, but not on “the list”, this there was no stopping. Of course, we could have stopped, but we had decided to go to the Louvre in the afternoon as we were so close, and it was on “the list”. Sometimes, sacrifice is necessary on a holiday. Next time, this store will be on the list. I would recommend it go onto yours. Interestingly, to the left, and across the street, is G. Detou; to the right, down and across the street is Mora. It is the only one of the three stores that I visited with a website. It is also famous for its chocolate molds. I didn’t know this until I arrived in Paris and found out, but good to know it in the future. I don’t make molded chocolates, yet. But, I would like to.

This photo, and the one of G. Detou are not mine. I took them, but they are almost white. I need to learn how to use my camera! These are from the web.

Mora is at 13, rue Montmartre and the place to buy verrines (small glasses), for sure! I didn’t, but they have them all. E. Dehillerin had a host of plastic ones for mass restaurant use. I didn’t see any glass ones there, but that does not mean they don’t have them. I think I would have seen them, though.(View upon entering, below.)

The ones at Mora were not expensive: some were simple and some very unique.

The oval shape, above, middle. was compelling. I resisted. The one not photographed, to the right, was similar to the one on the far left, but without the thick bottom: very simple and most definitely the most popular shape of verrine used in books and restaurants that I have seen. (I realize that I have a limited view, but the simplicity of the vessel makes since as it is the entire point of it, I think.) The cubes were cute, but seemed out of place somehow: too cutting edge?

The chocolate molds were absolutely impressive. They were not cheap, but they are made of a very durable material. The ones I have bought in the past have cost the same, and after one use are garbage as they warp in the hot water they are washed in after.

The metal non-stick petit four and tart tins were almost as varied here, but all in plastic sets of 24 which was very limiting for purchasing purposes in my opinion.

The tips for pastry and icings overwhelmed me. Look at the one on the far right. Think it, and it will exist.

I know now that I do not have enough silpats, but they are not cheaper here. They are actually more economical to purchase at home.

Many items can be purchased for considerably less at home (above) and many cannot be found at home (below). The entire shelf is filled with verrines. Such fun to look at!

There was a beautiful collection of books filled with recipes I would love to have translated! I can pretty much read the ingredients…but, the instructions can be, at times, confusing for me. And the copper… oh, the copper!

Canelé molds of all sizes, literally. Many more that three sizes, but the only one that was heavy was the largest size. I got my third size here. Happy dance!

Did I exclaim about the copper? And the variety of molds? Such variety. Such interesting shapes. Such impressive and traditional shapes.

Again, the copper pans of all shapes and sizes. I didn’t even bother to attempt to compare prices with E. Dehillerin. I will when I am ready to buy some! What fun it is to shop in Paris for kitchen and bakeware!

There is actually a second area in Mora that does sell decorating ingredients. Different brands than I say at G. Detou, but some may be the same. This additional space is clearly for cake decorating equipment and supplies. I left with the canelé molds and nothing more. I call that restraint (and lack of room in the suitcase!)

Recounting my little spree today has brought renewed excitement and an impatience to me. I want to go home! Truly. It has been one week too long in this lovely little Bosna. Enough! I want to cook in my own kitchen with familiar ingredients! But, how selfish of me to complain as I am so fortunate to have this experience. Three pigs arrived yesterday, and into the pighouse they went. But, that is yet, another post. Kisses to all and thank you for understanding that I am not reading your posts as it is difficult enough to get mine posted away from home.

The following recipes are included, in detail, at the end of this post:

• Verrines de Soupe froide betterave brebis (Cold beetroot and yogurt soup)
• Verrines de Creme brûlée au foie gras et Porto (Foie gras and Port wine crème brûlée)
• Brochette gambas-ananas (King prawn and pineapple skewers)
• Verrines de mousse au chocolat et currant rouge(Chocolate mousse in small glasses)
• Petits choux citron et caramel (Lemon cream and caramel ‘choux’ pastries)

Bastille Day, or La Fête Nationale, is a French National holiday celebrated on 14 July each year commemorating the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. This anniversary has become a celebration of the modern nation. A massive parade and other festivities are held on the morning of 14 July on the Champs-Élysées in front of the President of the Republic, who is definitely in town for the occasion. There are a host of fireworks and usually huge crowds around the Eiffel Tower in the evening where they are initiated. After seeing the huge set up and all of the fan fare and security the day prior during our time on the Champs Elysée, Vanja and I felt it would be a perfect day to get out of town.

Vanja had discovered a very high-end shopping outlet near Euro Disney (one stop before it on the RER) and was really interested in going. I really wasn’t, but was curious to see a small town out of Paris. This seemed like the perfect day for such an excursion. It absolutely was, but for a completely different reason,  as it apparently poured rain all day until about 1 in the afternoon! We were back by 3 and had enjoyed a beautiful day out!

The train ride took about 40 minutes, but seemed like much less as we enjoyed watching the countryside whip by. (It was covered by the 7 day 30 Euro metro and transportation pass we bought at the airport.) Upon disembarking, we stepped out of the station and viewed this extremely new and very modern square. I was expecting a quaint little French village with outlets at one end.

We were told to go to the right to the fashion outlets.

We passed by this hotel, and it became apparent that as this was the stop before Euro Disney on the R&R, that it was probable that this obviously new community was created to host the visitors from there. To the right, as told, we entered into two massive doors and found ourselves in a huge “West Edmonton Mall”. Was this it? Really, we didn’t know, but we smelled coffee down the escalator and had not had ours yet as we left the hotel at 7:15 am. It was only 8 :15 and nothing was clearly open except the cafés. (We arrived much faster than we had expected!)

Paul’s is a pâtisserie café chain that can be found everywhere in Paris, at least. They do not allow photos of anything (odd, considering nothing her is that special… well, it would be, if it was in Edmonton!). A friendly gal there told us that this was a shopping mall and the shopping outlet stores were at the very end of it, and to the right. We were off, after enjoying the perk! (And the brioche were special enough to photograph from the outside, in!)

It was a long and lovely and very empty mall. Really, there was nothing all that interesting (to me, at least) in the shop windows so I stopped lécher les vitrines (window licking) and just watched the people.

But I didn’t take any photos of them!

It was clearly marked, so one could really not get lost, if “looking for the sign”! Le Vallee is the area we were looking for.

It was exactly “to the end, outside, and to the right”. By now, I was not expecting a quaint French village, but I certainly wasn’t expecting a highly guarded and exquisitely manicured man-made shopping village like this!

Yes, I took a picture of the sign. But, I still didn’t “read” it until posting it. Security guards were on me in seconds. “No photographs allowed!!!” What was that all about? It is outside in the fresh air for heaven sake. I didn’t pay to come in and we are only shopping. So, I went to Plan B. Big camera went into the bag, and the boutonniere camera got placed into position. Not bad photos from the Plan B mini, eh? And the high end shopping patrol never expected such ingenuity. (smug grin)

Honestly, I was shocked. This was a very classy, incredibly well maintained shopping campus. But, outlet stores? This is how it is advertised, and even the Versace window had massive and tacky 70% off signs in it.

We strolled around with the other early arrivers, and then there was a bell. Yes, a bell. Just like at the Farmer’s Market in downtown Edmonton, except over the intercom and all of the previously locked store doors popped open automatically and in perfect synchronicity. Getting up so early in the morning was worth every effort at this very moment. I looked for the cameras. They were everywhere. And, I do mean, everywhere. So were the big men with earphones and mouth pieces, just like on the tacky TV commercials.

Vanja and I looked at each other. This did hold promise. If not for any other reason than the clearly new and over the top event we were both clearly experiencing. “I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes.” And we were each off in two completely different directions. I went to Bally, a lovely women’s accessory store known for very gorgeous and traditional shoes and purses. There certainly was an excellent sale: 4000 Euros off a 6000 Euro purse! Somehow, I didn’t think, “But, honey, I am saving 4000 Euros.” would wash. I looked around faining interest, and left. He was just coming back with a similar shrug. We continued along the first little bit like this.

My girlfriends would really go nuts here. I used to be a shopper and a dresser. Not so much these days. This is nothing like the outlet stores in Vegas, but we did find the prices considerably cheaper than in Paris, and if you buy really high end clothing and are into fashion and dressing, you would be in heaven here. Really. Especially at this time of the year. Apparently this is the biggest event sale of the year. Almost every store had 40 to 70% off of their already reduced “outlet” prices.

Every planter had gorgeous clumps of fresh fragrant lavender blooming in it. Even the garbage containers were works of art.

So, you get the idea. Even the children’s play areas were frequent, well monitored, and spotless.

I did see  some lovely items for women at bargan prices for this kind of clothing, but only one item in the 100 Euro range. All much higher. I bought nothing, but completely enjoyed shopping with Vanja as there was a considerable selection of men’s clothing, and really nice clothing (what else would you find here?) for 30 to 50 Euros as there were such amazing sales. That made this trip fun for me. Would I recommend going? No. Not unless this is for you, and you would know already. Am I glad I went? Absolutely. It was unique. Would I have rather found a quaint little French village awaiting me? There is no doubt about it.

Take a look at our lunch, and you would not even ask. I thought Paul’s would be a good local bet. The cucumber soup was dill pickle soup. A little misunderstanding, but it was really awful. The quiche was actually very nice. So was Vanja’s burger, but it is not very ” French villagey”!

We ate before catching the train back to town for a little rest before the Bastille Day Dinner Cooking Class you thought this post was all about!

We were back to the hotel, refreshed, and have already arrived at the cooking class! To be honest, I got the dates mixed up somehow. I knew that Bastille Day was this day, but thought the cooking class was the evening before. Thus, after our lunch at Ladurée and my Macaron Making Class at Lenôtre the day prior, Vanja and I found ourselves at a very empty courtyard that Tuesday evening. It was so hot. We were very tired. It was almost impossible to find, and no one was there.

We were on this very busy street directly across from the Jardin Luxembourg and #89 was atop the massive red door you can see with the arch above it, below. But it was a heavy door and there was no sign?

Eventually, we did shove it open (that is it from inside, below) and we found ourselves in an entryway to a parking courtyard. Hmmm?

Again, no sign.

Until you get right in front of the door.

And we finally did. And then went home!

But, tonight, not only did we know where to find the place, there was a sign on the main street! And not only was the door open, but….

….there were massive glass doors opening into a beautiful modern stainless kitchen where a pull down metal door had hidden it all the night prior!

La Cuisine Paris is located at 89 boulevard Saint Michel, 75005. Once you enter the main doors, you will find us located at the back right hand side of the courtyard. (e-mail at :contact@lacuisineparis.com or via phone at : + 33 1 40 51 78 18) You can see the parking courtyard we found ourselves in the evening prior through the windows from the inside!

Again, we were the first to arrive and a glass of cool, crisp wet bubbly French Champagne was in our hand with in a minute.

It was not long before the room was full and Chef Justin went over the menu:

• Verrines de Soupe froide betterave brebis (Cold beetroot and yogurt soup)
• Verrines de Creme brûlée au foie gras et Porto (Foie gras and Port wine crème brûlée)
• Brochette gambas-ananas (King prawn and pineapple skewers)
• Verrines de mousse au chocolat et currant rouge(Chocolate mousse in small glasses)
• Petits choux citron et caramel (Lemon cream and caramel ‘choux’ pastries)

I was dying to try the foie gras crème brûlée, but the recipe looked fairly straight forward, so I was hoping to get to make the choux. Yes, I have made choux before, but never with ease or with great success: therefore, very few times.

Chef Justin did ask who would like to do what and myself and Chef Sous  were to make the choux. This was definitely the most time consuming and challenging recipe, in the end. I didn’t realize how much so at the onset, but as we got our mis en place, the foie gras group and beet soup group were half way finished their recipes! All I can say is thank you to Chef Sous! (For those of you that are new to my site, this is my dear husband, Vanja, the best sous chef, ever!)

The shrimp did look devine! (I took a look around while people where arriving.) The space was very well equipped. Vanja had already donned his cooking attire (a plastic apron), so I did as well!

Informal introductions and chat before everyone is ready to face their fun! But, that really took such a short while.

The couple beside us had the foie gras in the pan in what seemed like seconds. They didn’t work with a lobe, but a roll that had been deveined and then just pressed together and wrapped for sale. I think I have seen this kind of foie gras for sale at the Cook Book Store in Calgary. It really beats buying a lobe if you are not using the entire thing. Does anyone know where anything similar can be purchased in Edmonton? Even lobes are so hard to get here. I would love suggestions! I guess I can tell you now that this verrine was incredible. Just absolutely incredible.

Chef Justin is explaining to them what they need to do. The port is already reducing and smells heavenly.

Across the table, Jo and her husband (from England) are preparing the shrimp. The foie gras is already to be poured into the glasses and placed in a bain-marie for baking in the oven! See the photo below, right? This is the first time I have ever seen such a kitchen tool of such incredible accuracy. “What is it, Chef?” Why? “I want one!” Oh, you do not want that! It is far too expensive. (Do not say that in front of my husband, Chef!) “What is it?” Eventually, I learned it is called a “piston”, and to not buy one with any plastic bits. (And, I did not when I went on my Kitchen Shopping Supplies “spree” the following morning; more on that in an upcoming post!)

What was I doing all of this time? (Not taking photos, as it may appear. It was really hard to try to keep up, that is why they are so blurry!) Chef Sous and I were getting our mis en place and as you can see by the following two photos that it was no easy chore! The one directly below is for the citron mousse and the one following is for the choux pastry. I feel inclined to add that the exact verrines above were at one of the shops I was at the following day for about 2 Canadian dollars each and I did not buy any. (Did I want to? Yes! Did I already buy a lot? Too much!)

After our ingredients were prepared, we were to melt the butter in the water and just bring it to a boil and then call Chef to demonstrate making choux to the group. So, while that was heating, I caught up a bit  more. The two gals to the left below made the mousse. The gals at the opening photo made the beet soup, below, right. Both were really delicious. I did find and buy the vinegar in the beet soup recipe. It made a huge addition to the flavour and I haven’t heard of it, so doubt I will find it easily at home. Sherry vinegar may work in place as it is a sherry vinegar.

And I am still ga-ga over the little yogurt cups that I now have a supplier for from Germany: The Wreck Company. They are not so expensive, but I am sure the shipping will be!

Jo and her husband made the class so much fun. Actually, we had a wonderful group of people: all very friendly and full of humour and grace.

Jo is reducing the orange juice. Rather, trying to. I am not sure if it every got reduced. I never saw it get any thicker or any lower in the pot, really, and I don’t recall tasting it on the shrimp. Maybe they were lying in it. They were really tasty. It was the Espelette pepper that added the punch. I had it on my shopping list before leaving home, and so it was definitely going to be in my suitcase on the way home.

The Piment d’Espelette is cultivated in the French commune of Espelette in the Basque region of France. I learned it is a very highly protected product as it was classified as an AOC product and then confirmed as an APO product, so unless it is in a jar with an official seal over the lid, it is not the real thing. (It is originally from Mexico, but found its way to France in the 16th Century.)

So, the water has just boiled. The butter is melted, and Chef Justin has called around the crowd. The first thing he did, above, right, was to dump all of the flour into the hot butter water at once. Then, he stirred and stirred, rigorously, over medium high heat to incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until they came away from the side of the pan in a ball.

Once that was done, he continued, over the same heat, to stir the dough ball as rigorously to cook the flour a bit before incorporating the eggs. Look below at the side of the pan in the first frame, and you will see that this has started to happen. He then continued to stir rigorously for a minute to two more, at least, before taking the pan off of the heat to incorporate the eggs, a few at a time.

Actually, I did this. I had watched him do the stirring to the right point part which I really needed to learn. Now, incorporating the eggs is another important step, as the eggs are the reason the choux puffs up, so I had him watch and Vanja definitely helped. Ok, he did more that me. This was a double batch and it is hard enough to beat rigorously with one batch. Recipes I have used in the past have said to incorporate one egg at a time. Chef Justin said that was definitely not necessary, but that a few at a time worked well. We incorporated ours in 3 batches, I believe. Maybe four.

The pastry is very much like a pasta dough at the adding of the eggs point.

This is what the pastry looks like when you are ready to add more eggs.

I had to get some good photos of Chef Sous. The first time I asked him if he would come to a cooking class with me, his eyes bulged as he lowered the newspaper to look at me over it, each eyebrow raised a different direction. After a few days, and without begging, he agreed. We had a lot of fun together and it was definitely a highlight of the trip, for me. (A lot of laughs!)

OK. The last eggs are almost worked through. You can see the final product on my finger, and in the tiny little very blurry photo below Vanja. The important thing to note is that the dough must form a “claw”, or stand on its own in a tip as you dip your finger into it. If it falls a little (claw like) that is fine, but it must be stiff enough to hold that shape. To the right of my finger is a claw like piece. I believe you can see the batter is stiff.

Into the piping bag. Remember the tip that Chef Antony taught us at Lenôtre? Push a little of the lower bit of the plastic pastry bag down in the tip to avoid any batter coming out while you fill it. Chef Justin did a couple, then I did the rest. There were 4 full cookie sheets in one batch. We made two. He told us just to through the rest of the batter out. I could not believe that. Nor, would I do it. I made them all and suggested he or the one cleaning person take them home, or that he leave them for the owners of the cooking school. I am sure they went into the garbage.

Chef Sous wet the end of a fork, and flattened all of the little works of art perfectly. If we were not going to caramelize them, we would have brushed egg over them for a shiny finish.

The ovens in the adjacent kitchen had been preheated for these and in they went for 25 minutes: no peeking! That is important: no opening of the oven door for 25 minutes. Whew. Still more to pipe, but that was a lot of work: a great learning experience and fun, too! What is everyone else doing? Mainly visiting and enjoying the Champagne as they finish the final touches on their dishes.

Ah! There is the photo of the chocolate mousse. The only one, too: below, left. They ran out of verrines and the gals had a heck of a time getting the mousse into the glasses. Quite a messy job: thank goodness for whipped cream! I guess no one told them about the piston!

At this point, I will say that almost everyone had difficulty with their recipes. They were incomplete, confusing, and very poorly written. This is the first time I have ever been to a cooking class where the Chef was hired by the owners to teach a class he didn’t prepare the recipes for. Chef Justin was very skilled, warm and a great teacher, but he had not read over the recipes and did not prepare that part of the class properly. As a result, there were little errors happening all over the kitchen.

Of course, he really didn’t care, and was a great problem solver. However, all were completely avoidable and unnecessary. In this case, nowhere in the recipe do the instructions say when to add the sugar, so the gals didn’t. They had it left over, and the mousse was a little bitter, they thought. Somehow, the problem was solved. Our recipe had errors everywhere. (All are corrected, below.) So, though it was a really fun class, this was a major oversight that caused a considerable amount of unnecessary chaos.

And I thought we were done! No, I knew we had to make the citron mousse. Vanja is starting phase one while I am in the other kitchen getting a batch of choux in the oven. He is getting the ingredients into the large bowl of the electric mixer and getting that turned on. The port, below is still reducing. I think it was done ages ago. There won’t be any to top the foie gras, will there? CHef Justine assures me it has to reduce more. Yet, it has reduced by 2/3, at least, all ready. The orange juice hasn’t reduced at all. (grin)

Vanja is rocking with the Kitchen Aid and the eggs, yolks and sugar are beating into a wild frenzy.

Meanwhile, I am heating the lemon and orange juices and the sugar.

Now the egg mixture is tempered and then added to the pan with the hot juices.

Look at this beautiful mousse! But, we are not finished.

The butter needs to be added (it was not written where or how in the recipe) and the mousse is transferred to a large bowl for refrigeration.

Still adding the butter (apparently there wasn’t enough?).

It still tasted incredible and was voluminous and gorgeous. However, one more comment on the negative side (and those that read here often will know I am not a negative person), the mousse should have definitely been made first. What was I thinking, let alone Chef Justin? For me, I guess I was just doing what I was told. There was not really time to read over the entire recipe and I trusted that the Chef was making thoughtful decisions about what order what should be made in. Also, I did not expect the mousse to be as time consuming, or such a huge a batch. Originally, we were told to do it three times. But when I told him how much lemon juice that required, as we were getting our mise en place, he then read the recipe and said that a double batch would be plenty. Plenty? Yes, if you are feeding 50 people. I am not kidding. I am sure this was enough mousse to easily fill 350 choux. We filled 30 and didn’t even put a dent in it. I would have filled many more, but had no more caramelized choux left, and people were getting ready to eat.

I was really happy with the choux. Excited, actually. This enlightenment opens up a whole new world of possibilities for me in my kitchen at home.

The caramel instructions were make a caramel and dip the choux in it. There was no tip to use to fill the choux with the mousse. Hmmm. I had made caramel, but not the dry hard kind like this. I avoided that as I really didn’t know how. Fortunately, I had just had a lesson from Chef Antony at Lenôtre the day before, or I would really be out of luck. Chef Justin was busy visiting with a couple and I could not get his attention for love or money to assist with the caramel. Meanwhile, the port is still reducing. Somehow, I do not think that will be enough for 11 of us… but it will be really, really good!

I am still working on the caramel and all of the other food is getting out to the table.

Imagine how gooey my camera was at this point. I just decided to start dipping. The caramel was not dark. I had little time before it would set. I had no clue how much to start with. Later, he suggested the amount in the recipe below.

Then we just pulled the choux opened a bit and filled each with the citron mousse. It had not set yet, but it was deadly delicious.

The foie gras verrines each got a splash of port. Oh my goodness. It was really incredible. It wasn’t set, either. After baking in the bain-marie, it was to set in the fridge for a few hours. I would definitely suggest that those selecting the recipes for these classes need to be the Chefs. The recipes were all very tasty, but this one was not set. The citron mousse was not set. The chocolate mousse was not set. There were 2 shrimps per person with 4 extra. That was too slim for me at 90 Euro a person for this experience. At a minimum, there should have been three shimps per person.

The shrimp recipe was a disaster. The Chef figured out a way to save it that I have written here. But, I needed to really be a pain to get the “real” recipe. That was a bit embarrassing. However, the entire evening was a blast. Vanja wasn’t even close to being satisfied. We had appetizers and desserts, but certainly no Bastille Day dinner.

I don’t regret it. I learned a lot, and will definitely make all of these recipes again. More than once. However, I would not recommend this school to anyone without reading this post so they know exactly what they are getting into. And, would I go again to La Cuisine? No. There are a lot of other cooking schools in Paris, and it was just too poorly organized.

I have to talk about the choux with the caramel and the citron. They surpasses my expectation by more than I can express. One bite actually shocked me into surrender!

The caramel crunch. The soft choux puff. The citrus citron. A perfect, and I mean PERFECT combination. This was one of the best bites I have ever eaten. Ever.

And it wasn’t moments before we were back into the reality of the bustle of the street and walking home.

Through the busy evening Latin Quarter absolutely teeming with activity. If I hadn’t had such a long day, I would have joined in. But, it was home for us. Another long day planned for tomorrow, and, we were hoping to catch the last 30 minutes of Shakespeare and Company Bookstore before closing. It was on our list and is to be an incredible bookstore.

It was just at the end of the street and across from Notre Dame, on the left bank… but, closed early today, as it was Bastille Day, so we were there, but missed it!

The walk home was gorgeous and satisfying. What a beautiful day. And now, I have so much to do when I get home!!!

Verrines de Creme Brûlée au Foie Gras et Porto Recipe (for four)

Ingredients:

• 200g heavy cream
• 150g foie gras
• 1 egg
• 1 yolk
• 3g salt
• 1.5g pepper
• 300 ml of Port

Instructions:

1. In a non-stick skillet, mix ¼ of the cream with the foie gras and the egg and yolk until fully incorporated
2. Using a whisk, carefully and slowly add the remainder of the cream to ensure there are no lumps
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Fill four verrines to ¾ full; transfer to bain-marie and cook in oven pre-heated to 100 C for 18 minutes
5. Reduce Port to half (a little more than 2 tablespoons per serving) and spoon over the top of each verrine carefully to not break the surface tension on the poached foie gras (or, spoon over the glaze once the foie is completely chilled)
6. Chill completely to set; serve when chilled

Brochette Gambas-Ananas Recipe (for four)

Ingredients:

• 600g prawns, shelled and de-veined
• 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, and cubed
• 500 ml orange juice
• 2g espelette pepper
• olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced

Instructions:

1. Prepare marinade: combine ¼ cup olive oil, minced garlic and espelette pepper
2. Clean shrimp and marinate in marinade
3. Peel and cube fresh pineapple
4. Reduce the orange juice to half (250ml)
5. Place marinated shrimp and pineapple cubes on skewers, three shrimp on each
6. Keep skewers in marinade until ready to grill
7. Serve skewers drizzled with reduced orange juice

Verrines de Soupe Froide Betterave Brebis Recipe (for four)

Ingredients

• 400g beets, cooked, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons Xeres vinegar (a Sherry vinegar from Spain)
• 400g Sheep Milk Yogurt
• cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Place a few cubes of beets in food processor at a time to create a liquid to enable the others to blend; add the olive oil and a little water, as necessary, to blend to a very thick soup consistency
2. Season to taste; add vinegar
3. Chill
4. When chilled, arrange a layer of yogurt into the bottom of a verrine and top with soup; garnish each with a sprig of cilantro

Verrines de Mousse au Chocolat et Currant Rouge Recipe (for four)

Ingredients:

• 125g chocolate (minimum 64%), chopped or callets
• 50g butter, unsalted
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 egg white
• 20g sugar
• whipped cream and fresh red currants, for garnish

Instructions

1. Melt chopped chocolate over bain-marie
2. Incorporate the butter when melted, mix well until smooth
3. Whisk whites with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks
4. Add the sugar to the yolks and whip by hand to incorporate
5. Add yolk mixture to the chocolate (off of the stove)
6. Fold in the whites, slowly, 1/3 at a time
7. Pour into four verrines and let set in the fridge for at least 2 hours; garnish with cream and red currants

Petits Choux Citron et Caramel Recipes

Choux Pastry

Ingredients for Choux:

• 250ml water
• 100g unsalted butter
• 150g flour
• 6g salt
• 4-5 eggs

Instruction for Choux:

1. Place the butter and water in a sauce pan on low hear; when butter has melted, bring to boil
2. Remove from heat; add flour all at once, and stir vigorously
3. Bring back onto medium heat and continue to stir rigorously until the mixture forms a dry ball that comes away from the pan; continue to cook this ball until you can see a brown film or thin crust forming on the bottom of the pan
4. Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy
5. Fill a pastry bag with the mixture; pipe the choux, brush with some beaten egg and flatten with a fork (this is the traditional choux shape)
6. Bake for 25 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 C and do not open the oven until the time is up

Citron Mousse Recipe

Ingredients for Citron Mousse

• 270ml lemon juice
• juice of one orange
• 140g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 40g sugar
• 25g corn starch
• 80ml whipping cream
• 50g butter, room temperature

Instructions for Citron Mousse

1. Place the lemon, orange juice and sugar in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil
2. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer (Kitchen Aid) until the mixture is thick and pale
3. Add the corn starch and continue to whisk
4. Temper the egg mixture with the hot lemon juice, mix well, and pour the tempered egg mixture back into the sauce pan with the hot lemon juice
5. Cook, stirring constantly, on medium heat and when it comes to a boil, cook for one more minute, whisking constantly (pastry cream technique)
6. Transfer to a large bowl; add the whipping cream and the butter; mix well to incorporate
7. Chill
8. Fill a pastry bag equipped with the tip to insert cream into choux pastry with the chilled Citron mousse; pipe mousse into each choux once dipped in caramel, and cooled
9. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for a couple of hours

Caramel Glaze Recipe

Ingredients for Caramel Glaze

• 500g sugar, or sugar plus water to make caramel

Instructions for Caramel Glaze:

1. If inexperienced in caramel making; use a medium non-stick skillet and over medium to medium high heat, place a thin layer of water on it; sprinkle the sugar over the surface area, and do not stir
2. Watch for signs of the beginning of caramelization and swirl the pan to keep the sugar moving around the hot spots; replacing on the heat as much as possible, until caramelization is achieved, or almost achieve as it will continue to cook in the pan
3. Take off the fire immediately as it will burn
4. If experienced, make a dry caramel with 500g of sugar
5. Dip petits choux into caramel quickly as it will harden very fast; place on parchment paper to cool
6. When finished, pipe citron mousse into each, and serve

We were up early, as we always are on a travelling holiday. Neither of us can stand the thought of missing a precious thing! In the breakfast room daily at 7 am just as the night clerk was just lifting his head off of the desk awakened by the aroma of the strong and fragrant French coffee. There is nothing like it! “Café? Orange? Chocolat?” Yes, please. All.

Seriously, I adore French coffee with a little milk and a little sugar. Once I have had a cup, I am transformed into my “French” mode: à la élégant! And not the croissant, but the baguette with butter. Yes. The butter is important on a holiday.

This is the first breakfast in all of my travels in France that I have been served Orange water instead of Orange juice. Everything else was great, but I really missed a good glass of orange juice in the morning!

And, by 7:20 we had departed numéro 11 and walked over to the Seine, about 2 minutes away. Voilà: Notre Dame! Vanja has never been inside, so this will be something we accomplish sometime today (or tomorrow).

This grand structure is truly breathtaking and worthy of many touristy photos!

It is 7:30 (see the clock, above, right) and we are waiting for the bus (instead of the metro (stop apparent by the stand, below, right). We bought a 7 day transportation card for 30 Euro that was perfect. It covered all 5 zones (all the way to Euro Disney, should we have been so inclined) and all modes of transportation. The bus would be a nice change to see where we are going this morning. Yes, the distance is definitely withing walking distance, but we will be walking a lot through the day, and I have an appointment waiting for me at Lenôtre: a French Macaron Making Class!

The little locked up green boxes (above, left) line the Seine around Notre Dame and are filled with art work and old books to buy during peek hours of the day, or year.

We are already off of the bus just past the Tuelieries Garden at Place de la Concord. You can see the gold-leaf covered Egyptian obelesque in the centre of the Place de la Concord to the left, above in the photo. To the right, is the Eiffel Tower and to our immediate right is the little garden (below) that will take us to the Champs Elysée.

Even the signs in the garden are charming!

After the Macaron Class at Lenôtre in the morning (from 9 to 1), Vanja met me at Lenôtre, as planned, and we continued with a stroll half way up the Champs Elysée toward the Arc de Triomphe. I am usually surprised at how it is so much the same, but this time, I was shocked at how much had changed in such a little time.

Usually, there is one strolling side, and one business side on the Champs Elysée. The last time I was here was in 2007 and Lacoste and Louis Vitton had massive store fronts on the banking side, but that was all. This time, there are restaurants (including Ladurée) and stores much of the way up what I have always called the banking side of the street. Everything on the Champs Elysée was all decked out for Bastille Day which was the day following.

I had to stop at my favourite little candy store, Glups, and was devastated to see how empty it was of confectionery delights. Is it going out of business?  I tried to ask, but the clerks were so busy giggling with one another they did not even look up when I passed my money to them. Yes, lucky me, what I came for was there: little hard candied violets. Oh, how I love them! (I did find some prettier ones in a little shop window in Venice and have never seen anything similar, since.) It has become a little ritual of mine to buy a bag of these little sweets every time in Paris. YUM! I save them. Now I can eat the bag I bought last time! (I am so excited because I found the most incredible violette essence at G. Datou to use for baking. But, that will have to wait for another post.)

Amazingly, look what is across the street! Wouldn’t lunch there be lovely, Vanja? (I don’t look at him as I know his version of lovely is a grilled steak and there won’t be one of those at The Laduree Tearoom.)

We cross the street. Perfect photo opportunity! Everyone does it.

We actually stood and laughed at a few doing exactly the same thing before we did it. I forgot to look to see those laughing at us! I try to do every touristy thing at least once!

The menu was definitely priced on the high side for a lunch menu. I had forgotten to look at the menu at their tearoom at Harrods’ in London. I would say that the prices would be the same as a British High Tea menu.

This could have been a bank. I wonder what it was? There is a gorgeous and very modern bar at the back of the patisserie service bar. You can also access it from a discreet door outside on the east of the building. The menu is exactly the same. The decor is phenomenal and there are fresh roses on every bar table and around the bar. I could not take a photo inside of it. I did somehow find a rather dark image of the long and incredibly gorgeous (in person as the colouring is not even close to true form in the blurry, but better-than-none photo below) pâtisserie bar that one faced immediately upon entering. The line up was equally as long, and never ending, as well.

We sat in the sunroom and it was really beautiful. Photos are not allowed, so I asked for a brochure. There was none. I was allowed to take photos of my food and of each other. Vanja moved out of the photo quickly a time or two so I could catch a little of the surrounding. I did want to be respectful, so I hope there is enough here to fill your imagination. The first image is the outside of the sunroom.

I was not at all hungry after baking all morning, but I was very hot and very thirsty. I hadn’t eaten anything (except one macaron), but that is always how I feel after making food. Full.

I ordered the Cold Tomato and Pistachio Soufflé. I was thrilled to have my first ever cold soufflé – and, in Paris! Vanja ordered an omelet as he hadn’t had any breakfast, so it was a perfect spot after all! Why is it that something so simple can look so completely lovely? Bread and Butter. And it was more lovely than it looked. Beautiful cold, sweet and creamy unsalted butter shaped in an unexpected baton. And the bread? Well, I think this is why I keep taking courses in bread making. I make my own all of the time, but always marvel at the variety of bread that can be made with flour, water, yeast and salt. Incredible!

The waiter was charming and I was definitely charmed!

There were little rooms everywhere. Outside of the sunroom was a dark, very rustic bar area quite unlike one would expect to find at Laduree. Upstairs (on the way to the bathroom to wash my hands), there was room after room after room of small rooms to choose to eat in. And most had a table or two filled with people eating. Each had a little different décor. All were in 19^th Century French style.

The lady was waiting for me at the bathroom! “Bonjour, Madame!” And she waived me royally in. I definitely flowed in royally. The first room was a washing hand room with a lovely grand pedestal sink. Around the corner were some huge beautifully dressed windows open to let in the breeze. A massive fresh and formal bouquet adorned the counter beside the mirror dressing mirror. Each toilet space was very ample. I later learned that this was for both men and women. I am accustomed to “keepers of the toilet” in certain countries, but did not expect this, so was very grateful for the rare loose change in my pocket.

Oh, my goodness gracious! Look at this work of art! The colour of the cold tomato purée is brilliant and the egg-white soufflé wrapped perfectly with the tongue of peeled tomato flesh is stunning. And look, a little crispy fish on top made with roasted tomato!

I was fed, completely, without taking one bite. Truly.

There was a leaf of parsley on top, and some crumbles of pistachio. Inside, there was a layer of delicately cubed tomato flesh and a scant brushing of finely ground pistachios. It was light and like a giant savoury marshmallow. The impact of this dish was in the texture, the mouth feel and the delicately flavoured tomato. On this very hot day, this was the perfect afternoon delight.

And Vanja? He was very satisfied, as well! He doesn’t like surprises in his food and nothing could be more straight forward than this!

Look at the thickness of the lush egg wrap around the mushrooms and cheese and vegetables! This is definitely one way to get Vanja to eat his veggies.

I have definitely noticed that the French use eggs everywhere in everything, far more than at home. They honor the egg. They revere the egg. It is the perfect food. It is beautiful and delicately flavoured, yet can develop a depth of flavour possible no other way, produce a variety of amazing textures as well as create volume and gloss. Culinary art is most definitely apparent everywhere regarding the acquisition of mastering the power of the egg: French Magic!

After I ate, while Vanja finished his coffee, I stood in the big and long line at the Patisserie Bar to buy a dessert (or two) to take back to our room and enjoy. We were too full to enjoy one now, and truly, most were three Euro cheaper to buy and take with you than to eat in the restaurant. This was similar to what I started to see in London UK in March, and is still shocking me. How can all of the beautiful packaging the sweets are wrapped in be cheaper than a plate to wash?

Anyway, I wanted to take it with us. So hard to choose. I had read recommendations from Paris Patisseries and had made very specific and special notes that I brought with me on the trip, but did not have on hand this day. All I could do was recognize what I had read about, but not whether it was good, or bad. So, I bought three: one that I was pretty sure got a bad review, but had raspberries with roses, both which I love; another with pistachios and strawberries that I was sure had a good review, or I would have never picked it; the last definitely did not get any review and I bought it because it was clearly a traditional French pastry called a Réglisse I had never eaten and it was violette in flavour! (it took quite a little tumble, though I thought I was careful, in the box on the way home!)

(Definitely, take a look at his site. It is incredible! Subscribe! He writes about every pastry imaginable, in detail: macarons, and he did write about the raspberry and rose pastry I bought, as well as the pistachio and strawberry one. I wanted to link you to his posts here, but just searched his site, and the posts are no longer accessible!)

Oh, I also got four macarons and a canelé and a financier because I do recall Heavenly Housewife recommending one to me as “they were “heavenly”, and often overlooked. (Was this the right one, HH?)

Back to the hotel we went for a short nap before going out for the evening. I woke up earlier than Vanja, so sampled my half of the sweets! To be honest, only the macaron half on this evening, and the others, the next late afternoon.

All I can tell you, is I can never get enough. Well, I can. They are very filling, actually: after, about 8! The cassis one was really delicious. The white one was to have a violette flavour, and it was a disappointment. Can one say that about a Ladurèe sweet, or is that just too self indulgent? The pistachio was incredible, as always; the mandarin was really lovely and fresh. MMMMmmm. I can still recall the sensation of pleasure that tickled through me. Yummy!

I thought I had a canelé before. I have a memory of the shape and texture being delicious, but maybe it was not a canelé as this one tasted really terrible. I know that beeswax is used to coat the pan and that they are crusty and crunchy and dark on the outside and soft and beautiful and light on the inside: exactly like this one. And, this was a canelé at Ladurée. Yikes. I just bought all three sizes of the molds and they were very expensive (but cheaper than at home). I did not like the taste at all and have no frame of reference from which to describe it: not appealing? It was not repugnant, but it was surprisingly awful, to me. The financier was chewy and delicate all at once as it was packed with almond flour. Not sweet at all. Really a lovely bite.

I was counting on the post from Paris Patisserie to remind me of the name of this pastry. There absolutely is one. I did not write them down. This was lovely, and light and Vanja’s favourite. I missed the pistachio flavour. I could hardly taste it. But, how can I really complain? It was delicious. And, the raspberry and rose concoction? Well, with the macaron base and the rose butter cream with fresh berries, I was happy. Very, very happy. YUM!

I love playing with my cookies. I enjoy seeing how they were made and investigating each part, then tasting each bit as much as eating it. Do you have to do anything to fresh raspberries? They are perfect from the bush, so sitting them on a macaron shell was putting two perfect creations together. The rose? You have to like it, and I do.  I do because it is French and I first had it in France and it reminds me of that moment and of my grandmother and of her garden. Perfect.

Did I save the best for last? No. The violette flavour was perfect, but I will never indulge in a Réglisse again. I am glad I did. I now know what they are: flavoured cream filled choux (heavily filled) with very sweet flavoured icing on top. This is a pastry that is not for me. There was no crunch or interesting texture except a wallow of cream. Deliciously flavoured with violette essence, but too much of everything, I think.

Just around the corner, as we were leaving Paris on Sunday morning, look what I spotted?

Believe me, it took a lot of self talk to not buy more macarons! I just told myself , “No more!” And, that was that. But, I truly did regret not buying the cookbook I had seen. Should I take one more little look? “I’ll just take a little peek!”

It made great reading all the way to Beograd: en Français, of course! Anyone want to come over and make French Macarons when I get home? I would love a cooking partner!

So, the moral of this story is: when one goes to The Ladurée Tearoom for lunch, that will just be the beginning of a life long love affair.

I took a bite of the raspberry macaron first, as it was clear that the butter cream was going to be running all over the place, so what was one to do? Eat them, of course! They really were delicious, but had hardly any raspberry flavour that I could discern. I saw the raspberries go into the butter cream myself, but there were very few for the amount of shells we made. I was not surprised at the lack of intensity. A gel filling would be better, me thinks. Now, how to make one?!

So, we have completed all of our fillings, and each group has the mis en place in place for each kind of macaron. The tant pour tant, or, as Chef Antony consistently referred to it: the “tpt”, is 50% powdered sugar and 50% almond powder (flour). This was a surprise to me, as I thought it was something else from other readings and research. But, all tpt is, is a necessary mixture of half and half. Now, this mixture is not easy to get to the fineness necessary to make a light, crisp shell. And, another surprise from Chef Antony when I asked about this process (as it was already prepared for us): never use a seive or a tami. This will create heat which will make the final product dense. I did notice the friction did create heat when I was using mine, but just used the solid part left at the top of the tami that had melted together for another recipe, and would cherish the laboured over fine grain I had created. Not so good. My shells were probably dense. His tpt feels like mine after the tami, but, no more tami.

I do wish we had been able to see the creation of the tant pour tant as this is clearly fundamental to the development of a proper French macaron shell. His explanation was that it would take too much class time if we had to prepare that, too. I would pay more. I would do it. I believe everyone would who really wants to learn how to make this shell successfully.

So, we start with the raspberry. I did write down the kind of food colouring he used, but didn’t find it at G. Datou, and he said that powder or liquid was best. Not gel. He used liquid: a lot of liquid food colouring. The whites go into the big bowl of the electric mixer first and are beaten for about a minute on medium to high speed to break them down. The food colouring and the sugar is then added and whipped until stiff peaks form at a medium speed. I was surprised at this.

While the whites (or reds, in this case) were whipping, Chef A prepared the dry ingredients in his food processor. He blended extra sugar with the tpt by tilting the food processor back and forth. I know this doesn’t come in the manual with the instructions, but it was very successful in creating a finely mixed blend. Maybe this is also how the original tpt is also made?

See how much air is incorporating into the whites? I am not sure what point Chef A was making, but certainly one that I have included in the important notes section! I was taking notes as fast as I could while baking and taking photos!

Now, to me, this is past the stiff peaks phase which the recipe suggests, but Antony consistently whipped the white mixture to this consistency with every batch of macarons. I was thankful to get a photo of each at this phase as I thought it was so helpful to see.

The dry ingredients are then added in two portions to make a smooth and light shell. He vigorously incorporated the cry ingredients into the whites by whipping with no apparent attempt to worry about deflating the whites. When Beth asked him if it was important to try to maintain the air in the whites, he passionately shook his head “non”!

Of course he wouldn’t stop his whipping for photos of the texture, but I am using what I have anyway, as they do demonstrate the process. The second half of the dry ingredients are being added below.

This incorporating of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients is called “macaronage”, and it is obviously very difficult to know when it is ready, or when enough is enough. I would have loved to have gotten the feel of that, but I suspect that I could take a class several times practicing this, and still not have the feel of it.

The truer colour is the one above. It was very difficult to adjust my “golden toned” photos to a true colour, for me. (I will be taking lessons, soon!) Now (below), Chef Antony lifts up the spatuala (over and over dipping into the batter) pronouncing something similar to ‘This is perfect! This is just what you want! Now we are ready!” As this shell turned out beautifully, I am so thankful I have a photo of this critical phase of “readiness”. It is to be shiny and smooth and the give of the whipping just starts to shift, Chef said. I think that bit hanging off of the spatula is an important clue as each one was like this that he did.

Est, voilà! Into the bag, and we were piping in no time! Convection ovens had been carefully pre-heated to exactly 160º C, or 320º F.  A silpat is necessary for macaron, but a perforated cookie sheet is not, according to Chef Antony. Parchment paper can be used, but then water must be poured between the paper and the cookie sheet to release the shells which is messy. And no, they do not need to rest. They can be baked immediately after piping.

I know many disagree with Chef A, and my view is, whatever works, works! After the discs are piped, they should level out on top. If they hold a peak, that is a problem, and they were probably under mixed at the macaronage phase.

See how this disc has levelled out, above?

We all took turns and it was really fun to get out hands onto something.

He told me I was perfect: like a machine! He said I didn’t have the finesse or artistic technique of a Chef, but that after they were baked, the results would be the same. I think I felt my chest puff out a little. “Like a machine” works for me!

I appreciated seeing how he used his hand held spatula to force the batter to the end of the pastry bag to squeeze every drop out onto a cookie sheet. And, some were already in the over. At exactly two minutes, they need to be turned in the oven. Look! There are feet already! And, yes, there should be feet by two minutes, says Chef. Also, be very careful when maneuvering the trays as the shells could slip at this point if you don’t keep the trays level.

I love watching them puff up and grow little feet in the oven. Gorgeous! The must bake for exactly 13 minutes. But, according to your own oven, the span could be from 12 to 18 minutes. You will need to experiment. These are a very sensitive cookie, and the time and temperature is also a very critical part of the process. Your oven will have to be tested cookie sheet by cookie sheet until you achieve success!

The shells below were baked three minutes too long, and you can see they are dry and brown around the edges.

It took them no time too cool, and they were ready for the butter cream. But, we baked all three first.

We had such a wonderful time! Yum! Yum! Yum! Learning something new is always exciting. Especially as this day built more belief within me. That “I can” belief that Béné and Giselle worked to instill within me, too!

Now, for the Salted Butter Caramel Macaron. It is exactly the same as the Rasberry Macaron, except, of courese, the colouring. On this day, Chef had no brown colouring, so was going to use red and black. I did remind him that red and green mad brown. But, maybe not the brown he needed. He did then use red and yellow and blue. In the end, he came up with the perfect caramel colour. None of us could repeat the process, so I think I will need to locate some brown food colouring, fast, as I really love these macarons!

Remember the whites go into the large bowl and are beaten to break them down, then the sugar and colouring is added and they are beaten at a medium speed until they form stiff peaks (and, to me, dry stiff peaks).

While the whites are beating, the tpt is mixed with the sugar in the food processor using a rocking motion (back and forth) until fully blended together. See how much he actually lifts the machine up and pushes it back during this process (below)?

Raspberry shells are still being put into the oven, turned, and pulled out of the oven. Thank goodness for the four people fluent in French that became Chef Antony’s sous Chefs. They understood his requests and jumped to help. The rest of us just wandered where they were going and what they were doing? Again, see the beautiful fine texture of the tpt? (I will never again write tant pout tant: I have been to Lenôtre!!!)

The whites are again ready. See the texture? Exactly the same as the raspberry texture. A little past the stiff peak phase, in my humble opinion.

And now, the macaronage: incorporating the dry ingredients with no worry about maintaining any air in the whites. Remember to do it in two batches for a finer, crisper shell.

And again: voilà! There is not a big photo here, as no matter how many time I asked for him to please hold still for a second for me to take a photo, he would not. I am sure he didn’t hear me, or thought all of my attempts were enough. Still, you get the idea. The batter is exactly the same as the raspberry batter was: shiny and smooth (to a certain degree).

Ready for immediate piping! Let the fun begin! This time, we all chimed in at once: “May I have a turn!”

I love how there was absolutely no waste. It drives me nuts at home that there is so much left in my pastry bag. I would try to squeeze it all down, and push it with my hand. Using the hand spatula is such a simple solution, I am embarrassed that I didn’t think of it myself. I am also thrilled to know, now, to use it!

Remember to turn all sheets after two minutes in the oven, keeping them level so the shells don’t slip! Aren’t these cute?

What is it about these little delicacies? I am absolutely charmed by them. Sooooo adorable! And this butter cream was deadly delicious. I had thought the salted butter caramel had a bit of a burned taste, even when added to the butter cream, but once on the macaron shell: trés manifique!

What is happening now? Yes! The Chocolathé Macaron. Here (below) is out mis en place. (I didn’t photograph any one else’s.) I will say here that you can make this shell exactly like the others, and colour it a dark brown instead of adding cocoa powder to the shell ingredients. The flavour does come from the filling, so this may be a good idea if you cannot succeed by using cocoa. Chef Antony told us this after this shell failed. Yes, it failed, even at Lenôtre! He said he made it perfectly at the last class, and that any little measurement off can destroy the result. Well, I can tell you right now that Beth and I are two perfectionists. That was obvious from the get-go. There was nothing mis-measured, Chef Antony (big grin).

I keep testing the tpt to memorize the texture. This time, the cocoa is added to the sugar to be blended with the tpt while the whites are beating.

The whites were whipped to break them down, then red food colouring was added (a lot more than the 5 drops the recipe calls for, but I wasn’t in the position to see how much, and those that were, could only say that it was a lot).

Here is how the tpt and cocoa mixture looked once incorporated. It looks like it needs more work, in my again, humble opinion, as there are clearly white parts showing. But, Chef Antony’s response to this when I questioned him was: “It’s normal.”

The whites are whipped until a dry stiff peak again. This was a very consistent appearance in all three recipes.

Now it is our team’s turn to experience the macaronage phase of this learning. My noble partner, Beth, is really working it! She worked the first half of the dry ingredients. I got to do the second half.

And, just before I felt that I hardly did anything (we probably all felt that way), Chef took the bowl, and finished the job to achieve this perfect point. Now, it did look too dry to me. And also, too “bumpy”, and not as shiny as the other two. But, who am I? And, at this point, Chef did not comment on any concern. I was also probably thinking the same (bumpy-wise) of the other two batches.

Anyway, into the piping bag it went, and out onto the cookie sheets. A good little trick he also shared was to stuff some of the bag into the tip to stop the batter from dripping through. I have always used a clip, but this was very slick and easy. We soon ran out of silpats and had to use parchment. This was probably a good thing, as we learned the technique of spilling water on the table to release the shells from the paper.

After two minutes in the oven, when we went to turn the sheets, these little shells did not have feet. Chef immediately opened all the oven doors and left them open (wide) for at least three to five minutes and what I understood is that the humidity was too high and he needed to release some of it by leaving the door opened. When I asked him about the affect of the drastic drop in temperature I never really got a clear answer. Both translator-students said that he said it would not make a difference, and the temperature would not drop. Neither answer seems sensible to me.

And, in the end, the chocolate macarons did not succeed – door opened, or not. They still tasted “OK”. They were dense and the filling was not nearly as sweet as the other two, but they were still good. Recipes follow below.

We each left with a beautiful white box filled with 8 caramel, 10 raspberry and 6 chocolate macarons tied with a beautiful Lenôtre ribbon inside of a beautiful Lenôtre bag. Then, upstairs, I bought the only Lenôtre Dessert Cookbook written in English with an incredible chapter on French Macarons! A few other goodies found their way into my bag, too. What an incredible experience. Thank you, Chef Antony!

And thank you, Monsieur Lenôtre! (Is that you?)

Raspberry Macaron

Ingredients:

• 500g tant pour tant
• 200g icing sugar
• 200g egg whites
• 50 drops of red food colouring (2.5ml = 50 drops)
• 3 drops of yellow
• one drop of blue
• 50g caster sugar

Instructions:

1. Finely grind the tant pour tant with the icing sugar
2. Beat the egg whites for a minute, then add the colour; beat slowly to incorporate; then beat on high speed for 30 seconds and add the caster sugar all at once; continue to beat at medium speed until stiff peaks are formed (see photo)
3. Add the ground almond mixture to the stiff egg whites in two batches for perfect texture (1/2 and half)
4. Mix vigorously with a spatula after adding each portion of dry ingredients; do not worry about deflating the air just incorporated into the whites (when the consistency is “perfect” the batter is ready to be placed into a piping bag: this is called macaronage)
5. Place ingredients into a piping bag and pipe onto a baking sheet lined with silpat; bake at 160 C in a convection oven for exactly 13 minutes, rotating the pans exactly 2 minutes after they have been placed in the oven (feet should have formed by then (oven temperatures vary and it may take from 12 to 18 minutes to bake these shells)
6. Remove silpat from the pan and place shells on it on the counter to cool, immediately; release from silpat when cool and set aside

Salted Butter Caramel Macaron

Ingredients:

• 500g tant pour tant
• 200g icing sugar
• 200g egg whites
• 50g caster sugar
• a few drops of brown food colouring

Instructions:

1. Finely grind the tant pour tant with the icing sugar
2. Beat the egg whites for a minute, then add the colour; beat slowly to incorporate; then beat on high speed for 30 seconds and add the caster sugar all at once; continue to beat at medium speed until stiff peaks are formed (see photo)
3. Add the ground almond mixture to the stiff egg whites in two batches for perfect texture (1/2 and half)
4. Mix vigorously with a spatula after adding each portion of dry ingredients; do not worry about deflating the air just incorporated into the whites (when the consistency is “perfect” the batter is ready to be placed into a piping bag: this is called macaronage)
5. Place ingredients into a piping bag and pipe onto a baking sheet lined with silpat; bake at 160 C in a convection oven for exactly 13 minutes, rotating the pans exactly 2 minutes after they have been placed in the oven (feet should have formed by then (oven temperatures vary and it may take from 12 to 18 minutes to bake these shells)
6. Remove silpat from the pan and place shells on it on the counter to cool, immediately; release from silpat when cool and set aside

Chocolathé Macaron (about 50-60 double shelled macarons)

Ingredients:

• 500g tant pour tant
• 200g icing sugar
• 25g cocoa powder
• 200g egg white
• 50g granulated sugar
• 5 drops (or way more) of red food colouring

Instructions:

1. Grind the tant pour tant, cocoa and the confectioner’s sugar together in a food processor until completely blended and evenly distributed; Chef tipped and tilted his food processor back and forth frequently in a rocking motion to ensure this was happening

1. Beat the egg whites for a minute, then add the colour; beat slowly to incorporate; then beat on high speed for 30 seconds and add the caster sugar all at once; continue to beat at medium speed until stiff peaks are formed (see photo)
2. Add the ground almond mixture to the stiff egg whites in two batches for perfect texture (1/2 and half)
3. Mix vigorously with a spatula after adding each portion of dry ingredients; do not worry about deflating the air just incorporated into the whites (when the consistency is “perfect” the batter is ready to be placed into a piping bag: this is called macaronage)
4. Place ingredients into a piping bag and pipe onto a baking sheet lined with silpat; bake at 160 C in a convection oven for exactly 13 minutes, rotating the pans exactly 2 minutes after they have been placed in the oven (feet should have formed by then (oven temperatures vary and it may take from 12 to 18 minutes to bake these shells)
5. Remove silpat from the pan and place shells on it on the counter to cool, immediately; release from silpat when cool and set aside

Important Notes:

• Tant pour tant is an equal amount of icing sugar and almond powder that has already been ground together to the finest possible grain (Never put this through a sieve or a tami as this creates heat and makes the ingredients dense) You can also use a Thermomix, but for no more than 2 minutes, turning it off and on to get the desired fineness
• Egg whites should be placed in the fridge with a plastic cover 2-3 days in advance, and taken out and left on the counter overnight the evening before beginning this process
• 2 drops of fresh lemon juice in the whites at the beginning will avoid the separating of the whites
• 4 tea bags are usually 20 grams of tea
• When turning the shells after two minutes in the oven, ensure you have a good hold of the pan, and that you are holding it in a level position or the shells may move across the tray and spill off of it
• It is ideal to make the ganache 24 hours in advance, and leave it at room temperature to cure
• Chef Antony used a hot “drier” 2-3 minutes when beating the butter cream to increase the temperature and decrease the volume (increase evaporation)
  • 220g of cream + 20g of tea = 240g of ingredients, but it is important to have 10% evaporation to have a tight ganache, thus the use of the hot blower; that is: 220g of final product when done, if done properly
  • If you are using parchment paper, when removing baked shells from the oven, you must immediately pour water between the tray and the baking paper (on the counter is best); wait a few minutes then lift off the macarons and place them on a dry tray
  • Store filled shells one day in the fridge without a cover (they will be best the next day); then in a box with a cover for up to 4 days in the fridge: freeze will wrapped and covered for up to two months

I can hardly believe I am actually here!

I never imagined I would be taking a macaron making class in Paris when I embarked upon my quest to conquer the elusive French macaron in October of last year. But, here I am! Isn’t the Elysee Pavillion beautiful?

We walked from Place de Concord just past the Tuileries Garden and through another little garden to the Champs Elysee as Lenôtre is at #10. The most beautiful building appeared before us, and Vanja said, “I think this is it.” No! We weren’t even on the Champs yet. How could this be it, and why did he think so? Vanja has always had a universal intuition that I lack. He was absolutely right. I had a short time to investigate the grounds before the door opened and Vanja was off for a morning of shopping. (The menu looks really good too! Open it in a new window to enable reading in an enlarged version.)

I first laid my eyes upon a French Macaron in the window of a pastry shop in Old Town, Firenze (Florence), Italy, in March of 1998. “What are those?” I recall wondering as I peered at the window decked out in Easter décor almost centered around a gift box of two dozen of these delicacies. Then I saw the price: the equivalent of 48 Canadian dollars and I wondered what kind of a crazy person would pay that kind of money for any kind of pastry sweet that small!

Now I know what kind of person!

The first few years I saw them, they were always pastel in colour. It wasn’t until I was in Venice one spring (around 2005) when one of my students purchased a large bright green pistachio macaron and groaned with esctacy as she bit into it. “Here, Mrs. Rodgers,” Erin coaxed. “You MUST try a taste. It is soooo good.” And after that one bite, I was forever hooked… and now, here I am!

In the middle of the map, a little to the east, you will find the Place de la Concorde (which had changed tremendously over the last 15 years). The Jardin de Tuileries is to the west of that. Find number 44 to the west and you are at the Grand Palais. Across the street from that, between the little path in the garden called Gabriel and Elysees is where Lenôtre is.

There was a group of 10 and we were led downstairs to a beautiful warm kitchen with coffee, still and bubbly water, pain au chocolate and croissants awaiting us. The water was refreshing. It was already hot.

The golden hue of the kitchen affected the quality of all of my photos, as did Chef Anthony’s rapid movements. I had written ahead, and photos were aloud, but I need a speedy course in photography to master the art of taking a photo when the Chef will not stop what he is doing! Thank you for your patience through these images as I really tried to include the idea of what was happening, and weighted that as higher than the quality of the images. (I had to!)

We were placed into three groups immediately: three of us were to prepare the Chocolathe macaron and the ganache filling ingredients; three others were to prepare the caramel macaron and the caramel ingredients; the remaining four were to prepare the ingredients for the raspberry macaron and the butter cream that would be used for both the raspberry and the caramel macaron fillings.

After a brief tour of the kitchen, without introductions, we were fast and furiously finding and weighing our ingredients to have our mis en place completed before we were to start. No one was really sure that is what we were doing when we started, but it came to be clear throughout the process. The chocolate used at Lenôtre is featured below, right.

I was placed with Beth, below, left, and her husband, Mark, which really made the class fun for me. See Beth already whipping up our ingredients before I even understood the instructions? (She is bilingual.)

This was to be an English speaking class: the first offered by Lenotre, so I felt very privileged and excited. I would have taken it anyway, and muddled through, and that is more or less what did happen. Chef Antony (we later learned his name), asked how many of us were French speaking: four. Six were English speaking and the four French speakers also spoke English, but the Chef spoke French almost non-stop through our class. The advantage was that he did understand my questions. The hilarious part was that he answered them consistently in French. It was really very funny. I would ask again and say, “In English, please, Chef.” He would answer again, more passionately, still in French. Lucky for me there were a few very kind people, like my partner, Beth, and another classmate, Nam, who would translate for myself and others.

The cream for the Chocolathé ganache has already been scalded, and the tea is now steeping in it (for a minimum of 20 minutes).

This was a very fast paced class and I learned a great deal. This is also a class for beginners as there was no opportunity to work with our own macaron batter to get the feel of the macaronage. Chef Antony did all three batches himself, though he did provide each group opportunity to stir, or mix, or pipe shells and the butter cream. But, the most difficult part of macaron making is discerning when is enough mixing and at what point to stop. This he demonstrated for us three times, and I definitely learned a great deal even without much individual hands-on opportunity. (Well, that, and getting the tant pour tant fine enough without using a tami or a sieve. The use of either creates heat and makes the final product dense, says Chef Antony.)

I loved Mark’s enthusiasm for food, and shared it! He understood the importance of tasting along the way! I could not find the kind of valrhona callets that were used for the ganache, but I think they were Manjari. They were definitely Valrhona, and yummy. I think we tested more than one, too!

The dry caramel is started, below.

Chef Antony made it and kept the heat steady and lifted the pan when it got too hot. He didn’t stir at all but swirled the pan. He started with a little sugar, and then added more, little by little, as each portion caramelized, until it was all caramelized.

It is clear that Chef Antony is passionate about his work. The sugar is now almost completely caramelized, and when it is, he added the cream and stirred it very rapidly.

Then, he added the butter and the salt and continued to stir very rapidly until all was completely combined.

See how dark it is? It really was very dark. I pulled some of the shadows out of the above photo for you to see the caramel, but the below photo is more true to the colour of the completed caramel. I thought it was almost a little burned, but it wasn’t.

The caramel is made, and our tea has steeped in the cream for twenty minutes. Time to remove the teabags and add the chocolate callets. Thought the cream had been off the heat steeping for 20 minutes, it was still hot enough to very quickly melt the chocolate which Chef Antony helped along with his immersion blender. I would definitely say that was his favourite tool of the day. He used it for almost everything. I am glad that I have a really good one at home!

The Chocolathé Ganache is now finished. The Chef covered it with plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge. It is best to make this a day ahead and leave it on the counter to cure. To be honest, I didn’t care for the flavour, but that was irrelevant, really. I was learning how to make a chocolate French macaron!

Now time for the butter cream. There was a double batch of butter cream made to accommodate the raspberry and salted butter caramel fillings as both would take one batch of butter cream. Each recipe called for one vanilla bean so I asked how much they cost in France. The same as at home: three to six dollars each, depending upon the quality. Lucky me! I brought home two packages of 24 (Bourbon and Tahitian) from G. Datou for 2 dollars each. But that is another post to come.

This butter cream is considerably different than the one I made for my mom’s individual 80th birthday cakes. Here, you add the butter all at once. In that method, it is added little by little by little to increase the volume. There are other differences, so do not assume that you know what butter cream means here unless you have read the recipe instructions below.

The yolks have been mixed with the second sugar listed in the recipe ingredients and whisked to incorporate air.

The hot milk is tempered with the egg mixture; and then all of the yolks are added to the hot milk and poach at 82-83º C for 5-10 minutes.

Whisk over the heat until the mixture thickens, then whip with an immersion blender to avoid using a sieve and to cool mixture to 30º C.

Then move to the large bowl of electric mixer (Kitchen Aid) and whip on medium to low speed until at room temperature. This has already been done, in the photos below. Chef Antony then adds the soft, room temperature butter, all at once.

Incorporate completely with the electric mixer on medium until  there is an ovious increase in volume, but it will not be double.

At this point (below), Chef Antony made it very clear that this butter cream was far too heavy and not good for the palate. However, it did not increase very much in volume, in my opinion, after the salted butter caramel and the raspberry purée was added to each, either. So, I am not sure that the translation was correct.

The Chef added the salted butter caramel to one portion of the butter cream as the caramel was at room temperature, and then puréed the raspberries and added them to the other equal portion of butter cream.

I cannot tell you how excited I get seeing the photo below. I cannot wait to try to make this myself! It was deadly delicious. Of all the French Macarons this day, in my opinion, the Salted Butter Caramel was the best by far.

The mixture of raspberries and butter cream now goes into the large bowl of the electric mixer on medium speed and whips to increase volume and to decrease weight. Chef Antony uses a heat blower to increase the heat of the product while it is mixing to decrease the moisture content in the butter cream.

C’est fini! Now for the Salted Butter Caramel butter cream: the process is repeated.

Each butter cream is then placed into a piping bag and refrigerated until the shells are made and ready for filling. Below is the best I could do for a photo of either of the butter creams in process.

Chef Antony is fast and I could hardly catch what he was doing, let alone get a photograph of it. At times, he was very considerate regarding the camera. At others, he was understandably engrossed in what he was doing and wasn’t even considering our need to take photos. (No, I was not alone in this endeavour!)

Salted Butter Caramel

Ingredients:

• 100g caster sugar
• 80g heavy cream (whipping cream)
• 30g salted butter (half salted butter)
• 2g pure sea salt

Instructions:

1. Make a dry caramel by adding the sugar to a hot sauce pan little by little; as each portion caramelizes, or begins to caramelize, add another small portion of sugar (do not stir, but swirl the pan)
2. See the photos; the caramel was very dark in some parts, but adding more sugar appeared to temper that and lighten the caramel colour; however, the caramel was still very dark when finished and before adding the cream to it
3. Heat the cream to 90º C at the same time as making the caramel; add the hot cream to the caramel
4. Add the butter and the salt blending the entire time with an immersion blender; set aside and cool to room temperature

Chocolathé Ganache Macaron Filling

Best made 24 hours in advance

Ingredients:

• 220g whippig cream
• 20g Earl Grey tea (or Darjeeling tea)
• 250g chocolate callets (50% or higher)
• 50g butter

Instructions:

1. Heat the cream with the tea until almost boiling; steep, covered and off the heat for a minimum of 20 minutes (impt. To add the tea to the cold cream)
2. Strain tea (or remove bags); add the chocolate callets to melt
3. The instructions say mix gently, but Chef Antony used his hand blender at a very high speed to ensure there is no bubbles; set aside in the refrigerator until ready to place in a pastry bag and pipe on to macaron shells
4. Remove from the fridge and hour or two in advance to ensure that the ganache is not too hard, and not too soft (Don’t forget the heat of your hands will soften it, too)

Butter Cream (for Raspberry and Salted Butter Caramel Macarons)

Ingredients:

• 75g whole milk
• 30g caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod
• 60g egg yolks
• 30g caster sugar
• 200g butter

For Raspberry Butter Cream

• 120g fresh raspberries, blended with a hand blender

For Salted Caramel Butter Cream

• one batch of salted caramel

Instructions:

1. Scald the milk, sugar and vanilla bean
2. Mix the yolks with the second sugar
3. Temper the hot milk with the egg mixture; adding all of the yolks to the hot cream mixture and poach at 82-83º C for 5-10 minutes
4. Whisk to combine, then whip with an immersion blender to avoid using a sieve and cool mixture to 30º C; then move to the large bowl of electric mixer (Kitchen Aid) and whip on medium speed until at room temperature
5. Add soft, room temperature, butter all at once; incorporate completely to increase considerably in volume (it will not be double)
6. Use a hot blower to heat the butter cream to reduce the moisture content for 2 to 3 minutes while beating
7. Make a double batch of butter cream and divide into two halves (one for caramel butter cream and one for raspberry butter cream) if making both macarons; other wise, use the entire batch for each macaron recipe

For the Raspberry Butter Cream:

1. Add the blended fresh raspberries to the butter cream and incorporate by hand
2. Place butter cream mixture into a pastry bag and pipe onto half of the shells, topping with the other half, and pressing ever so slightly to ensure that both sides will stick and that the butter cream reaches the edge of each shell

For the Salted Butter Caramel Butter Cream

1. Add the Salted Butter Caramel mixture once it has reached room temperature to the butter cream in the large bowl of an electric mixer (Kitchen Aid) and whip to combine
2. Place butter cream mixture into a pastry bag and pipe onto half of the shells, topping with the other half, and pressing ever so slightly to ensure that both sides will stick and that the butter cream reaches the edge of each shell

Important Notes:

• Tant pour tant is an equal amount of icing sugar and almond powder that has already been ground together to the finest possible grain (Never put this through a sieve or a tami as this creates heat and makes the ingredients dense) You can also use a Thermomix, but for no more than 2 minutes, turning it off and on to get the desired fineness
• Egg whites should be placed in the fridge with a plastic cover 2-3 days in advance, and taken out and left on the counter overnight the evening before beginning this process
• 2 drops of fresh lemon juice in the whites at the beginning will avoid the separating of the whites
• 4 tea bags are usually 20 grams of tea
• When turning the shells after two minutes in the oven, ensure you have a good hold of the pan, and that you are holding it in a level position or the shells may move across the tray and spill off of it
• It is ideal to make the ganache 24 hours in advance, and leave it at room temperature to cure
• Chef Antony used a hot “drier” 2-3 minutes when beating the butter cream to increase the temperature and decrease the volume (increase evaporation)
  • 220g of cream + 20g of tea = 240g of ingredients, but it is important to have 10% evaporation to have a tight ganache, thus the use of the hot blower; that is: 220g of final product when done, if done properly
  • If you are using parchment paper, when removing baked shells from the oven, you must immediately pour water between the tray and the baking paper (on the counter is best); wait a few minutes then lift off the macarons and place them on a dry tray
  • Store filled shells one day in the fridge without a cover (they will be best the next day); then in a box with a cover for up to 4 days in the fridge: freeze will wrapped and covered for up to two months

We did get a taste of each filling when we were piping them onto the shells. Well, I took a taste of each, and others followed! I mean, how can you cook and not know if it actually tastes good? The raspberry butter cream was far too runny and didn’t hold well under the conditions we used. It was also not very flavourful.

I cannot wait to get home and practice what I have learned. Going over the process while preparing for this post has been an excellent review and my mindset is definitely more confident than ever before!

Now, Beth… help! What did I forget? What did I miss that you caught? There was that unexpected pleasure: I met Beth and Mark! The following post will cover how to make the French macaron shells: Lenôtre Part Two! (Below is a photo of a garden in front of the Lenôtre Pavillion.)

We arrived! 8:30 am Paris time, and we are filling out the forms for our missing luggage. All three bags. But, we are in Paris! Who can complain? A very short while and metro ride later, we arrived at our hotel in the Latin Quarter five minutes from Notre Dame in the Jussieu area: Hotel Familia. (A very basic, small and clean three star hotel with wireless internet service, basic breakfast and an excellent location.)

Our hotel will be available at 1 pm, and we are tired and hungry. We walk around a block on the Left Bank and choose the best of a few unappealing restaurants to rest and eat something: Le Royal Jussieu. The menu looks good. The chairs were adorable, and we could eat in cooler fresh air though risk smoke in our eyes as France has followed other members of the European Union with a no smoking in restaurants and bars law, so outside tables are filled with smokers. The water was the perfect refreshment as it was a very hot day.

Steak Tartar? I love the steak tartar at Cafe Select in Edmonton. I don’t eat meat as I have such trouble digesting it, but steak tartar is usually not a problem for me. But, I usually don’t eat so much of it, anyway. This steak came beautifully fresh served with a raw egg on top and the condiments that I am used to having mixed into the meat, on the side.

The minced onion breathed life into the dish. It was tender and luscious. The minced corchons added zest.

And the capers? One cannot have steak tartar without onions and capers. Perfection. These capers were large salty parcels of tangy goodness.

Vanja and I both adore French Onion Soup. His looked appealing, though the cheese was not melted on top.

It was served with deep fried croutons (left, below) that is usually accompanied with the Steak Tartar at Cafe Select in Edmonton. His soup was really terrible. Thickened with cornstarch, the predominant flavour was that of burned meat. I still sour thinking of it. My dish was really lovely, but there were far too few condiments for the large portion of meat. That worked for me, as that was all I wanted to eat of it, but the meat was really very delicate and definitely needed the condiments to balance the flavours.

As we had walked from the Metro, and again from the restaurant to the hotel, the graffiti and the dirty sidewalks captured our attention and reminded us both of our time in Amsterdam a couple of years ago which is an incredibly beautiful city we both fell in love with, but had very dirty streets and sidewalks.

Up the two person elevator to our room on the fourth floor, down the quaint and tiny hall and into our room: a pill box with a bathroom and a bed. But, it was enough.

The view out the window held promise of the day and week ahead.

We turned on the air-conditioner and laid down for a little nap before our pre-planned fat bike tour of the city at 3pm. We woke up at 7.

We were both shocked at the time and at our level of exhaustion. In less than ten minutes, we were out on the street and exploring our territory. Vanja is on a bridge to the East of Notre Dame.

What a beautiful view. What a beautiful city. Notre Dame. Notre Dame! Notre Dame is synonymous with Berthillon Ice Cream! Once should never visit Paris without tasting this world famous frozen delight found only in this city with the main store beside Notre Dame on St. Louis en L’Ile. When I first tasted it in 1995, it was the only location where you could find it. It is still the only location with all of the flavours.

We had decided to head up to Montmartre for dinner, but dessert first was definitely in order. The first one I had ever tasted was the wild strawberry ice cream (not sorbet), and it had me on my knees. I believe that one scoop in 1995 was the equivalent of 5 Canadian dollars, and it was a very small scoop. This time, I tried the wild strawberry sorbet, the black currant sorbet (Berthillon Cassis sorbet is the very reason I grow black currants in my yard) and I asked what the most popular flavour is for my necessary third scoop. “Salted Caramel”. Say no more Cute Scooper Boy. Scoop it on!

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, but not this time. There is not a thousand words that could ever capture the distinct and vivid flavours of these scoops. Only tasting them will provide the frame of reference needed to understand the incredible quality of this ice cream. I am a connoisseur of ice-cream, and this is the best I have ever had. Ever. The wild strawberry ice-cream is better than the sorbet, though (at least in my mind). The salted caramel had me again on my knees. OMGosh!

And the Cassis? Vanja said it tasted like a dusty old church basement smelled. I thought it was brilliant with a depth of flavour that was uniquely compelling and undefinable. Look at that colour. I cannot wait to try to duplicate it when I get home. My black currants were turning colour earlier than usual this season, and some were almost ready when we left the day before (11th of July).

We crossed the bridge to the isle and bought our ice-cream, then just across the other, to the metro, was another lovely little niche where people enjoyed a meal in the sun on the steps of an old church.

Everything is so manicured and green and gorgeous. I stood straighter, and walked brisker. Both energy and regalia breathed into me. It happens every time I visit Paris. It is the magic of this city.

Just off of the subway we are on our way to Montmartre through Sacre-Coeur up the touristy street with the Carousel at the top beckoning all, we did not succumb to the cat-calls and whistles of the shop owners working to capture our dollar.

Finishing an asthmatic coughing spasm, we took the funicular up to the top. This was a new option since my last visit here, and the stairs in front of the church were roped off for the climb to the top, though hundreds were sitting on the upper levels. Once up, I saw my first vendeur à la sauvette. Every few years they change in ethnicity. The last time I was here they were almost all Nigerian. Now there are many from Bangladesh.

It is such a hot day. People are enjoying the sun and this breathtaking view of the city from the steps of Sacre-Coeur.

Can you find Vanja? He is there on the steps somewhere! And always someone is playing music for money. Above, right, is the drums of Africa with some beautiful dancing. Below right, is a highly talented string quartet that any music theatre or auditorium be hard pressed to match in quality and personality. These gals were spectacular and spellbinding. Their music graced the area with the charm and quality that one would expect to find on such esteemed ground.

Above, left, is the exit from the funicular and the necessary and charming souvenir shop.

Vanja pulled me around a little bend to show me a view he had discovered while here in May for the European Basketball Playoffs. Our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower this trip!

Just below this sighting were two men fishing bottles out of the trash and putting them into a large plastic bag. They had a black tub filled with ice beside it, and I had just purchased a bottle of water from such a man moments earlier! Clearly, they were scrounging for bottles. They then dumped the left over ice (as they were out of water bottles) and hid the black tub in the bushes below. Ahhh! Did I just drink water from a scavenged bottle that was refilled for selling? It is possible. I didn’t check for the proper seal. Ahhhh! Beware, one and all.

As we scooted alongside the church, the little white train was parked that took passengers around Montmarte area was parked for reloading. If I wasn’t hungry for supper, I would have climbed aboard. I never tire of these little trains. They are so much fun!

We are in Montmartre! Montmartre acquired its name from the martyrdom of Saint Denis, the Bishop of Paris and is the patron saint of France, who was decapitated on the hill around 250 AD. The square is just ahead! What?

Everytime I have been here before (and there have been many), it has been March, and this square is empty of outdoor restaurant tables and equipment and filled with artists and their easels drawing portraits of their clients for all to enjoy or partake in. It had never crossed my mind that this square would be filled with tables and chairs for the summer, but it made perfect sense! What a gorgeous square, and all tables were lined as all are in Paris: facing the street with two chairs behind each to enable people watching.

People watching is the most fascinating pastime in Paris, and one must absolutely make time for it. Unfortunately, I have never done it enough, but I have unforgettable memories of the times I have taken to simple watch the people from one of those irresistible tables. On this occasion, those watching were also treated with an unfortunate incident. The waiter coming out of the arch, below, left, was followed by another older gentleman waiter laden with a similar tray to return to the restaurant across the pedestrian traffic pathway. Three African acrobats were performing, and though the one flipping had checked to ensure his backward path was clear, on his second flip he struck the older gent in the shoulder and the tray went flying through the street crashing to the ground. All were horrified. The acrobat was immediately after the gentleman to ensure he was not hurt. He had to be, though he continued to walk into the restaurant, now empty handed, without missing a beat. I am sure he was furious and in the greatest pain.

The artists that fill the square in the Spring, are lined up at one end of it in the Summer. I hadn’t shared my wish for us to have our portraits drawn with Vanja. I think I was unaware of it until I was there again. Some of these artists are really very good. You can see for yourself. A sitting is usually an hour and costs 50 Euros, or more, or less: depending upon your ability to barter and the ability and appetite of the artist.

We came back at the end of our tour of the artists to see the progress here, and it is below.

The gal above had hers drawn and now the artist is placing her brother behind her in the drawing. See them all in the row below?

I absolutely love Montmarte and its Bohemian flare. It hearkens back to the day of Toulouse Lautrec who so carefreely and carefully memorialized that colourful time with his drawings and paintings. The square has seen its share of Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism and modern painting; standing on such ground is indeed