Archive for February, 2011

Millefeuille at Brasserie Lipp

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
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Millefeuille at Brasserie Lipp
(c) Discover Paris!

Founded in 1880 by Léonard Lippman, the Brasserie Lipp is famous for its Hareng Bismark (pickled Baltic herring), its Choucroute Lipp (sauerkraut with sausages, pork, and ham), its Pied de Porc Farci Grillé (stuffed, grilled pigs’ trotters), and its exquisite millefeuille. The latter is furnished by Delloyau, a renowned Parisian pastry and chocolate maker.

I recently had the occasion to taste the millefeuille at Lipp during a presentation by Pierre-Yves Jaslet on the history of the restaurant and the neighborhood.

The serving was generous, comprising two layers of thick vanilla-flavored custard cream sandwiched between three layers of puff pastry. The top was dusted with powdered sugar and embellished with zigzags of caramel.

The delicate pastry is difficult to eat, because the pressure of the edge of a fork on top of the pastry squeezes it down, causing the cream to ooze out. I finally made careful cuts with a knife, but even then the pastry almost collapsed in the plate.

I found the custard to be somewhat pasty, but that is the way it is supposed to be. I would not normally choose this dessert in a restaurant, but this was a special occasion to try it at the historic Brasserie Lipp!

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Le Casse-Noix—Old-time Parisian Hospitality and Food at its Best

Friday, February 18th, 2011
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Chef Pierre-Olivier Lenormand
(c) Discover Paris!

In response to numerous requests for a review of a true off-the-beaten-path restaurant, we dined at Le Casse-Noix. Located in a area that tourists are unlikely ever to come upon (and yet lying not too far from the Eiffel Tower), this old-time bistrot serves up great food with friendly service.

We interviewed the chef, Pierre-Olivier Lenormand, and learned that he once worked for the President of the Republic at the Elysée Palace!

Access to the restaurant review is by paid subscription to our newsletter Paris Insights. Click here to read a brief summary of the February edition, and here to enter a subscription.

Bonne lecture!

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Americans Dominate the French Food Spirit Awards

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
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Two Americans, a Franco-American, and an Italian were recently honored at the 2010 French Food Spirit Awards.

The French Food Spirit Awards was founded in 2002 by the French organization L’Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires (National Association of Food Industries) to promote the spirit of French food culture throughout the world. Its manifesto endorses values that it declares essential to this spirit: product accessibility, preservation of nature, product quality, entrepreneurship, scientific research, and regional diversity.

The jury was comprised of three Americans, seven French, one Japanese, and one Luxembourger. Representing diverse areas of endeavor—including journalism, science, photography, and gastronomy—they selected four prize winners from a field of 175 candidates from all over the world. Their decision was made on the basis of the candidates’ contributions to the understanding of French food culture and the values upon which the Food Spirit Awards are founded.

Each of the winners was presented a Daum crystal trophy.

The first award ceremony took place on December 16, 2010 at the Italian Embassy in Paris, where the trophy was presented to Paola Bonfante for her work on the sequencing of the genome of the black truffle of Perigord, a fungus that is an important part of French food culture.

Max McCalman (left)
Jean-Pierre d'Estienne d'Orves (right)
Photo courtesy of French Food Spirit Awards

The second award ceremony took place on January 27, 2011 at the Robert restaurant, located atop the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City. There, the Secretary General of the French Food Spirit Awards, Jean-Pierre d’Estienne d’Orves, praised cheese advocate Max McCalman’s role in promoting artisanal cheeses in the United States.

Two other trophies were presented in private ceremonies. One went to Ariane Daguin, founder and CEO of D’Artagnan Inc. This company is a distributer of top-quality pork and poultry products, including foie gras, for which she played an important role in introducing the product into the United States. The other went to Meryl Streep for her outstanding performance in the movie Julie & Julia. The jury concluded that her role in the film was a tribute to everyday French gastronomy.

Having lived in France for eighteen and a half years, we have come to appreciate the cuisine of this country and the enthusiasm that the French display for their products. We are pleased that three Americans have been honored by this organization, and that, thanks to their efforts, all Americans can enjoy the French food spirit!

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Chocolate-covered Cherry Tasting

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
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We recently held a blind tasting of some of the best chocolate-covered cherries sold in Paris. To conduct the tasting, we assembled a panel of five specialists, one of whom is a chef, another who is an expert on French wines.

Chocolate-covered cherries are made from morello cherries (called griottes in French) that have been macerated for many weeks in eau de vie. After draining, they are dipped in a solution that consists of sugar, water, and glucose. After dipping, the sugar glaze that forms on the cherries is allowed to dry. Then the cherries are dipped in melted, tempered, dark chocolate and allowed to dry.

Most chocolate-covered cherries contain the cherry stone. The reason that it is not removed is because it is a source of flavor for the cherry. In our sample, all of the cherries had stones save the ones from Foucher.

Some manufacturers use a mechanical process to make chocolate-covered cherries. In this case, the stems are removed before the cherries go through the process. A few manufacturers, such as Jacques Bellanger, keep the stems on the cherries, in which case the product is too delicate to be processed mechanically.

The entries for our tasting (all of which were cited as being artisanal) were the following:

WeissWeiss is one of the few chocolate makers in France whose manufacturing process begins with the raw cocoa bean (most chocolate makers use chocolate that has already been extracted from the cocoa bean). Weiss roasts, grinds, and processes its beans to distribute the cocoa butter evenly within the chocolate (a process called conchage in French). From this basic material it creates white-, dark-, and milk-chocolate tablets in different flavors (lemon, coffee, orange…), and chocolate bars and discs. We purchased a box of chocolate-covered cherries from the Weiss boutique on rue de Seine in Paris.

Weiss
62, rue de Seine
75006 Paris

Jean-Charles Rochoux – This shop was founded by Jean-Charles Rochoux in 2004 on rue d’Assas in Paris. His chocolate-making abilities have been widely recognized since that time. In 2008, for example, he was one of the winners of the Grand Prix du Chocolat de Paris, a prize awarded by an association called Les Amants du Chocolat de la Couronne Parisienne. Mr. Rochoux creates imaginative products from chocolate, including truffles, ganaches, fresh-fruit-filled chocolate bars, and molded statues. Everything in his shop is made by hand in his on-site laboratory.

Chocolats Rochoux
16, Rue d’Assas
75006 Paris

Jacques Bellanger – Mr. Bellanger has been awarded several titles in the chocolate-making profession, including Meilleur Ouvrier de France (best pastry chef and confectioner) in 1982. With his production facility in Le Mans, he turns out ice cream, cakes, pastries, and macarons, as well as chocolate confections, including roasted almonds dusted with chocolate, chocolate covered, candied lemon peel, and milk- and dark-chocolate tablets. We purchased his hand-made chocolate-covered cherries from Mococha, a retail shop on rue Mouffetard.

Mococha
89, rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris

Foucher – Foucher’s handsome store on rue du Bac was founded in 1819 by Nicolas Aubin Foucher. The company has been a family-run affair since that date. The illustrations that Foucher has commissioned over the years to enliven its packaged products are reused, year after year, rather than being discarded for something more modern. One of the designs, dating from 1906, is in the Art Nouveau style. Most are colorful, fanciful scenes that evoke reminiscences of fairy tales and adventure stories of childhood.

Foucher
134, rue Bac
75007 Paris

Michel CluizelMichel Cluizel is family-run company that was founded in 1947. Like Weiss, it is one of the few manufacturers of chocolate products that creates its confections from the raw cocoa bean. Its production facility is located in Damville in the Normandy region of France. The company prides itself in using only “noble” ingredients: pure cocoa butter and Bourbon vanilla pods. The chocolate contains no added aromas, and is made without the addition of soy-derived lecithin. We purchased Michel Cluizel’s chocolate-covered cherries from its boutique on rue Saint-Honoré.

Michel Cluizel
201 rue Saint Honoré
75001 Paris

Our full report on the chocolate-covered cherry tasting can be found in the February edition of our newsletter Paris Insights. Enter a subscription to learn which of the five entries our tasting panel preferred! Readers of this blog will receive a $5 discount off the annual subscription price. To receive the discount, enter 946010 in the Promotional Code box on the newsletter sign-up page.

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Crêpes for Candlemas

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
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Two Crêpes
(c) Discover Paris!

Just as the 2010 holiday season was fading into distant memory, we are jolted back to the reality that today, February 2, is the last day of Christmas. For today is Candlemas (La Chandeleur in French), the celebration of the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Crêpes are traditionally prepared and consumed on this day.

We purchased two freshly-made crêpes from La Moisson, a bakery located just below rue Mouffetard at 2, rue Bazeilles, in the 5th arrondissement. If you do not eat them immediately, crêpes are best prepared by carefully unfolding them, placing them on a warm skillet, melting a pat of butter on them, and adding a sprinkling of sugar. Nutella (the brand name of a chocolate sauce containing ground hazelnuts) is a favorite filling in France for these ultra-thin pancakes.

Most readers of this blog do not enjoy the convenience of a neighborhood bakery that sells crêpes. For detailed instructions on how to make them, follow this link.

Bon appétit!

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Chocolate-covered Cherry Tasting – A Prelude to Valentine’s Day

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
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Hand-dipped, Chocolate-covered Cherries
By Jacques Bellanger
(c) Discover Paris!

Are we the first persons in all of human history to have organized a blind chocolate-covered cherry tasting? We like to think so! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we brought a panel together to sample chocolate-covered cherries from some of the best producers in France: Weiss, Foucher, Jacques Bellanger, Jean-Charles Rochoux, and Michel Cluizel. Learn which confection the panel preferred in this month’s Paris Insights!

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Bonne lecture!

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