Posts Tagged ‘Festival du Livre Culinaire’

How to Make a Candy Sculpture (A Demonstration at the Festival du Livre Culinaire)

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
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Cordon Bleu Chef Jean-François Deguignet Making Candy Sculpture

Cordon Bleu Chef Jean-François Deguignet
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Start with several differently-colored globs of candy and heat them with a hot-air blower so that they becomes pliable.

Making Colored-candy Strips

Sticking Log Strips Together
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Roll the warm candy into log strips, and then press differently-colored strips together. If the strips don’t stick, use the hot-air blower to re-warm the candy until they stick.

Cutting Candy Strips

Cutting Candy Strips
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Use scissors to cut the joined log strips to the desired length.

Cutting Flattened Strips

Cutting Flattened Strips
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

After joining several differently-colored log strips together, flatten them, and then use a knife to cut them to the desired length. To make a clean cut, heat the edge of the knife with the hot-air blower.

Working with the Flattened Strips

Working with the Flattened Strips
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Depending upon the effect that you want to achieve (a bow, for example, or a flower) take long, flattened strips and twist them into the desired shapes.

Assembling the Sculpture

Assembling the Sculpture
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Assemble the ribbons, bows, and other shapes that you have created into a sculpture. Use the hot-air blower as necessary to get the pieces to stick together.

Finished Sculpture

Finished Sculpture
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Et voilà!

Another Finished Sculpture

Another Finished Sculpture
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

These candy sculptures were created by Chef Jean-François Deguignet of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school at the Festival du Livre Culinaire, held from February 22 – 24 this year at the Carrousel du Louvre.

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Swedish Products at the Paris Cookbook Fair

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
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Assortment of Swedish foods

Assortment of Swedish Foods
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The Festival du Livre Culinaire was held from February 22 – 24 this year at the Carrousel du Louvre. While there I had the opportunity to visit the Husmansbord stand. The folks there had lots of Swedish food on display, and I got a chance to taste some. What a treat!

Carbonated Elderflower Beverage

Fläder
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The first product was a soft drink called Fläder, which means “elder” in English. Sweet and refreshing, it was a carbonated elderflower beverage that tasted somewhat like lychee and pear.

Hjortronsylt

Hjortronsylt
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I was given a jar of hjortronsylt (cloudberry jam) to take home and try. The jam had a golden color and contained lots of seeds and cloudberry pulp. It was intensely sweet and tasted mild like honey from the flowers of a meadow. I tried it with Scottish oatcakes and Minimunk cheese (described below) and found that it went well with both.

Minimunk

Minimunk
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

And speaking of Minimunk cheese, I was given a portion to take home to try. This cheese has been produced from cow’s milk from farms within a 2 1/2 mile radius of the dairy. Aged at least 22 months, it contains 31% fat. The producer claims that it is a powerful cheese with fully-developed flavor, but having tasted French cheeses whose odors almost knocked me backward, I judged it to be fairly mild. Its taste was buttery and tangy at the same time. When I cut into it, it crumbled and flaked. I enjoyed it with cloudberry jam and also tried it with Majsknäcke (described below).

Majsknäcke

Majsknäcke
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Majsknäcke means corn crispbread in Swedish. These were very dry rounds of wholegrain corn and wheat flour that had been baked in a wood-fired oven. They had lots of crunch. I could taste the corn, but it wasn’t predominant. The crackers make an excellent accompaniment to the Minimunk and provide a crunchy counterpoint to the soft cheese.

Affären, a Swedish food store in Paris sells a wide variety of Swedish specialties, although they may not have these specific products. Call them to inquire!

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Tasting Cupcakes at the Paris Cookbook Fair

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
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The Festival du Livre Culinaire was held from February 22 – 24 this year at the Carrousel du Louvre. There were publishers from around the world displaying their culinary books and non-stop conferences and cooking demonstrations for three days.

Alisa Morov

Alisa Morov
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The first demonstration on Saturday featured Alisa Morov, an American who moved from Los Angeles to Paris in 2002 to found Sweet Pea Baking. Alisa showed the audience how to bake cupcakes. This may sound easy, but according to Alisa, it can be frustrating if you don’t combine the ingredients properly. Baking is chemistry, and Alisa explained how to do it correctly.

Sifting the Flou

Sifting the Flour
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Alisa said that some people who buy her cupcake cookbook (Sensational Cupcakes, Simon and Schuster, UK) complain that they don’t get good results. She said this is because they combine all of the ingredients at once, rather than following the step-by-step instructions. The trick is to combine the ingredients in stages so that they get a chance to react with one another chemically. And here was her big tip: use real buttermilk in the cupcakes, not a buttermilk substitute, such as regular milk mixed with lemon juice. Buttermilk, she said, is one of the ingredients that helps the cake rise.

View from TV Camera

View from TV Camera
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

And so we watched as she added flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, real vanilla, eggs, butter, buttermilk…all in the correct order…

Putting Batter into the Cups - TV View

Putting Batter into the Cups – TV View
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…and then put the batter into the cupcake pan and pop the pan into the oven. Each cup was lined with a paper cupcake liner. Alisa said that cupcake liners are not necessary with modern non-stick pans, but that people like to peel the paper liner off their cupcake…it’s like opening a gift!

Squeezing Pastry Bag

Squeezing Frosting from the Pastry Bag
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Then she made buttercream frosting and squeezed the frosting from a pastry bag onto a batch of cupcakes that had already been made (the other cupcakes were still in the oven)…

Cupcakes by Alisa Morov

Cupcakes by Alisa Morov
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

…and distributed them. We each got one!

The cupcake tasted rich and buttery. It had wonderful flavor but was too rich for my taste. Alisa staunchly defends the use of butter and heavy cream in her cupcakes and frostings, and she made comments during her presentation indicating that these products are not meant to be diet food. I found myself wondering why, in this era when Americans are becoming alarmingly obese from eating fat-filled and sugary foods, Alisa appears to blithely ignore the dangers that fat and sugar pose to health…clogged arteries and diabetes…just to name two.

As is true for everything, moderation is key to consuming these cupcakes—particularly if you have a weakness for sweet and buttery baked goods!

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My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part VI

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
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I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair last Thursday. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

I stopped at the Brewberry stand to say hello to Cécile Thomas. (I wrote about her cave à bière in my Paris Insights newsletter in December 2011.)

Cécile poured me a Dubbel Bock made by Brouwerij de Molen, a brewery in Holland dedicated to producing craft beers. I was surprised by the strength of the beer and plan to return to her cave to try it again. The brewery has been producing award-winning beers for a number of years now.

Cécile Thomas pours a Dubbel Bock

Cécile Thomas pours a Dubbel Bock
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

While I was there, three men lined up for a photo opportunity: Alex Barlow, author of All Beer Guide, a book that won the World’s Best Beer Book award (Gourmand, 2010); John Brus, marketing and development for de Molen brewery; and Ales Gacnik (unidentified affiliation), holding a copy of the book and a bottle of Dubbel Bock.

Alex Barlow - John Brus - Ales Gacnik

Alex Barlow - John Brus - Ales Gacnik
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

This report brings to an end the “My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair” series. It was an exciting event and I look forward to returning next year!

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My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part V

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012
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I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair last Thursday. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

The company Gourmet Patagonia held a presentation of its award-winning cookbook Patagonia Cuisine, winner of the best culinary book of the year. The award was given by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards at a ceremony that was held at the Théâtre des Folies Bergère on March 6.

The speakers, Rodrigo Durand Cerda and Francisco Fantini Jarpa, talked lovingly of the Patagonia region of South America, where one can find crystal-clear waters and pristine mountains…and fine cuisine.

Francisco Fantini Jarpa - Editorial Director - Gourmet Patagonia

Francisco Fantini Jarpa, Editorial Director
Gourmet Patagonia
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

After their presentation they distributed samples of Kunstmann beer, a beer that is brewed by descendants of a German family that settled in Valdivia, Chile in the 19th century. I liked the dark-brown beer that they served. It had a nice malty flavor with no bitter aftertaste. They also served a white beer and a blueberry-flavored beer. Both were quite refreshing.

The people at Kunstmann throw a big Bierfest every year at which time a King and Queen of Beer are crowned. To be crowned King one must be able to drink a liter of beer more quickly that the other contestants. Congratulates go out to Andres Hettish, crowned King for the last four years in a row. He can drink a liter of beer in four seconds! I’ll drink to that!

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My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part IV
An Amazing Technique for Preparing Scrambled Eggs

Sunday, March 11th, 2012
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I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair last Thursday. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

At 2:00 p.m. I entered the International Show Kitchen to watch Chef Chakall prepare egg recipes from the new book Angry Birds — Bad Piggies’ Egg Recipes. As I watched him and his colleagues set the stage for the presentation I knew that something spectacular was about to happen. He brought out a sound board (a mixing console used for routing and changing the level, timbre, and dynamics of audio signals). “Why would he need a sound board to prepare eggs?” I wondered. Then I saw his colleague place two speakers on the stage, so I figured that Chef Chakall was going to play some music while he cooked.

Chef Chakall played a number of recordings, including “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, while he prepared the egg dishes. For those who don’t know what the Angry Birds and the Bad Piggies are, it is a video game in which birds are launched at pigs to keep them from eating their eggs. It sounds crazy, but it is a popular game.

Taking his cue from the Angry Birds concept, Chef Chakall launched a few eggs, not birds, one at a time across the room towards his colleague who caught them in a large bowl. I use “caught” advisedly, because when the eggs hit the bowl they would splatter. Kids, don’t try this at home!

Here are some photos of the cooking event:

Chef Chakall Presents Recipe Book

Chef Chakall Presents Recipe Book
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Chef Chakall Prepares to Launch an Egg

Chef Chakall Prepares to Launch an Egg
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Assistant Prepares to Catch Egg while Angry Bird Stands By

Assistant Prepares to Catch Egg while Angry Bird Stands By Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Egg Reaches Target

Egg Reaches Target
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Chef Chakall Prepares Scrambled Eggs while His Lovely Assistant Looks On

Chef Chakall Prepares Scrambled Eggs
while His Lovely Assistant Looks On
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Today is the last day of the Paris Cookbook Festival. Chef Chakall will once again prepare recipes from the Angry Birds — Bad Piggies’ Egg Recipes book at 3:00 p.m.

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An Amazing Technique for Preparing Scrambled Eggs

My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part III

Saturday, March 10th, 2012
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I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair the day before yesterday. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

Upstairs, among the book stands, I came upon Husmansbord, a Swedish firm that distributes Swedish food products. There, I met Monika Agorelius who invited me to taste the juice of lingonberry (also called cowberry). It was quite tart and tasted much like cranberry juice. She told me that her family produces this product. Later, I found the link to her company’s Web site: Saxhytte Gubben.

I watched Chef Mattias Sjöblom cutting roast pork neck and tasted a morsel with a dab of Nibble Hovsenap med Svensk Whisky, a Swedish-grown mustard made with Mackmyra, a Swedish whisky. Nice!

Chef Mattias Sjoblom

Chef Mattias Sjöblom
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

And I met Agneta Kosowsski who gave me a card for her Swedish grocery store, Affären, in Paris. Later, I went to the Web site and saw photos of some of the 400 Swedish products that the store carries. I’ll be stopping by soon!

Monika gave me a package of multi-seeded, jumbo-sized, ultra-thin, oval-shaped crackers to take home and try. Measuring 6″ by 4″, they are wonderfully crunchy and flavorful.

Tomorrow is the day that I post my article on the amazing technique that I learned for making Bad Piggies’ Scrambled Eggs. See you there!

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My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part II

Friday, March 9th, 2012
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I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair yesterday. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

There was one area in the exposition hall that was dedicated to products from Brittany. There, I met Adrien Auroy, sales representative for Coreff, an artisanal beer-brewing company in Carhaix, France. I tasted three of the beers that were on tap: a blanche (white), an ambrée (amber), and a stout. Of the three, I was most intrigued by the blanche for its refreshing, spicy taste. Adrien told me that it was flavored with coriander.

Adrien Auroy - Sales Reperesentive of Coreff

Adrien Auroy
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Because man cannot live by beer alone and (presumably) needs intellectual stimulation, I left the food hall and went to see the presentation of a new book, Food on the Silk Road. There, three chefs recounted their adventures traveling the silk road in China in search of the foods that eventually found their way to Europe.

Chakall - James McIntosh - Jimmy Yang Jimei

Chakall - James McIntosh - Jimmy Yang Jimei
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

In another part of the exposition hall, author Teresa Severini Zaganelli gave a talk about her book Grapes in the Glass, in which she endeavors to teach youngsters and adults about wine production and responsible drinking.

Teresa Severini Zaganelli

Teresa Severini Zaganelli
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

In the French Show Kitchen I watched Chef Cyril Rouquet make an orange-flavored Saint-Honoré. This classic French cake is a circle of choux pastries on a pâte feuilletée base. The choux are filled with crème chiboust and the cake is finished with whipped cream. Lots of calories here, but who is counting? After samples were distributed, I sneaked back for another bite!

Cyril Rouquet

Cyril Rouquet
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I will continue the saga of my day at the Paris Cookbook Fair tomorrow! I still have to reveal the amazing technique that I learned for making Bad Piggies’ Scrambled Eggs.

The Paris Cookbook Fair will run through Sunday, March 11.

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My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part I

Thursday, March 8th, 2012
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I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair today. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

I saw Virginia Willis, a chef from Atlanta, Georgia, give a cooking demonstration on how to make a dish of shrimp and grits. Her latest cookbook is called Back to Basics, Y’All.

Chef Virginia Willis of Atlanta, Georgia

Chef Virginia Willis of Atlanta, Georgia
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I met cook, writer, instructor, and food geek Vivian Pei.

Vivian Pei

Vivian Pei
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I met award-winning authors Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, whose latest book is called Food Lover’s Guide to Wine.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

And I purchased a kilo of coffee beans roasted in Sardinia from Amerigo Murgia, whose company Tradizione Italiana supplies kitchen equipment, espresso machines, and Italian-roast coffee beans to restaurants in the city.

Amerigo Murgia

Amerigo Murgia
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Tomorrow I will write about other people whom I met and reveal the amazing technique for making Bad Piggies’ Scrambled Eggs.

The Paris Cookbook Fair will run through Sunday, March 11.

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