Last Day in Paris - cant wait to come back!!!

So many more patisseries and artisan producers to meet - counting the days until I come back
A bientot

Rose Bakery - a touch of England in Paris

Not far from St Paul is the first of this small group - Rose Bakery; Heavily influenced by her work with Alice Waters and her business Villandry in London; Rose opened this fabulous little cafe cum food store. Using the best of french ingredients cake logs; fabulous salads and tarts, beautiful tea this is a great place to visit.

Take me to Heaven - Jean Paul Hevin

Along the Rue St Honore is a fantastic chocolatier Jean Paul Hevin - downstairs a fabulous retail store upstairs a yummy Salon de The - a huge collection of chocolate inspired Patisserie!

Le Grand Epicerie - Bon Marche

David Jones Food Hall eat your heart out - this is where the Parisiens go to pick up their treats.

Chocolates; Patisserie; Wine; Truffles, Cheese; Foie Gras it just goes on  and on the way out you can stop by the Raspail marche to pick up fruit and veg!

Patrick Roger - Hottest Chocolatier in Paris

This is one simple but beautiful product - I visited the store on the Boulevard St Germain and there are a few others as well.  If you are in Paris make the effort  its worth it! they also offer delivery via their website if you cant get here!

A La Reine Astrid

This little chocolate shop is just four doors up from Poilane - discreet elegant and delicious!

Poilane Bakery

The most famous baker in Paris is of course Poilane. Located in the Rue du Cherche du Midi

there is always a queue at the door to buy their fabulous bread. Originally owned by Lionel Poilane who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash; today his daughter Apollonia runs the business with two outlets in Paris and one in London. They also wholesale and cafes if they stock their bread always mention the name Poilane to promote quality:

Paris Style

As you can tell from my blogging I just love the French window displays like this one!

Ecole Bellouet Conseil

Thanks to Beatrice Levanti who; with her husband Olivier; used to operate the French Gourmet Academy in Mosman I paid a visit toBellouet Conseil which is a Patisserie Cooking School for Professionals and those who want to be professionals: They run two and three day courses for Professionals who want to touch up on their skills and see the Parisien Pastry Trends. They also offer three month accredited courses for those who want to become pastry chefs and I happened to visit on the day that the current batch of students were graduating so it was champagne for everyone. Some fabulous macaron towers on display and wonderful icecream presentations.

Patisserie Des Reves

Which translated means Patisserie of Dreams - and it sure is true! A tiny shop located in Rue Du Bac in the 7th it takes french classics and gives them a twist. For example everyone does Tarte Tatin Round; not Contacini its rectangle; The Paris Brest (named after the 2nd most famous bike race in France) is made to look like spokes on a wheel: and the St Honore, my God - to die for and its made a la carte so just for you; Let me say he and Jacques Genin are giving Pierre Herme (who is doing wholesale and shops all over France) a run for this money showing just how good classics are - great ingredients superb presentation and AMAZING flavour.

Markets - Boulevard Raspail

Everday in Paris there is a market somewhere - that is pretty impressive given the size of this city. Everything you can think of you can buy - cheese; vegies; fruit; fish; meat; honey; cakes it goes on and on at Boulevard Raspail -They market is setup in the middle of the Boulevard on the median strip - superbe!

Champagne Anyone

Paris is such a civilised city - when you need a break from buying all those gorgeous French brands - Cartier, Hermes and Chanel - why not stop into the Moet et Chandon Champagne Bar in Galleries Lafayette to rest your feet and plan your next purchase!

Macaron Masterclass at Patisse

With our wonderful leader away enjoying all the sights, sounds, fashion and flavours of Paris we here at Patisse in Waterloo are hard at work running our sold out 2010 program of cooking classes.
Just so you all know we have released our 2011 program so check out our web site for details.

We had a great night on Monday with Vincent in full swing as always with the Macaron Masterclass, a hands on class where our 12 courageous students ventured into the world of making the ever popular Macaron.
We take our students right from the beginning and teach them that the macaron is a temperamental creature that requires lots of love and care step by gentle step but as this group discovered in the end it is an art that can be achieved by anyone as long as Vincent is by their side. 
Enjoy the photos and we hope to see you all soon at Patisse.

Jacques Genin - Fondeur en chocolat

Many thanks to Ute (see separate blog) I couldn't miss out on a patisserie visit today and Jacques Genin not far from the Place de Vosges is a new find for me. Love a new place! Looking more like a minimalist homeware store than teahouse and chocolate store Chef and his team make EVERYTHING on site. Many of the big names have gone mass market and use production kitchens, not this store. And another interesting note - coffee is not served; he believes that delicate asian teas bring out the best flavours in patisserie. A big trend in Paris is the flan, simple elegant delicious and my dessert was amazing - blending the flavours of millefeuille with choux balls of chocolate, classic and caramel. The hot top for this store the homemade caramels best being passionfruit and mango - YUM

Ecole Ritz Escofier

Today was such foodie fun - first up a hands on class at the Ritz, followed by lunch and of course French wines. Located in the beautiful Place Vendome littered with the best jewellerey stores in the city.
The dish for today was Poitrine de canette lustree au miel gingembre; sariette; champignons saute or in E nglish Duck Breast Glazed with Ginger and Spinach served with sauteed Cepes mushroom. Twelve of us (a mix of locals, Americans, Japanese and me were split into groups and off we prep. The kitchens are accessed by the back of the Ritz thru the Rue Cambon - for the shoppers like me this is famous street as its where Coco Chanel's original atelier still operates today with her apartment left exactly as when she lived there!
Anyway back to the Ritz a fabulous kitchen, a friendly chef David and voila lunch is cooked. Then we get to sit together and enjoy a meal - its a great way to spend time in Paris if you are into food but beware the pastry classes book out early thats why I did this class.