Rungis

Right now I am exhausted. I got to school today at 6:30am to catch the chartered bus for the class trip to Rungis, the biggest market in the world.

We toured 4 huge product pavilions out of so many more that would take too long to see. We went to the Triperies, Meat, Fruit & Vegetable and the Flower Pavilion. It was incredible to see the beginning of Paris' and so many other destinations (including international) food chain. This is where Parisian markets (besides straight from the farms) and restaurants obtain their products so very early in the morning. We unfortunately did not get to see the Fish Pavilion because it opens at 2am and closes at 5am.

Triperies




Meat










Cheese





I love Raclette!

Fruit & Vegetable

















This is a deceiving photo. While these are habanero chilis, no restaurant in Paris serves spicy food, so where these chilis go is a mystery. They must be exported around the country or out of it (okay, to confess, this past weekend I had a meal in the 17th at a Thai restaurant and the food was really, really spicy, but this place was an anomaly in Paris because not only was it spicy, it was good and cheap. very unusual)

Flowers





Colored callalilies are my favorite.


These looked like a cross between artichokes and cauliflower.

Chocolate Sculpture

I've luckily survived the chocolate section of the superior pastry course (well, they don't tell you if you failed til after the end of the course so keep your fingers crossed for me). We were given only 3 practical classes to work with chocolate before our final exam which seems a little crazy but you learn a lot fast when you have to. Below are photos of my first sculpture and then my final exam. It's not easy, so no judging!

My First chocolate piece.

The chef said he did not like the use of color and that it was too modern and a bit bizarre. I really liked it.

My Final exam

While the chef was not supposed to really comment on our pieces since it was an exam, I asked him what he thought and he said, "It's just a little bizarre today".

Valentine's Day Chocolate

While walking in the Marais recently near the all purpose BHV, I went by a chocolate shop that my friends and I had visited once in the fall purely because of the window display. This shop, though not as posh as other chocolate shops in Paris, carries all the standard delights of filled and solid chocolates plus dipped lovelies like orangette (chocolate dipped candied orange). In the window at the time, there was a large display of fall leaves and an array of chocolate gifts in the theme of fall that was to us, North Americans, the embodiment of Thanksgiving. Missing our traditional holiday, we had to go in. It was all very appropriate for the season.

Just as appropriate was the window that was made up for the next holiday coming up this Saturday, Saint Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day Chocolates in the Marais


Display of posh chocolate cakes outside of Pain de Sucre.


Ah, Paris. Straight to the point, and with chocolate. Happy V Day.

Chocolate work

Today was the first day of working with chocolate in Superior pâtisserie. I have been lucky with chocolate in the past, with the exception of my last final exam (writing in chocolate went horribly wrong), so I wasn't too worried about working with this medium again. In fact, I've been considering doing a small stage after graduation in chocolate if possible.

Bittersweet Chocolates with Burnt Caramel center, cacao bean mold

The caramel filling is extremely addictive--I took the extra filling home because it was so good). We used 1/2 a bean of vanilla as it intensifies the flavor of the caramel.

A few considerations when making chocolates in molds:
1) Obtain a very accurate thermometer! It will make a difference until you are an expert and can take an accurate temperature reading with your pinkie or tongue (not joking about the tongue, it was gross to see how this works the first time but apparently a common way to test the temperature, old school style. Basically you make a ribbon of chocolate with a spatula and let it drip down your tongue. Interesting, huh? FYI, they don't technically teach us this at school).

2) Work cleanly. Chocolate is a mess but once the chocolate gets on your utensils, clean it up or you'll be spending an hour cleaning you and your workspace. I was clean today but others had to spend a lot time cleaning.

3) Important! Examine and clean (or reclean) your molds before using them. My mold looked very clean but I should have wiped the inside of every crevice of the mold to obtain the shiniest result.

Amuse Bouche

Months have passed in this new world of cuisine. Where there was once 8 people in my class working towards the Grand Diplôme, there are now only 6. The program continues to be rigorous--the 3 months of Intermediate cuisine and pâtisserie were tough and the schedule as in The Basic term was mostly full of days in the kitchen, busily learning, cooking, baking--okay, all you foodies are probably envious, yes, it is really amazing when I step back and realize I go to school all day and practice my passion, and in Paris.

Many people have asked where I have traveled in europe while I've been living here. It's an absolutely great and valid question. The answer is Normandy (see the August posting) and only Normandy. While I know without a doubt that for myself I made the best choice in doing the Grand Diplôme, this program leaves absolutely no time for day or weekend trips. At the start of each term my follow Grand Diplôme friend and I scour the schedule and search for possible weekends that we can take a trip or maybe two. This term in Superior, we found just one shining weekend in March, 2 weeks before we are set to graduate. Well, you take what you can get and I will be off to Switzerland for a little snowboarding!

With all this scheduling nonesense, I have been absent from Macaroon Honey a bit too long. Going forward, I hope to provide you with a weekly amuse bouche or perhaps a petit four -- a petite bite of life here in Paris. Continue to enjoy and pass along this blog to other friends, hungry for more in life.

First course: Bûche de Noël
A bit of a look back now that it is February, but Bûche de Noël could still be found everywhere when I arrived back to Paris in late December, after a 5 week stay in the states. While my sister really wanted me to make an American yule log cake complete with a partially cut off branch, fork tines running through the "bark" and little meringue mushrooms growing off of it, it's just not what we are taught or what you can buy at the pâtisserie here in Paris. Here, they are expertly filled and covered with candy colors and shiny glazes. Okay, there are a few petite champignons here and there, I'll give you that.

View from a wonderful pâtisserie in the Marais (just outside of the St. Paul metro stop).