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Thursday, December 9, 2010

'Little Paris'

0 comments Posted by pece at 10:28 AM

Who knew?

Piles of Frenchie croissants right in South Kensington SW3

a 'Little Paris' in London. Bute Street off the Brompton road is full of Frenchie cafes, charcuteries, boucheries, papeteries, French book stores...oh an Italian gelaterie...
You'll hear lots of French spoken and see French kiddies with their au pairs, mainly because the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle is nearby... You think you're in London. You took the Eurostar from Paris.
But in fact you're in 'Little Paris' - well that's what I call it...

Clafoutis at PAUL, contact, 9" x 11"

There's a PAUL cafe just outside South Ken' Station where Frenchies and wannabe Frenchies grab a croissant and a demi...

Bute Street on Saturdays becomes a weekly marche loaded with French goodies..

Coq au vin...boef with vin rouge...you name it

True, the Frenchies will break down and don their English wellies if it's raining...

On the week-end they head to cafe Aubaine further down at 260 -262 Brompton Road for 'le brunch' If you are not dressed appropriately "Frenchie' forget about going...

Bien sur there are menu ardoise/blackboards with stacks of baguettes...

And bien sur there are MACARONS!! After all...

I had chocolat chaud, a croissant and multi-pots of very British jam. Was there a choice?

BONJOUR LITTLE PARIS!

 

Labels: Boulangerie PAUL, croissants, jam, London, tartes

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Yr Petit Dejeuner in Paris!

0 comments Posted by pece at 7:31 AM

So I was telling PB reader Naomi yesterday:

Carolg:Sorry Naomi, but I don't do the People portraits in Paris anymore -too much stress :( but I do paint Paris still lifes and pets.

Naomi:So you mean if we send you a picture of our PARIS breakfast you'll paint that?
Carolg:What a GREAT idea!!
I'd love to!
Custom petit dejeuner still lifes!

Right up my allee Naomi :)

Naomi:It would be a wonderful way to remember my favorite breakfast in Paris!

Do you have stacks and stacks of photos, not to mention memory cards full of favorite petite dejeuners and afternoon teas etc.? Would you love to see them immortalized in a custom watercolor hanging on your wall? Did you have a petit dej' at Les Deux Magots in St. Germain..? Et voila! Did you break the bank for a chocolat chaud...
At Hotel Meurice?
Tea at...
Boulangerie Paul?
Who wants to forget...
Their tea at Mariage Freres?

Champagne for Breakfast, watercolor at Etsy, 9" x 11"

Did you have champagne for breakfast when you're in Paris?

Pourquoi pas?

Check the menu/ardoise...

No messy salade plates svp.

Not sure I know how to paint that...ahem

Bear says: I'm ready!
SVP PAINT my petit dej' at Le Select!!

BONJOUR PETIT DEJ'!!!

 

Labels: Boulangerie PAUL, chocolat chaud, Les Deux Magots, Mariage Freres, petit dejeuner

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Boulangerie PAUL

0 comments Posted by pece at 7:31 AM

This last trip I visited quite a few of the French chain, Boulangerie PAUL...
PAUL has 34 boutiques in Paris. I visited maybe only 5-6 plus one in Marseilles. This branch is on 34, rue Tronchet 75008
I noticed something of special interest to me as a watercolor artist...
PAUL loves tabletop still lifes / nature morte just as much as I do!
They have the sweetest still life setups in their windows. Here, looking in from the street...
I took this picture...
Well I "stole" this picture from inside the rue Tronchet boutique...Ahem
Like most Paris shops, PAUL does not like you to take photos. This is perfect for me, since I love to "steal/sneak" shots.
Bad habits die hard.
I used to sneak down to the cookie pantry at 6 AM and steal snacks as a kid. Everyone heard me padding down the stairs but everyone pretended otherwise. Except at dinner, when my father used to say, "Hmmm...she's already had hers.."
Don't stolen cookies taste better?
Are they really stolen if it's from your own house and you helped bake them?
PAUL is famous for their croissants.
They must make a gazillion croissants everyday to supply all of their 330+ branches worldwide.

Here's another example of PAUL's love of the nature morte/ still life -

still lifes on their bags, posters, menus.Plus the REAL setups inside their boutiques.

Believe me, setting up a good still life is NOT EASY. Ask any painter. You have to think about composition, lighting, variety of shapes, colors, design, patterns - there's a lot to consider. It's taken me ages to figure it out.
And then I depend on M. to tell me, "Too much stuff!"

Here a PAUL petit dejeuner still life menu...

Putting together this post, I learned a lot of new things about PAUL...
For example, PAUL has 21 (!) boutiques in the UK. AND you can learn how to make bread at their Covent Garden masterclasses! How do you like them apples? AND there are 5 PAUL boutiques in the US...sadly they are all in Florida!? Unless you're a Floridian...

What's up with that PAUL?

Did you know you can learn FRENCH at PAUL? Well at their website...
What flavours of macaroon do you have?

Quels parfums de macarons proposez vous?
I’d like a chocolate éclair and a latte please.

Je voudrais un éclair au chocolat et un café au lait s’il vous plaît.
Thank you. Goodbye!

Merci. Au revoir!

What's even more important, you can learn FRENCH MANNERS at PAUL! HMPH....
Greetings: Greet friends and family with La Bise, a kiss to each cheek, starting with the right, and accompanied by the words “Salut! Ça va?” or similar. Kissing on the lips should be a private activity, as should feeding each other PAUL chocolate or coffee éclairs…

Breakfast: If a diner à deux is a roaring success and your guest is still there for breakfast, putting the box of cereal on the table and saying ‘help yourself’ will be a bit of a let-down. To show how much you care, serve warm PAUL croissants, pains au chocolate and briochettes. Provide butter, PAUL jam, freshly squeezed orange juice and PAUL coffee. Perfect!
PS

Don’t clean your teeth at the table.
Merci. Au revoir!

 

Labels: Boulangerie PAUL