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Showing posts with label Ecole Ritz Escoffier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecole Ritz Escoffier. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The first thing a French bebe gets to hold after his/her maman's tata is a Doudou. In the USA we call it a 'blankie' or 'Teddy'
This pensive post was inspired by a Metro poster of a French kid clutching her Doudou.
I kept seeing clutched doudous like on rue de Rivoli and the wheels started turning. *Note French adult on the right clutching his iPod (a doudou in disguise)
A chic or tres classe doudou in mariniere stripes matching the kid's shirt, seen in a high-end shop on rue Tronchet - being well co-ordinated in Paris starts early.
A giant doudou at ART-PARIS 
Ecole Ritz Escoffier has plenty of adorable doudous (presumably for adults) if you want to shell out 39-69 euros...
Can you take your doudou to Angelina? Oui, as long as he puts his purse on a chair and NOT the floor.
Reading a table is allowed.
The doudou as fashion accessory - I first spotted Bear at Sonia Rykiel Saint-Germain it was a coup de foudre/instant love.
Once I owned another Sonia doudou. In the '80's SR made fab faux furs. Matching jaguar doudous were slung round the neck. I bought a black one and used to perch it on my suitcase at customs - I would sail through with ease. French doudous are part of my history.
Can a doudou have his own doudou? This question keeps me up at night...
Friday, April 9, 2010
This morning I got an email from Cindy:Bonjour Carol - What does "miam-miam" mean?
This is a complex question that has been keeping me up nights...
The basic translation of miam-miam is your everyday Yum Yum or nom nom nom, it's used more extensively in France than we would expect...
And while it's also true "miam-miam" is basically a kid's word (like yum yum),in Paris you'll hear "miam miams" coming out of the most sophisticated mouths. It's actually kind of shocking...
If you go into Hugo & Victor, you'll hear a lot of "miam miams" over these very high-end marshmallows.
Galeries Lafayette Gourmand is Miams HQ (headquarters if you're not British). They have this giant poster plastered over the entrance. And please note the words MIAM MIAM are spelled out in red and hit you immediately upon entering. You would never in a million years find Dean & Deluca plastering YUM YUM on any of their posters...if they had a poster, which they do not...sniff
Another one of those French cultural nuances that takes a bit of getting used to - this woman is having a severe attack of the Miams and is trying to merge with the window - something the French call, "le leche vitrine" meaning to lick the windows!
Laduree, is another Miams HQ. This customer is on her cell desperately calling for help on what to buy and who can blame her? The choices are infinite...
At macaron class at the Paris Ritz the sound of miam-miams was deafening, and this was The Paris Ritz! 
One Parisien phenomenon that makes me go miam are these "fake" madeleines inside every vending machine in every Metro station. They have to be fake don't they? Can a madeleine be mass produced? It goes against all belief. And yet I have lost more $$$ than I like to think, trying to grab a bag. These vending machines are a total scam...
For something to be miamable, it does not have to be food - no way. Like these adorable Jaime Mascaro ballerines...
This mec/guy at ART-PARIS, was drooling so much over his own white Pentex I took a picture...
If you know this miamy mec, please contact him so he can sue me...ahem Have his lawyer call my lawyer etc.
I regularly send pictures of NYC to French Girl to miam-miam over...
French Girl has yet to send me a single miamable picture of Paris, but then I have plenty of my own to drool over.I went into The iPod building the other night...
Which should be re-named The iPad building - I wish I had brought an umbrella for all the miaming going on...
Both Bear and I miam-miam over chocolat chaud. Good thing we have the same taste...
So what makes you go miam-miam?
Which should be re-named The iPad building - I wish I had brought an umbrella for all the miaming going on...
Both Bear and I miam-miam over chocolat chaud. Good thing we have the same taste...
So what makes you go miam-miam?Which by the way is pronouced something like yam-yam...
*Forget pronouncing the 2nd M
Friday, March 19, 2010
7 pm, 18 mars, jeudiI am at the right place and the right time for my
Bear comes along to observe and is instantly in love with the Ecole Ritz chef bears...
Our aprons, towels, recipes elegantly await us...
Everything is detailed and thought out to make our adventure into macaron land easy and efficient. FYI: the class cost 70 euros for 2 hrs - really 3 hrs. The recipe (in Fr and English) is proprietary so I cannot share it.
The link above will give you the class dates.
Bear watches closely, not missing a trick. There are many, many tricks to observe...
Our professor, maitre and guru is Chef Didier Steudler.
Chef Steudler could not be more charming, informative and generous with his knowledge and experience of the Ritz techniques plus the tricks of other well known macarons makers!
Chef Samantha assists and aids me translating all the macaron secrets and tips...
No detail in macaron-making is left to chance. We are a just 8 students and all questions are answered.
Chef mixes the "Italian" style meringue to the correct consistency...
Filling the pastry tube is demonstrated with all potential pitfalls eliminated. 
The correct way to hold the bag is at 35 degrees. The shells are created in 3 steps...
Every step is hands-on and we get a chance to try out each step.
Our efforts must wait 30 minutes before entering the oven. *Note the metal clips to hold the pastry paper in place so cookies never move or slide about...
We head downstairs into the chocolate kitchen to see the upcoming Easter eggs in production. Naturallement there is a giant chocolate bear (22 kilos!)
Back upstairs we touch the "skin" of the shells lightly. They are ready for the oven. Chef tells us many macaron secrets of Laduree and Pierre Herme. I am taking notes furiously.
Voila! Into the four/oven go our efforts.
After just 8 minutes Chef Steudler opens the door to let in a bit of air. And then again after 12 minutes - special tricks of the macaron trade!
Meanwhile the caramel garniture/filling is cooking away. Did I mention we are making macaron caramel au beurre sale/salted butter caramel macarons?
The perfect macaron filling-all of the techniques and methods are geared for the home cook at Ecole Ritz Escoffier.
To add the caramel filling to the baked shells, the pastry bag is held straight up.
Our chance to wreck havoc on the macarons-to-be.The class is a ball. Everyone is very friendly and there is a lot of giggling, though not much tasting until the end...ahem
Voila! Perfect little caramel macarons ready to pop into the boxes - our reward for working so hard. Ha! This class was too much fun.
We each get a gorgeous certificate to hang on the wall at home as a reminder to practice, practice, practice our macarons.
Chef Steudler happily poses with fellow classmate, Dan.
C'est mignon non?
Ahhhh, the boxes wait to be filled with our macarons...
And Bear awaits patiently for his box...
Voila! Perfect little caramel macarons ready to pop into the boxes - our reward for working so hard. Ha! This class was too much fun.
We each get a gorgeous certificate to hang on the wall at home as a reminder to practice, practice, practice our macarons.
Chef Steudler happily poses with fellow classmate, Dan.C'est mignon non?
Ahhhh, the boxes wait to be filled with our macarons...
And Bear awaits patiently for his box...I can highly reccommend the Ecole Ritz Escoffier class to all obsessed with Parisien macarons. You will be delighted I promise.
BONJOUR ECOLE RITZ ESCOFFIER MACARONS!
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