The day I went to La Maison du Chocolat‘s factory in Nanterre, I thought I was Charlie from Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The obvious differences were that I am an adult woman and I will not get a lifetime supply of chocolate (sadly). I would be, however, be bestowed by the presence of La Maison du Chocolat’s Creative Director, Gilles Marchal for pretty much the entire day.
Think of it as a fashion equivalent of meeting Chanel’s current head designer/creative director, Karl Lagerfield. Both design their products for their luxury brand, collaborate with the heads of their individual departments (in fashion: accessories, clothes, shoes, etc., collaborate to carry out the company’s vision), and they do create seasonal lines.
Pristine factory
Getting up bright and early, I waited at my hotel lobby for Gilles, surfing the web getting posted with what’s going on beyond Paris with my iPhone. When it’s about 6:30, a Frenchman dressed in a cropped trench coat, white button down, and jeans, walked in to speak to the concierge looking for me. I got up and we made our formal introductions. He struck me as a calm, very friendly and laid back person.
Getting into his car, starting our car ride out to LMDC’s factory in Nanterre, driving through the then-quiet streets of Paris (a rare sight to see) passing through the Manhattan-looking La Défense and soon enough, we’re right in front of the factory.
Last week, La Maison du Chocolat kindly invited me to their chocolate tasting session called Paracours Initiatique: Tamanaco. It’s a nice, intimate setting in the back of their Upper East Side boutique’s café; adorned in handsome warm wood and a marble topped bar off to the right.
Also, the adorable jungle-themed Easter decorations add a bit of playful flair to the grown-up setting. It’s edible, by the way. It’s made of molded, colored white chocolate with milks and dark chocolates. Continue reading “La Maison du Chocolat’s Chocolate Tasting” »
Do you love cheese and chocolate like I do? Artisanal Premium Cheese Center will be giving a class called “Decadent Chocolate and Sinful Cheese” with Pastry Chef Colleen Riley on Saturday, February 13th at 3 PM to 5 PM. Yes, it’s a dreamy class filled with beautifully crafted, aged cheese, premium chocolates, and wine. [...]
The past weekend I baked my birthday cake early. I don’t mean a few days early, I meant a week early. Why? you ask. Well, this weekend I’m pretty busy with going to the Cook.Eat.Live food event, meeting up with a bunch of friends for dinner, and trying to fit in some studying time for the GREs in between (I’m planning to go back to grad school.) I thought I might as well bake it early and eat my way through with the help of my parents and Helen.
Broken up chocolate & baked cake
Once again, the good people of Scharffen Berger came to my aid, providing me the milk chocolate for this cake recipe. The recipe, white velvet cake with milk chocolate ganache is also from Scharffen Berger’s The Essence of Chocolate. Frankly, after trying multiple recipes from their book this is a great book for baking anything chocolate-related. Six recipes attempted and all were successes. I highly recommend.
To explain what’s in the white velvet cake, it’s basically a pale yellow/white cake with a very fine texture due to the use of cake flour. It’s a very simple cake that my mom wondered why I want to do such a thing on my 24th birthday? Frankly, I don’t want to deal with a fussy recipe and don’t want to put in too much time with my birthday cake. I’m aiming for simplicity this year.
Cake slice
Anyway, the cake was good as it sounded. A delicate crumb cake, that has a hint of butter, barely sweet, sandwiched and coated with milk chocolate ganache. What’s so great about Scharffen Berger’s milk chocolate is the caramelized milk flavor that’s very swoonworthy. (Heck, when I was decorating the cake. I was scraping a third of my ganache into a pastry bag, my mom walked over to the counter where I placed the nearly empty bowl, picked up the spatula, and licked it. She told me the ganache was delicious and wanted more! Alas, I can’t spare any.) Continue reading “My Birthday Cake – White Velvet Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache” »
I read about a week ago from Grub Street about Payard re-opening and ogled at their dessert menu. I am a sucker for desserts and Payard’s is no exception. I was shocked when they did have to close their Lexington Avenue restaurant/café the past June or so and it’s about time for us Payard fans to rejoice and have his desserts and chocolates.
On the day of opening (yesterday, November 4th), I went there with Helen after work. I was curious and dying to have a good cup of hot chocolate since it was cold and I craved for a chocolate-y indulgence. When we entered Maboussin jewelry store on Madison Avenue, we were greeted both by the doorman and a woman who stayed in the back, I requested to go upstairs to the Chocolate Bar and she guided us to the posh and plush elevator that was lined in three sides, a beige quilted wall (maybe leather? I’m too scared to mar the surface) and on the side was a dark wooden table filled with a tray of delicate perfumes, the jewelry store’s hardcover book and a mirror that’s right above it.
Once we exited the elevator, we’re greeted by a woman who works for the Chocolate Bar and I’ve asked about their verrines and she took us over to the display case.
After I’m done with my photo-taking, I’ve asked if we could have a verrine. They would like to but they can’t. The reason why is because they’re still waiting for the permit to sell their goods. So, as a way to make up for our time they comped us with a (generous) sampling of white hot chocolate with red berries and hibiscus flowers. Though I’m not a big fan of white chocolate (I personally just use it for cake or pastry decorations rather than ingesting it), this isn’t bad. As one might expect, white chocolate is sweet but the tart, luscious red berries and hibiscus flower tones down the sweetness a bit. This is something Helen enjoyed more than I have since it’s sweeter than I’d personally like.
Several weeks ago, Norman Love Confections graciously sent me a sampler box of their upcoming limited holiday edition. Sure, it seems early to shop for Christmas but time is passing a lot sooner than I’d like these days. The next thing I know, I have to rush to the stores and start shopping for [...]
In La Maison du Chocolat! You know, the French chocolate shop that I absolutely love? (They have the most consistently delicious French macarons and they have divine chocolates)
They told me that in they’re giving away free samples of their exclusive ganaches in their Rockefeller Center shop to partake in Fashion’s Night Out on Thursday, [...]
It’s been a loong time since I’ve seen any of my friends because of my mom’s hospitalization a few weeks earlier and prepping for my upcoming vacation. Julie commented on my blog recently wanted to see me before I’m leaving NYC, I made time last Friday to have dinner with her at 6:30. Almost by default, I’ve brought Helen along because she’s out from work early and can accompany for pre-dinner. (What I mean by “pre-dinner” is consuming food right before dinner just to kill time.)
It was a warm (finally) evening, Helen and I wanted ice cream. We thought of getting coffee but creamy, frozen dairy trumps caffeine during the later hours of the day. Anyway, we took the subway down to Momofuku Milk Bar & Bakery. Yes, I know most of your are thinking this place is overrated but I like this place (implicitly, the Momofuku empire) a lot.
Momofuku Milk Bar & Bakery’s Menus
When we arrived there, I looked up at the menu boards and spotted the “Coming Soon” section, indicating the possible existence of Arnold Palmer Tea Cake and Cookie Cookie Dough. My eyes were wide open and my mind screamed, “I WANT.” But going back to earth, I’ve made up my mind about getting the Bavarian cream soft serve with banana crumble topping and Helen wanted the chocolate donut soft serve. Continue reading “Pre-Dinner at Momofuku Milk Bar & Ssäm Bar, Dinner at Baoguette Cafe, and Dessert Truck” »
[I'm interrupting the dinner portion of my belated birthday post. Hopefully, it'll be up early next week.]
The invite…
Early last week I’ve received an invitation from La Maison du Chocolat. I thought “ZOMG!” If you haven’t known this by now, I love everything from LMDC, especially their chocolates, so it’s a reflex for me to RSVP. But I have to wonder, isn’t this considered bad timing to open a new luxurious boutique in this awful state of our economy? I wouldn’t know but I can’t say “no” a party.
