Detours. A French expat’s insider's guide to exclusive food, chocolate and travel experiences in Sydney, Australia.

DIY Mother's Day cake from Kayser Paris

As some of you may know, Mother's Day is celebrated a bit later in France (last weekend of May) than it is in Australia. Being in France for a couple of weeks, I had the pleasure of celebrating Mother's Day with my mother and 98yo grandmother - we had a great time together, with a really nice Sunday lunch followed by an afternoon of watching the French Tennis Open on TV. Bliss...

One of the highlights of the day was the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Mother's Day cake I bought at Eric Kayser, one of the most respected bakers and pastry chefs in Paris. The concept is pretty cool: you buy the cake's components in a kit (shortbread base, strawberries, whipped cream, macaron, blackberries and redcurrant), bring them home and gather the kids in your family (errr, in our case it was me) so they can bring the cake to life in 5 easy steps. Et voila! 

www.maison-kayser.com/en/

There are 15 Eric Kayser bakeries in Paris, including on 14 rue Monge, Paris 5th near the Latin Quarter:

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Top-10 millefeuilles in Paris

One of the things you ABSOLUTELY need to do when in Paris is eating some of the traditional "patisseries" the French capital is famous for, from chocolate eclair and 'religieuse' to macaron and Paris-Brest. And millefeuille, of course. Failing to do so is like coming to Sydney and missing the Opera House, or going to New York and not spending one dollar splurging on shoes and handbags. Wrong on so many levels!

Millefeuille - aka 'vanilla slice' for my Australian friends - is one of my all-time favourite pastries. So delicious, with its thin layers of puff pastry and layers of creme patissiere... Can be a bit messy to eat, but it's for a good cause! To help you eat your way around the plethora of really good pastry shops in Paris, here's my own Top-10 for millefeuilles. Enjoy!

1. La Patisserie des Reves: anything in Philippe Conticini's new pastry shop is to die for, but his millefeuille is definitely one of the best-sellers (93 rue du Bac, Paris 7th, www.lapatisseriedesreves.com)

2. Ladurée: need I say more?? (16 rue Royale, Paris 8th, www.laduree.com)

3. Stéphane Vandermeersch: a fantastic local bakery / pastry store in east Paris (278 avenue Daumesnil, Paris 12th)

4. Gérard Mulot: one of the pastry superstars on the Left Bank, amazing millefeuille with berries (76 rue de Seine, Paris 6th, www.gerard-mulot.com)

5. La Grande Epicerie de Paris: because a trip there is a must-do anyway. Think Alice in Wonderland for foodies (38 rue de Sevres, Paris 7th, www.lagrandeepicerie.fr)

La Patisserie des Reves

Pain d'epices (honey spice loaf) fresh out of the oven

Looks like I'm in baking mode today! Got this "pain d'epices" (honey spice loaf) out of the oven earlier this morning, and it smells amazing in the house...

The recipe I've used is from one of my favourite food bloggers /cookbook-authors, Clotilde Dusoulier from ChocolateAndZucchini.com fame. Formerly based in San Francisco, Clotilde has been living in Paris for the past 5 years or so, blogging and cooking up a storm. 

I really love her creative, simple-to-execute recipes. They just "scream" Paris to me, so I quite often turn to her cookbooks when I feel like cooking something from home. The icing on the cake? Her blog and cookbooks are available in both English and French. If you love cooking, I highly recommend you have a look!

Drinking in Paris: Plaza Colada Sushi anyone?

Welcome to the Plaza Athenee, one of Paris' most luxurious palace hotels. You remember Carrie Bradshaw's uber-chic Parisian pied-à-terre in the final episodes of Sex and the City? That's right, shot at the Plaza.

If you're in Paris for a couple of days, please do yourself a favour and book a table at the exclusive Bar du Plaza for a drink. Clearly, you're not in for a cheap ride but this is one of these indulgent experiences you won't forget. Swanky decor created by hot Parisian designer Patrick Jouin (one of Philippe Starck's former proteges), beautiful people and fantastic cocktails created by award-winning resident mixologist Thierry Hernandez.

Hernandez is one of the most creative bartenders ever, one who constantly pushes the boundaries on what you could do with cocktails - think Ferran Adria but for cocktails. One of his latest creations is the 'Plaza Colada Sushi'. Mais qu'est-ce que c'est, you might ask? 

Basically, the Plaza Colada Sushi is a cocktail you can eat, made up of six melt-in-the-mouth marshmallows infused with rum, pineapple juice and coconut milk topped by several delicate, wafer-thin slices of pineapple. Using chopsticks, you dip the “sushi” in a Pina Colada syrup, then into crisp, finely-powdered coconut, and then bon appetit! Definitely worth a try!

So tell me dear reader, what else exciting is happening cocktail-wise in your part of town?

Plaza Athenee Paris:

25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris

www.plaza-athenee-paris.com

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Loving David Lebovitz' 'The Great Book of Chocolate'

David Lebovitz is one of my all-time favourite food bloggers and cookbook authors. A former pastry chef from the famous Chez Panisse in San Francisco, David is now based in Paris and spends his time creating delicious recipes, blogging (do read his blog, David is as talented as a pastry chef as he is funny as a writer), hosting culinary tours and scouring the city in search of the ultimate chocolate treat.

As I was doing some research for my own Deluxe Chocolate Tours here in Sydney, I came across his book "The Great Book of Chocolate" and I'm absolutely loving it, it's a fantastic read!! Lots of engaging stories and anecdotes about chocolate, interesting food for thought on the latest chocolate trends including organic and Fair Trade chocolate, and a carefully curated selection of recipes you're going to love. 

So to all the chocoholics out there, what are your favourite (cook)books about chocolate?!

Top-10 bakeries for pains au chocolat in Paris

Any foodie heading to Paris soon? I am, woo hoo!! I'm currently doing some research for Mytinerary's Ultimate Paris Gourmet Experience (Sept 20-27 2010, more info soon) and I came across this list of the Top-10 Parisian bakeries for pains au chocolat. The list was voted by famous pastry chefs and the influential food critics at 'Le Figaro' national newspaper.

One of my favourite things to do whenever I go back home is to start the day sitting in a nice cafe, sipping at an espresso, reading the newspaper and eating a delicious pain au chocolat fresh out of the oven. Enjoy!

1. Boulangerie Julien (Paris 1 - NB: for those not familiar with Paris, the city has 20 districts called "arrondissements", numbered 1 to 20, see Google map below for location of each bakery).
2. Boulangerie Secco (Paris 7)
3. Blé Sucré (Paris 12)
4. Boulangerie Laurent Duchêne (Paris 13)
5. Pierre Hermé Patisserie (Paris 6) - yes, the same place where you can get the world-famous macarons!
6. Dalloyau (Paris 8)
7. Boulangerie Eric Kayser (Paris 5)
8. Fauchon (Paris 8). They have the most amazing chocolate eclairs as well.
9. Boulangerie Stohrer (Paris 2)
10. Boulangerie Malineau (Paris 4)

Obviously, there are many more great bakeries in Paris, but this is a good start! So tell me dear reader, are you more "team croissant" or "team pain au chocolat"??

View Top-10 bakeries for pains au chocolat in Paris in a larger map

Pierre Hermé launches National Macaron Day on March 20

Now that's a sweet idea! Pastry chef extraordinaire Pierre Hermé has declared Saturday 20th March 2010 to be France's inaugural National Macaron Day. To celebrate, he's launching a limited-edition box of 24 macarons available on the day across his 6 Parisian stores. 

You'll be able to pick and choose from brand new flavours and old-time favourites. My top 5 flavours? Salted caramel; milk chocolate & Earl Grey tea; Ispahan (rose, lychee & raspberry); Magnifique (strawberry & wasabi) and White Truffle with Roasted Hazelnut. Salivating at the mere thought of it...

The National Macaron Day will help raise funds for two medical research NGOs dear to Hermé's heart, with coin donations encouraged in every store. And you're in for an extra treat: to thank people for their patronage and donations, Pierre Hermé has created a special 'National Macaron Day' card that entitles you to a complimentary 35-macarons box (worth 68 euros). To get the box, all you need to do is collect your card from any of the 6 stores and get it stamped at the other five stores (you'll need to purchase at least one macaron per location). You'll receive the complimentary box on your 6th and last stop - brace yourself for a Saturday night macarons orgy!!

Unfortunately, going to Paris for the day is not going to be an option for me (I'm not that extravagant), so I wish we had a National Macaron Day in Australia... Maybe worth prodding our own macaron superstar Adriano Zumbo to get his thoughts and get cracking for next year?!

So tell me dear reader, where to you go to when you happen not to live in Paris and need a macaron fix? Can't wait to know. Personally, in addition to Zumbo's, I'm quite partial to the milk chocolate & passion fruit macarons at La Renaissance French Patisserie in The Rocks, Sydney. Or do you bake your own? Any recipe, baking tip or pictures you'd like to share? Let me know and I'll publish on round-up on Saturday to celebrate in my own way!