I spent the day criss-crossing the city - scouting locations for Tony - or rather Anthony Bourdain's Top Secret Paris Project. Along the way I just had to stop into Pierre Herme - his new buches de Noel just hit the stores yesterday - buches de Noel just being the French name for those familiar Christmas log cakes. He has six out this season - but only four were in the store. They expect to get the other two maybe today - but they didn't know yet.
The four I saw were the Buche Envie - dacquoise - a crispy-crusted meringue; with crushed, grilled almonds, a compote of cassis - those pleasantly slightly bitter round red berries; vanilla cream delicately perfumed with violet - that's purple prose translated from the catalogue; decorated with "fruit rouges" - literally red fruit - which is a common general term used for strawberries, raspberries, cassis, etc.; and he had some candied violets sprinkled across too.
He also has a Buche Ispahan - based on one of his most famous pastries - the Ispahan. It's a fancy cookie sandwich - two big pink rose-flavoured macarons - macarons are big round delicate cookies that have the texture of a very good underdone brownie; those sandwich a ring of raspberries around edge; with a hidden heart of rose cream - studded with morsels of the lychees - the French love lychee and love pairing it with rose; and it's decorated with a single perfect red rose petal - with a faux dew drop - made with a dot of clear glucose. The Ispahan buche has all of the above elements - but in the shape of a buche/log. Pierre Herme will also have an Ispahan galette des roi for the first time too this season - available starting January 2nd. I'll explain more on the whole galettes des rois deal later - just know that it's a pastry had the first Sunday in January - puff pastry usually filled with almond cream AND a hidden prize - my kind of food.
They also had the Buche Plenitude - based on one of my favourites of his works - because it's so beautifully chocolate. Dark chocolate macaron; crushed fleur de sel chocolate - fleur de sel being the most prized type of French salt for its delicate crystals; bitter chocolate mousse; chocolate ganache - think thick chocolate frosting; and crisp caramel bits. I thought this one was the most stunning - of the four so far - decorated like the Plenitude - with irregular, wafer-thin shards of dark chocolate - with the occasional puncuation of a white chocolate shard. When he first released the Plenitude - in Winter 2002 - I happened to be walking through the Champ de Mars - the big park in front of the Eiffel Tower - and noticed a frozen over pond - that had just started to crackle - and I thought this must have been his inspiration. It really captures that pristine random natural beauty.
The last one in today - the Buche Aztec. It's a muesli butter crust; with a gelee of oranges and balsamic vinegar; flourless chocolate cake; and chocolate mousse studded with crushed fleur de sel chocolate. Don't get all freaked out by the balsamic vinegar - it's very reduced and adds a subtle but complex sweet-tart note.
All of the buches are available in 3/4 person size - for 30 euros; and 6/8 for 52E.
Before I left I got one of each of his infamous small macarons - 10 total for about 13 euros - they're 68E/kilo - a bit of a heart-attack but really a small price to pay for pure pleasure.
Afterwards, I trekked down to old Chinatown - in the 13th - which by the way they curiously call Chinatown and not Ville de Chine or something else French. At Tang Freres - the biggest grocery store down there - the Cantonese-speaking cashier asked me about my Pierre Herme shopping bag. They are some of the most beautiful shopping bags in the world - thick paper patterned with teardrop cutouts and heavy corded handles. She'd never heard of the place.
On my way home to the 7th - I had people gawking at my Tang Freres shopping bags - bright yellow plastic emblazoned with red Chinese characters. And geez - I only had two. I hear from so many French friends how they've heard of the place = but never venture down there - and I guess this was further proof.
I promise to post pics ASAP.
Pierre Herme
72, rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
01 43 54 47 77
185, rue Vaugirard
75015 Paris
01 47 83 89 96
Tang Freres
48, ave Ivry
75013
01 45 70 80 00
www.tang-freres.fr
