Pierre Herme & Hot Live Girls
Paris-based French pastry chef Pierre Herme revolutionized the industry by creating defiantly modern signature seasonal sweets - and presenting them at edible fashion shows.
This year he previewed his work to the press not in the context of couture clothing - but quite the opposite. This line - dubbed Desirs - Desires - was unveiled at Crazy Horse - the club internationally renowned for the Art of the Nude.
That's right - I said nude.
I tragically did not witness the - er - unveiling. It was shortly after we won our second Michelin star at Les Ambassadeurs at the Crillon and I could not in good conscience tell my chef that I needed to abandon our kitchen to go to a nude club to taste pastries.
I said pastries - not pasties.
But I have had more than my fair share of Pierre Herme creations since then - from the limited edition collection as well as the classics. Pictured above are what might be the two most lasciviously viewed ice cream sandwiches in the food blog world. They first made their debut on chez pim. I believe they are only rivaled by Clement's masterful patisserie riffs. What you see here are mine and Pim's Pierre Herme Miss Gla'Gla's - macaron ice cream sandwiches - moments before they met their destinies. They were had after our wondrous lunch at L'Astrance with Clotilde.
The chef/owner of L'Astrance - Pascal Barbot - is a gastronomic artist, gentleman, and scholar. I've had the great honour and pleasure of accompanying him on his weekly pre-dawn visit to Rungis - just hours after closing the night before. He's also quietly experimenting with a molecular gastronomy scientist I know who works with Herve This.
The desserts were a generous and beautiful procession of sorbets, emulsions, flawless fresh fruit, buttery herbal madeleines, and ethereal custards in egg shells - yes, more egg shells! They were an absolutely perfect finale to a luxurious lunch.
But I have a weakness - I consider it almost a personal failing - in that I have a strong need for chocolate and/or ice cream for dessert. Sorry my pastry chef friends - I'm one of those clients.
Clotilde had to leave us after lunch - but I told Pim I knew just the perfect thing to satisfy our unsatiated dessert needs - but that it'd be a secret. On that unseasonably warm afternoon, we walked purposefully under the Eiffel Tower, through the Champ de Mars, hopped on the number 87 bus - in which we were promptly shushed by a 7th arrondissement matriarch because of our audibly feverish anticipation.
Pim - while she'd never been on a Paris bus - knows the city's culinary hot-spots well-enough that she sensed our destination before we disembarked - Pierre Herme on rue Bonaparte. And there - waiting within - was our journey's prize - Miss Gla'Gla.
The legendary line moved quickly - I chose the chocolate and Pim selected the Ispahan. We slipped out, crossed the street, and wordlessly - profanely - devoured our treasures on the steps of St. Sulpice.
The chocolate was richly aromatic - macarons delicately crisp yet firm - embracing ice cream deep in flavour, studded with crunchy cacao nibs, and enlivened with a suggestion of a turn of pepper and the fleeting finish of fleur de sel.
Pim and I swapped briefly - her Ispahan revealing a whole other world of sensations in an exhilarating rush - the rose fragrance intoxicating, the raspberry sorbet electrifying, and the lychee sorbet elusively seductive.
Pierre Herme currently has no website. He has two boutiques in Paris currently closed for summer vacation. They re-open on August 24th - at 10AM. Miss Gla'Gla's will be available until sometime in mid-September - depending on weather and availability. Ice cream by the liter is sold year-round - flavours vary according to availability - at 24E per liter. A Pierre Herme isothermic bag - resembling his coveted teardrop-perforated shopping bags - is available for 8E - it holds two precious liters.
Miss Gla'Gla Spring/Summer 2005 Collection
- Montebello: pistachio ice cream, strawberry sorbet, macaron sandwich
- Eden: peach sorbet, saffron and apricot ice cream, macaron sandwich
Miss Gla'Gla Classic Collection
- Celeste: passion-fruit ice cream, strawberry sorbet, rhubarb/strawberry compote, macaron sandwich
- Satine: fromage blanc sorbet, orange coulis, passion-fruit sorbet, passion-fruit macaron sandwich
- Ispahan: lychee/rose sorbet, raspberry sorbet, rose macaron sandwich
- Chocolat/Chocolate: single origin Madagascar chocolate sorbet, cacao nib nougatine, fleur de sel and pepper, chocolate macaron sandwich
- Caramel au Beurre Sale/Salted Butter Caramel: salted caramel/caramel crunch ice cream, sable sandwich
All for a mere 5.50E each.
Pierre Herme
72 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
01 43 54 47 77
185 rue de Vaugirard
75015 Paris
01 47 83 89 96
This is the third in a summer series on ice cream in Paris.
Each post is dedicated to a charity that works in the fight against worldwide hunger. Please donate now to Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders. Thank you.
i had to laugh at tragically in "I tragically did not witness the - er - unveiling" :-)
the marriage of sex and food is really timeless, ask george costanza http://www.tv.com/seinfeld/the-blood/episode/2400/summary.html
i dont get a good sense of size from the picture but your description was quite tantalizing
Posted by: daniel | 10 August 2005 at 15:16
Louisa, between your posts and George Bush, I have a desperate urge to move to Paris.
Hopefully with the recent introduction of a Johnson & Wales in the neighboring city of Charlotte, I'll be able to partake in some measure of your gastronomic adventures without transplanting myself.
Posted by: Michael | 10 August 2005 at 17:53
Daniel - OK - this is really weird - I remembered George when thinking about the chocolate Miss Gla'Gla - not about sex, food, and television ; - but that episode about velvet! After I tasted Pim's Ispahan Miss Gla'Gla - and then tasted my chocolate again - I felt "ensconced" in chocolate velvet! How weird is that? Our cultural references betray us. ;)
The Miss Gla'Gla's are about an average handlength. I cannot wait until they re-open!
Michael - Dubya sometimes has me desperate to stay in Paris. ;) And yes, have a great time at Johnny Wales!
Posted by: Louisa | 11 August 2005 at 07:24
You two ate that sinfully sumptious ice cream on the steps of a church? How appropriate it is that the Marquis de Sade was baptized there, don't you think? (At least, that's what I found on a Web site when I googled "St. Sulpice Paris.")
Posted by: Lynette Hanson | 11 August 2005 at 09:03
From my point of view, caramel au beurre salé in a chocolate macaron sandwich would be the best of all possible worlds. I might have to get one chocolate and one caramel Miss Gla Gla (and what's that all about? Miss Gla Gla? Was that Pierre's favorite showgirl at the Crazy Horse?) and take alternating bites. Pray for me that they continue to be available until September.
If you want company Louisa, I'm there for you, no matter how many times you need it.
Posted by: Shelli | 11 August 2005 at 18:14
Lynette - Marquis de Sade - terribly appropriate! And actually right after we finished our Miss Gla'Gla's we went inside to look for DaVinci Code clues. ;)
Shelli - caramel and chocolate would do it for me too. He has this ice cream by the pint called Mahogany that I've been wishing he would sandwich - it's caramel au buerre sale,swirled with mango and lychee sorbet. And yes, I've always thought Miss Gla'Gla was a rather - um - fabulous name. I'm guessing it's from some kind uninhibited exclamation. ;)
Posted by: Louisa | 12 August 2005 at 05:54
yumm... pistachio ice cream is something i'd go crazy for!
Posted by: Lil | 12 August 2005 at 06:05
I figured Miss Gla Gla was a dancer inspired name coming from the shortening of glacée.
Posted by: Michael | 12 August 2005 at 12:01
Lil - I was just looking at the most beautiful photo of pistachio gelato on my friend David Leite's site!
http://www.leitesculinaria.com/
Michael - perhaps. ;) The funny thing is that I was in Vegas the first summer the Miss Gla'Gla was introduced - in 2003. And yes, I'm guessing that the name references "glace" - French for ice cream - though it would be fun to see a pastry line with names based on stripper stage names...
Posted by: Louisa | 13 August 2005 at 07:37
Nice stuff , Louisa!
Do they put them together ala minute or in advance?
Beautiful flavours described, thanks!
Posted by: ted niceley | 13 August 2005 at 08:37
Ted - they do them in advance. They should be firmly frozen - which they need to be for the delicate macaron pastry to hold the ice cream/sorbet. But I've heard from one friend who twice had them when they were too soft - and they fell apart in their hands while eating them. That's too soft - and I'm guessing a result of high summer demand - but doesn't seem to happen often - and probably not by the time they re-open! I can't wait!
Posted by: Louisa | 14 August 2005 at 07:15
Lovely post again Louisa. I crave the Eden. Can you think of a combination that would use anise flavour?
Posted by: Gail | 14 August 2005 at 15:07
Beautiful - must find a way to import Pierre Herme here :)
Posted by: Jeannie | 15 August 2005 at 08:46
thanks louisa! checking it out :)
Posted by: Lil | 15 August 2005 at 09:20
This just in, via Food Arts magazine and Dorie Greenspan.
(Miss) Gla Gla is apparently French childrens slang for freezing cold.
These flavor combos, especially the Eden, blow my mind!
Sure wish he (and she) could get a book out with some of these in there.
Posted by: ted niceley | 15 August 2005 at 22:31
Gail - with anise - just a few ideas off the top of my head - deepen the sweetness with a really dark caramel - but then brighten it with an equally complex partner to anise - perhaps lemongrass. And maybe some textural interest with crushed caramelised almonds. Please let me know what you make!
Jeannie - absolutely! Can you imagine if you could find Miss Gla'Gla's boxed at the supermarket? Just dreaming...;)
Ted - thanks for the news! Dorie writing about Pierre Herme's Miss Gla'Gla's in Food Arts? That's hot. ;)
Posted by: Louisa | 16 August 2005 at 07:56
Louisa -
Argggh now you got me dreaming about having Miss Gla'Gla's in the supermarkets ;)
Maybe I can try convincing the gourmet stores somehow *schemes*
Posted by: Jeannie | 16 August 2005 at 08:46
Louisa,
She was a participant in the World of Flavors Baking & Pastry confab at Greystone/CIA campus.
Your man Oriol Balaguer was there too.
Posted by: ted niceley | 16 August 2005 at 08:49
What a wonderful post! I smiled, I laughed, I learned all kinds of interesting things, I drooled all over the keyboard--what more could a girl ask for?
Posted by: farmgirl | 17 August 2005 at 13:07
Jeannie - I'm dreaming of Miss Gla'Gla's in the grocery store! He re-opens next week!
Ted - LOL! My man OB?? I just saw your post on the conference on eGullet - I want more!
farmgirl - one thing you will appreciate too - even though dogs are not allowed in Pierre Herme - my dog Karli's often quietly accompanied there in line. Dogs and Pierre Herme - that's a great day!
Posted by: Louisa | 19 August 2005 at 06:32
That's present tense about Karli--are you two together again in Paris?
Posted by: Lynette Hanson | 19 August 2005 at 08:43
Lynette - Karli is not yet with me in Paris again - but soon! And we will be visiting all of her favourite gastronomic hotspots!
Posted by: Louisa | 22 August 2005 at 06:39
Dogs and Pierre Herme do sound like a winning combination! That reminds me of when I was a kid and we had a huge, friendly airdale. On the weekends we would go for family hikes and then to the ice cream parlor. The people working behind the counter always just happened to have several scoops of ice cream that had "fallen on the floor" that they gave to our dog. What? Six kids dropped their cones and then the employees picked them up and saved them? A dog smile can get you just about anything! : )
Posted by: farmgirl | 25 August 2005 at 16:16
farmgirl - yes, dog smiles are the best! Karli has had an amazing array of treats offered to her - among her favourites are the punitions at Poilane. They have a free sample basket of these butter cookies sitting on the counter. When they see her waiting for me outside - guarding the front door from pigeons - they take the basket away from reaching customers - to ply her with cookies! And then they bag up a big sack of the imperfect ones - which we know taste just as good - just for her. Too cute!
Posted by: Louisa | 27 August 2005 at 07:04
Me and my gourmet chérie agree in disgust: Miss Glagla Ispahan wa horribly sweet! 99% sugar and 1% Ispahan. I shall stick to the real Ispahan: my favorite cake on Earth. To like that Glagla one must have the taste of a toddler. But I guess most pastry cooks have such a infantile taste. And also a great creative taste that brings us fantastic cakes that make us very happy. But sometimes the childish sugary devil in them comes out...and I throw up!
Posted by: Un gourmet | 12 October 2005 at 18:10