Just over a week ago I answered the door to a friend of ours who was carrying with her a small tub containing a strange creamy coloured mixture. 'Has your Mum told you about Herman?' she asked. 'Herman? Who, or what an earth is Herman?' I thought to myself. She could see that I was clearly very puzzled, and so explained... Herman is...
This week at college we were given three new recipes: cheesecake, fudge, and savarin. I have made both cheesecakes and fudge before, but never a savarin and so I was looking forward to learning something new. We started with the cheesecake, which was not a baked one, but instead set with gelatin. The cheesecake could be made using our own ideas and flavourings,...
I am a big fan of macarons- Parisian style that is, and when I went to Paris I couldn't wait to taste a selection from some of the big boys including Laduree and Pierre Herme. Laduree, a famous patisserie in Paris, claims to be the creator of the macaron. Their pastry chefs bake these little cakes every morning, and they are then filled and...
On Tuesday I started my Level 3 Pastry Cooks and Patisseries Diploma course at Clarendon college which I have been really looking forward to. I was very lucky to get one of the 14 places that were available for this course as I do not have any previous catering qualifications so I am over the moon to get such an opportunity. The day...
Well it was my last day in Paris today (boohoo!) and it started off to be a miserable rainy day-typical! However, my aim was to visit a few final patisseries that I hadn't yet been to and I think I did rather well in finding them! I started the day by popping into my local boulangerie, as I thought I ought to give...
Today, my last day in Paris, I managed to find Un Dimanche a Paris. Again this is a patisserie that I read about on Paris Patisseries, and it is in Adam's top 12 patisseries in Paris so I was expecting something good! When I arrived, I was very pleased to see that they also had a salon de the, as it was a rainy...
Today I took a trip up to Montmartre to visit the Sacre Coeur and the famous Moulin Rouge. I wasn't expecting much, as I felt I had already seen many of the main sites, but I was pleasantly suprised. Monmartre is beautiful- narrow cobbled streets lined with cafes, restaurants and gift shops. The place was also full of street artists creating amazing works...
I had read about Jacques Genin's patisserie in an article by the Guardian and in one of my favourite blogs, Paris Patisseries as being one of the best. Genin specialises in chocolate and pastry, and the salon de the within the shop serves just that. Prices are high but this place is certainly popular as there is a queue to get a table and the shop is...
