Jean-Paul Hevin Choco Passion

Jean-Paul Hevin Choco Passion, watercolor, 9" x 11"
Darling Jill of Mad About Macarons fame took me to master chocolatier Jean-Paul Hevin's Chocolate Bar on rue St. Honore.

Only 30 desserts to choose from!
We chose the choco passion - intense dark chocolate ganache + passion fruit mousse - so divine it levitated right off the table.

It would be wise to study up ahead with this Assouline book on J-PH by Le Figaro food critic par excellance, Fancois Simon.

Utterly luscious photos + chocolate recipes in the back.

After tea and dessert you will be well- armed to face the endless chocolate displays downstairs...

Resistance will be so easy...

Chocolate can be quite the seductress you know...

Oh dear, how not to give in to temptation?

BONJOUR JEAN-PAUL HEVIN CHOCOLAT PASSION!

The Inner Life of Pastry

Bonjour Les Pates aux Choux, watercolor, 9" x 11" Who isn't captivated by the sheer beauty of French pastry? But it's what's inside that really counts. Are you persuaded by just a pretty face? Any patissiere worth his pates aux choux is very much obsessed by what's inside. Top Parisien patissiere, Carl Marletti shows a luscious cross-section of a religieuse and shares the ingredients in quite an innovative way.
Do visit.
The innards of a macaron from Patisserie des Reves' chef Pierre Conticini's cookbook, Sensations. Who knew what mysteries lurked within?A page from a guide to Pierre Herme's L'Ecole Ferrandi. Herme mentions many times that he'd like to be an architect - but he is, isn't he?A cross section of a piece of cake at Des Gateaux et du Pain.

In my mad pursuit to paint French pastry I nearly fell over in a faint when I discovered this FAB book, called I think, Encyclopedia of pastry dough - 100 kinds of pastry dough and petit gateau (旭屋出版MOOK) Essential reading for professionals and pastry artists.

If only I knew a bit more Japanese besides
'Arigato'/thank you.

Wouldn't it be lovely to know the French names of all these yummy ingredients. Any volunteer translators out there?

Second best to knowing what's inside...

Would be a proper knife to cleanly cut through the pastries. A PBer mentioned Kyocera ceramic knives are the best and I'm getting one today. It's Japanese.

Yellow Bird tells me if I had a proper knife I wouldn't make such an awful mess.
Hmmm...(makes a French shrug)
c'est la vie

BONJOUR Inner Life of Pastry!