Friday With The Baker

I've mentioned in prior posts going to events organized as part of the (www.meetingthefrench.com) french artisan program. So far, I've just talked about cheese guys, coffee roasters, and now bread makers. There are other choices -- we just haven't been to them yet.

Anyway, Friday we got to learn about what goes on in a combination boulangerie/patisserie. Most shops are either one of the other, but this one has been particularly successful and, starting with the boulangerie they also bought a patisserie next door. The boulangerie sells bread products, the patisserie sells sweets (chocolates, caramels, cakes, ice cream).

The important things to note about this particular shop are: 1. They make everything themselves including the sweets; 2. A few years ago they were judged as making the best baguette in Paris.
The baker/owner was great (the guy in the crew cut with the white smock on). In one of the photos you can see him explaining the differences in types of baguettes. For making the best one in Paris your store gets to supply the President's residence with them for the year (I assume that you get paid!). I wonder if anyone knows if the White House has any similar artisan programs???
The close up picture is of a tray of gold dusted chocolates. We went into the chocolate prep area as well as the freezer. Along with making the chocolates they make the ingredients that go in -- so, when you bite into an 'orange chocolate' or a 'banana and caramel chocolate' they built it up from scratch. It was interesting to see the slabs (about 12" square) of orange jelly they'd made.
The ice creams weren't photogenic so I don't have any pictures of them.
I wanted to point out especially the picture of the 'train'. Throughout Paris we've been seeing desserts (maybe it's just that I notice them more?) Quite a few are very intricate and it always had me wondering where they came from? Was there a Costco factory outside the city that made all of these cakes and pastries? I'll try to put up a few more photos of various other ones over time so you can see what I mean about how involved they look)? It turns out they are made by hand. So, that train is made by hand. It's about 2 feet long, the round things are individual 'puff pastries', etc. For a special occasion!