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Zach and I in Paris May 09
On top of La Tour Montparnasse, photographed by Kate Coldrick
We met in May of 06 long distance over a chocolate glaze. Zach had the rudiments of a recipe he obtained from a patisserie called La Petite Rose in Paris. I had what turned out to be a near identical recipe from pastry chef Hidemi Sugino in Japan, translated by my friend Yoko Sakuma. I had kept the recipe for several years fearing it wouldn’t work because so often recipes given by chef don’t as evidenced by the e-mail below. It was the shiniest chocolate glaze I had ever seen and I dubbed it “Chocolate Lacquer Glaze” though Woody improved upon this calling it “Baby Grand Piano Glaze.” I told Zach that if he would test the recipe I would send him what I had and give him credit in the book. Between him, Woody, and me we must have tweaked it close to 30 times and it now graces the cover of my upcoming book. I also included Zach’s fabulous recreation of the La Petite Rose signature cake Le Valentin which I renamed “La Bomba” because the original was shaped in a 7 inch/4 cup pan which is not readily available so we decided to shape it in a standard size 4 cup bowl!
Our first e-mail correspondence May of 06
Zach said:
Hi Rose,
I'm working on a recipe that uses a chocolate glaze using 1 oz. of gelatin. The recipe instructions only state to "bloom and melt the gelatin" (before combining with other ingredients). Although I'm familiar with the process of blooming gelatin, the recipe says nothing about the amount of water to use in which to bloom the 1 oz. of gelatin. How much water should I use to bloom 1 oz. of gelatin? Also, is there a rule of thumb of the ratio of water to gelatin or does it differ per recipe?
Thanks!
Zach
Rose said:
actually there is a minimum amount of water to be used so instead of my checking the cake bible i'm going to leave that up to YOU as i'm TIRED!!! just check a few recipes in the book using gelatin. actually i remember that when too little is used it gets very stiff even when melted so it's pretty easy to figure out,i.e. you can't go wrong. i'm in a particularly disagreeable mood having just made a recipe given to me by a chef that was extremely vague to begin with and turned out to be entirely unacceptable in the end though it tasted great when i had it at the restaurant.
by the way, you are the first person ever to mention using gelatin in a glaze other than my favorite pastry chef in all the world from japan who gave me his recipe and i plan to test it for the upcoming book. it results in a fantastically shiny dark glaze but of course having gelatin needs to be refrigerated.
i'll feel better tomorrow!
I asked Zach if the owner of La Petite Rose, Miyuki Watanabe, was Japanese and sure enough she was. No doubt she got the recipe from Sugino-san as it was published in one of his cookbooks.
As Zach and I got to know each other and discovered that we both adore speaking French and visiting Paris we decided that one day we should meet in person and that it should be there. Coincidentally, Kate Coldrick of “Kate flour” invited me to visit her in Devon, England and this coincided with a family time-share in a chateau in Normandy so all of our far-fetched plans actually transpired!
Three days in Paris and we packed in as much as we possibly could including meeting Zach’s enchanting friend Stéphane and going to dinner at a fabulous restaurant recommended by my friend Ariane Daguin of D’Artagnon.
Since Zach was arriving a few days before me, and I had the misfortune of arriving on May Day not realizing until all plans had been locked in that everything would be closed, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Galleries Lafayette and put an unaffordable in America (near unaffordable in France) Longchamps handbag on hold for me. They had only two left in stock and here is happy moi holding the bag in the bag!
Zach also spied a rain hat in the new spring color ‘cassis,’ that I couldn’t resist buying and these Versace gold shoes I’ve long wanted.
We walked all over Paris and found an adorable grater shaped like the Eiffel Tower which each couldn’t resist buying.
We followed my NY friends Jeffrey and Susan Postman's excellent advice to see the Art Nouveau museum atop Maxime's Restaurant.
Sarah Berhardt
And we took the Metro to the 17th arrondissement where finally I got to meet chef/owner Miyuki Watanabe and taste a small version of the original cake.
The two culinary highlights of our stay were the dinner chez Helène Darroze and the fabled brunch at Le Crillon. Photos will be in next week’s posting.
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Comments
Oh hector... excellent. Where do you come up with these things?!!!
Reply to this Posted by: ButterYum (Patrincia) | June 26, 2009 10:35 PM #
oh dear zach and rose, here a little bit of paris in honolulu. enjoy:
http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/LasVegas-CaramelEiffel-RiceLuxor.html
Reply to this Posted by: Hector | June 25, 2009 6:11 PM #
What a great post... I loved reading every word!
Reply to this Posted by: ButterYum (Patrincia) | June 23, 2009 4:41 PM #
au contraire is said in Italian "al contrario" which is exactly the same in Spanish! although i like the Italian phrase "ma no" better =)
Reply to this Posted by: hector | June 21, 2009 3:47 PM #
Don't stop. The anticipation is wonderful LOL
Reply to this Posted by: Bill | June 21, 2009 1:17 PM #
should i stop? (hahahah!)
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | June 21, 2009 1:09 PM #
Rose:
What a wonderful posting. I loved the pictures and the story! Again...all this teasing about the new book. I don't think I can take it any more! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I want it NOW NOW NOW
Reply to this Posted by: Bill | June 21, 2009 1:01 PM #
what good advice zach for everything and everywhere.
let it also be said that zach's excellent command of the french language and personal charm didn't hurt either. it's true: the sales lady seemed delighted that we were all able to work out a potentially complicated purchase. it reminds me of my first trip to italy when i was 16. i was told i had to bargain and this was entirely against my ny upbringing. but the group leader explained that it was not insulting to the vendor, au contraire (how do you say this in italian?!) it promotes a personal connection and both parties ideally end up feeling they got a good deal and good exchange of communication. i took to it so well (except when i told one vendor that my grandmother did better embroidery--this was NOT the spirit of the thing i quickly learned) that when i returned to ny i tried it out in a department store and it worked even there!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | June 21, 2009 12:44 PM #
When I went a couple of days in advance of Rose's arrival to Gallerie Lafayette to search for the bag, the sales lady who greeted me told me they had only two left. To my surprise, she asked me if I wanted them to set it aside for when Rose and I would return together to pick it up. I said yes, of course, but had my doubts about whether or not the bag would be available when we returned.
The lady assured me she'd be working on that day and to just ask for her. When Rose and I got to GL, I was just hoping she'd be there, let alone remember our conversation - but she was and she did! Despite the crowd that day, she took the time to run upstairs to the stock room and returned promptly with the bag. She waited on us with a smiling face and was very attentive.
Over many years experience shopping in Paris, I've definitely had moments of bad service but overall more moments of very good service. Don't let it be said that the French aren't capable of good service! It's just a matter of being gracious, saying "please and thank you a lot" and letting them know that they are helping you with a problem. If you approach it correctly, they'll go out of their way to help.
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | June 21, 2009 11:58 AM #
thank you barbara! i'm always conscious of the danger of being surrounded by delicious food and exercise as much as possible. i always feel overweight compared to what i should be.
hector i was indeed in a cloud of happiness. and the bag is the "It bag" which opens like a dr's bag making it easy to find the many things in it including the new mac. the outside zipper compartments are large enough for my wallet and iphone. it's the best (and most expensive) bag i've ever had.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | June 21, 2009 11:10 AM #
Lovely pics.... Rose how do you stay so beautiful and thin??? Anyone who can bake like you do and stay so thin is truly a mystery to me. I am looking forward to getting my own copy of Heavenly Cakes, I have been following Marie on her blog, she is doing an excellent job of teasing us with her superb writing.
Reply to this Posted by: Barbara | June 21, 2009 9:52 AM #
Rose, that picture of you in green and the longchamp bag is a beautiful as your new book author portrait! you look like you are floating in a cloud of heaven! is this for your new mac laptop?
Reply to this Posted by: hector | June 21, 2009 6:15 AM #
Wow, that is one beautiful glaze! I admired it when I saw the new cover, it's great to hear the story behind it. Lovely pictures of Paris, you lucky ducks!
Reply to this Posted by: Julie | June 20, 2009 11:00 PM #
Zach Townsend!!! Great post and so great you convey Rose as such real and down to earth goddess. I've been biting my tongue over this glaze project of you, Rose, and Woody! Thank you for giving the recipe to us soon!
Your pictures are great and both you and Rose are smiling ear to ear!
I will fly to ANYWHERE in the world to meet you all like this! (can't drive or boat or train much from where I am).
Reply to this Posted by: hector | June 20, 2009 8:12 PM #
jeannette that is so so lovely. i must tell you that i drempt that kate's little boy started talking in full sentences. i miss you all and feel so lucky to have had that time--short though it may have been it was so memorable it goes beyond the conventional confines of time perception!
claudia, i will enter le littre on my list of hotel possibilities--thank you!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | June 20, 2009 4:49 PM #
Zach, Knowing now what lovely person Rose is, I can appreciate what a great time you must have had in her company! Your last remark summons up exactly how I , and I know I speak for Melinda also, felt after our meeting with Rose. I smiled for days just thinking about our short time together!
Reply to this Posted by: Jeannette | June 20, 2009 3:12 PM #
i love your summation zach! and now that you mentioned the coat (which coordinated so well with your jacket) it brings to mind another trip to paris with iacp many years ago. rosie mannel (julia child's friend and artist of her books) and i were walking to a group dinner at taillevent and i was wearing that coat. she said that i should always wear it she liked the color on me so much. and every time i put it on i think of her.
idea! i'll post the story of meeting simone bec and the taillevent dinner next week! that will give me an extra week to do our part two of paris. by the way, your photo of le valentin is gorgeous!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | June 20, 2009 12:24 PM #
rosiekins,
It was a fabulous weekend and the time together was very special to me - no more perfect place to meet face-to-face.
I can't believe what we packed into three days, and the meals were incredible (except café de la "pay" as you coined it - ha! Never again!)
I wish I could spell out adequately to all the readers all the fun and funny memories I have of the small moments - the "extra" bread and butter you secured at café de la pay, your getting trapped at the gate in the metro and the stranger helping us, my bruised foot which you so patiently accepted once I revealed the problem I was having (and so glad you talked me into not backing out of Tour Montparnasse because of it), my "blue suede shoes" that I now love that came out of necessity, our time together with Stéphane at the table at Hélène Darroze (my visa bill! ouch! but so worth it), your lovely friends Stan and Jane, GOA, your quaint but sometimes frustrating apartment, the "OH MY GOD" moment when I walked out of Crillon and texted you that we got in (so glad you encouraged me to go in), the museum where I learned such interesting things about art nouveau vs. deco, watching you try Le Valentin at La Petite Rose, the endless and incredible food at Crillon, your funny stories (for which I wish I'd had a tape recorder), our spontaneous shopping blitz through Gallerie Lafayette that resulted in your cassis hat and golden shoes (Stéphane and I talked more than once about your chic blue coat and the gold zippers on the Longchamp bag that were a perfect accent to your Versace shoes).
It all brings a great big smile to my face.
:)
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | June 20, 2009 12:13 PM #
Rose, your picture atop La Tour Montparnasse brought back such fond memories! My husband and I were in Paris last September and stayed at a lovely hotel, Le Littre, on Rue Le Littre, near the Montparnasse Bienvenue Metro. I can't wait to go back! I envy your trip!
Reply to this Posted by: claudia | June 20, 2009 10:29 AM #