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diciembre: travel and food
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a creatividad se estimula con preguntas, y la curiosidad no puede reprimirse si deseamos incentivar nuestra parte creativa. Tal vez por ello encuentro tanto placer en hacer preguntas, en saber qué le gusta a la gente y descifrar historias detrás de sus respuestas. No es suficiente que mencionen su restaurante o platillo favorito… Para mí, comer bien tiene que ver también con las anécdotas alrededor de los guisos. Quiero saber las razones por las cuales cierto rincón en el mundo se ha convertido en un recuerdo imborrable para alguien. Pero mi entusiasmo se transforma en ansiedad cuando soy yo quien debe responder. Elegir un favorito me pone en aprietos: mi glotonería por las historias enmarca cada recuerdo gustativo o de viajes como mi consentido… Hasta que llega el otro, y luego el siguiente… Pero hay momentos que ayudan a crear listas de favoritos: el placer de hacer de una ciudad desconocida un territorio íntimo, la celebración de llegar a un restaurante por pura intuición y salir de él con una experiencia gastronómica para contar, o comprender que el verdadero destino de un viaje estaba en una mesa o en una tienda gourmet… Una frase sufí dice que la palabra elección es un fraude mientras la gente elija sólo lo que le está permitido elegir. Por eso, agradecemos sus propuestas en la primera etapa de los premios Food and Travel en México. Sabemos que detrás de cada nominación están las historias personales, íntimas, de cada uno de ustedes, nuestros lectores. Ahora resta votar por las ternas que ustedes eligieron. foodandtravel.mx/awards
Cecilia Núñez Editora de Sucre @cecinunez
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by Sara Yoo
“Macarons are petite and pretty, like jewels�
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rom cupcakes to cronuts, fad foods in America tend to inspire a momentary and mouthwatering mania -- until the buzz begins to subside, waiting lists shrink and lines out the door inevitably diminish. However, if history has anything to say about it, the family-owned Ladurée brand is betting that French macarons are here to stay. The 150-year-old, meringue-based confections were conceived by a tiny Parisian bakery that rose to prominence at the turn of the 20th century. With a brittle exterior and a bite as light as air, Parisians flocked in droves to Earnest Louis Ladurée’s shop, one of the city’s earliest tea salons. The Holder family was just one of many who made the excursion to Ladurée a Saturday morning ritual. But the Holders -- already proprietors of several other baking franchises -- were seeking more than just a sugary fix. In 1993, they acquired the macaron-maker with the intention of spinning its lone shop into a global chain.
They also represent a much-coveted token of affordable luxury. At Ladurée’s retail store on New York’s Madison Avenue, which opened in 2011, the tiny treats sell for $2.80 a piece. Ornate packaging (the brand’s mint green boxes are notorious) and a sumptuous interior design ethos in the vein of Napoleon III -- antique sculptures, marble surfaces and frescoed ceilings -- have also distinguished the storied brand from a recent crop of competitors, Holder said. This is a vital mark of distinction when even McDonald’s (in Europe) has started selling macarons. Ladur?e’s Sweet Ascent: How a Fad Food Is Spawning an International Empire A pop-up store The Marquis de Ladurée at Galeries Lafayette Image credit: Ladurée on Twitter Though the New York flagship undertaking is enormous -literally some 5,000 square feet -- it only marks Ladurée’s first major attempt to take a bite of the American market. This month, the brand will unveil a smaller retail outpost
Their timing, it turns out, was prescient. After opening a flagship tea salon location on the Champs-Elysees in 1997, the macaron’s popularity took off. And shortly thereafter, other countries caught wind. Today, Ladurée touts more than 40 shops in markets as varied as England, Monaco, Japan, Turkey, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. American appetites for the macaron were most notably piqued by Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette -in which the pastries (furnished by Ladurée) were lavishly showcased in soaring pyramids and vivid hues.
Realizing an American dream Ladurée’s Sweet Ascent: How a Fad Food Is Spawning an International Empire Today, Ladurée’s American operative is piloted by fourth generation Holder family member, Elisabeth, and her husband, Pierre Antoine Raberin, who moved their family overseas almost three years ago to pursue what they deferentially call “the American Dream.” To say that that dream has been realized today is a testament to the family’s intuitions and an aggressive expansion strategy. Now, Ladurée is aiming to replicate its success on the Champs-Elysees with its first American flagship location in New York City, opening on Wednesday. In an exclusive interview at a Soho construction site just weeks before its doors were slated to open, leopard-print carpeting was being unfurled and custom white moldings were being installed while contractors snacked on bite-sized pastries and a buttery aroma wafted in from the kitchen. “Macarons are petite and pretty, like jewels,” Holder explained. “They’re beloved by all ages and sexes -- and the fact that they’re not easy to make only adds to their allure. But it’s also more than just food. When customers come in to Ladurée, they feel like they’re leaving with a quintessential
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in Miami that will simply offer macarons, ice cream and champagne. And in April, macarons will be available for purchase nationwide via a newly-launched ecommerce site.
A family business The transformation of an age-old confection into what feels like a new, hot fad would suggest that a keen commercial instinct runs through the Holder family blood. Elisabeth’s brother, David, is the worldwide president of Ladurée. Their father, Francis, serves as chairman of Groupe Holder and was the architect behind the PAUL chain of bakeries that originated with one storefront in France and now counts over 450 locations worldwide. “When I was growing up, there was no separation between family and business,” Elisabeth says. Work pervaded her world at an early age, she remembers, in that it was simply
75 Avenue des Champs Elysées
a way of life. “I can still remember seeing my grandmother behind the register at the bakery. Any free afternoons my parents had were usually spent in the office.”
This site imbued with a refined atmosphere and charged with history seduced David Holder and his father Francis Holder, founder of the Holder Group.
And, as history would have it, Elisabeth seems to be repeating this very model with her own brood. At 5, her twin sons have already begun to show an interest in the family business, asking questions before bedtime like, “How is bread made?” and rolling croissants in the company kitchen alongside Ladurée’s renowned chefs. While other bakeries have attempted to hop on the macaron bandwagon in recent years, Raberin’s response to the proliferation of competitors is surprising. “I love our competition,” he says. “In addition to being the best form of flattery, it creates a dynamic that further feeds the macaron movement and allows even more people to understand the power of our brand.”
Macarons “Macarons only weigh a few grams, but that’s enough to leave your senses quivering with pleasure. Their thin, crisp shell, slightly rounded shape, tempting colours and tender interiors draw devotees to devour them with their eyes, and caress their smooth surface. Their flavours solicit the nose and, when one bites into that crisp shell, the ears tingle with pleasure and the palate is finally rewarded.”
Not an ordinary Macaron Like most people, i am in love with French Macarons. They are delightful Little things, slightly crispy on the outside and nice and gooey on the inside. They also come in extraordinary flavours when chocolate just can’t do it for you, like Lavander and Rose. If you ever find yourself in Paris, hop on over PIERRE HERMÉ Patisserie and grab yourself this Macaron on steroids A.K.A the Isaphan. It is a rose scented macaron biscuit filled with rose petal cream and raspberries! Oh joy of joys. Marie Antoinette would be very proud!
In 1993, they decided to buy this Parisian institution, and to promote and enlarge the famous “Maison”.
Pastries “I consider the creation of pastries as an Art with a capital A, in that it is a true form of expression, just like music, painting, or sculpture. I imagine and then create pastries the way I would like them to taste. Many people, places, and cultures throughout the world inspire me in the creative process, but at the core, pleasure is my only guide.” Pound cakes and fruit cakes take me back to my childhood. While they sometimes look very simple on the outside, interesting facets may be revealed once sliced. Soft, dense, crunchy, and rich in flavour, these cakes are chock full of enjoyable surprises.
In September 1997, a new prestigious Ladurée address, both a restaurant and a tea room opened on the Champs-Elysées. President David Holder’s objective is thus to bring back the great classics, which have contributed to the reputation of this “salon de thé”, as well as to create an environment for gastronomic wwcreativity in Paris. Thanks to the development strategy adopted by our president Mr. David Holder for over 15 years, Ladurée “Fabricant de Douceurs” proven to be more than simple pastries and tea salons. The establishment is today a landmark in the field of luxury, whose powerful image abroad embodies the French “Art de Vivre”. We owe the success of this brand image in part to the unconditional support of our clients. The Secrets Ladurée has been created for them at their request.
With their vibrant colors and lacy frills, dainty, crisp-crusted French macarons are the perfect Valentine’s Day baking project. Get ready for a baking adventure, but when you create the perfect, airy-light macaron, it will all be worth it!
History of the Ladurée Macaron The story of the Ladurée macaron starts in the middle of the 20th century with Pierre Desfontaines, who first thought of taking two macaron shells and joining them.
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The cult of the French pastry chef By Olivia Sorrel-Dejerine BBC News Magazine
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o French high street would be complete without a patisserie, and words such as “gateau”, “eclair” and “flan” indicate that French pastry chefs are esteemed as much abroad as at home. But in the last couple of years, patissiers have shot to stardom, joining the top ranks of France’s celebrity chefs. French patisserie used to be delicious but predictable - the chocolate eclair, the vanilla or raspberry flavoured macaroon, the classic French apple tart or the mille-feuille (a sophisticated vanilla slice). Something has changed. Ever heard of the caramel popcorn, pistachio-orange or pecan eclair by Christophe Adam? Or the olive-oil macaroon with mandarin orange and cucumber water by Pierre Herme? These are a couple of the audacious creations a new generation of French pastry chefs have launched on a startled but delighted French public. France has always loved patisserie, but for some reason it now loves its patissiers more than ever. Their books are filling the shelves of book shops, and their stores are multiplying - five new “patisseries de luxe” opened in the month of September, in Paris alone. And while The Great British Bake Off has gone from strength to strength, France has developed its own competitive baking shows, such as this year’s Who Will be the Next Great Patissier? For the last episode contestants had to make a piece of fashion out of chocolate. Another show, The Gateau of My Dreams, where a chef goes to someone’s house to help them bake a challenging cake or dessert, began in February 2012 - starting with mille-feuille with caramelised maple syrup, and Black Forest gateau with acidulated morello cherry - and published a spin-off book in its first year. One explanation for the sudden rise of the pastry chef is as a consequence of the recession. In these times of crisis, patisserie has become a relatively affordable luxury - compared say with going to the restaurant - says Sebastien Gaudard, one of today’s up-and-coming pastry chefs.
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He has noticed a change in his customers’ habits. Instead of buying a big cake for a Sunday lunch or a dinner party, couples are now more likely to visit during the week to buy one or two patisseries for themselves alone. Patisserie, he says, is a form of comfort food.
Sweet teeth 73% of French people think any time is a good time to enjoy a pastry 71% bake their own cakes at home one to four times a month 84% of them saying they would like to get better at cooking pastries Sources: CEDUS and Marmiton Try patisserie recipes at home “What drives the world of sweets, I think, is that eating sweets brings us back to a time in our lives when we had no worries, the carefree time of childhood.” But the growing enthusiasm for patisserie is also due to the fact that a new generation of pastry chefs have re-invented their craft, according to Zakari Benkhadra, managing director of the Ecole Nationale Superieure de la Patisserie (ENSP), in the countryside south of Lyon. Chefs have started to make elaborate and visually interesting creations using techniques such as mixing sweetness and saltiness (salty macaroons), creating original shapes (an audio cassette shaped pistachio-chocolate bar) or making surprising high-quality desserts using mainstream products such as Haribo sweets and Nutella. A parallel piece of culinary invention, which made headlines earlier this year, was the cronut - a cross between a croissant and a donut - created by French chef Dominique Ansel in New York. The patisserie craze has had a direct impact on the ENSP’s enrolment numbers. Struggling to fill some classes in 2008, it now turns away some applicants for lack of space. But not all the top patissiers are modernising traditional recipes and improvising with new tastes. wSebastien Gaudard represents another trend, which is to return to authentic and relatively simple creations. Gaudard, the son of a famous pastry chef in Lorraine, eastern France, is one of a number of contemporary pastry chefs who served an apprenticeship at the Paris. Since November 2011 he has run a shop in the ninth arrondissement of Paris, selling delicacies from the past that are no longer always available in every patisserie. These include the Puits d’amour, a dessert created by the 18th Century chef Vincent La Chapelle, its hollow centre stuffed with vanilla cream, and the classic Paris-Brest, made of choux pastry and a praline-flavoured cream, inspired by the Paris-Brest-Paris cycle race - its circular shape representing a bicycle wheel.
A speciality is the Mussipontain a cake made of meringue, vanilla cream and caramelised almonds whose name derives from the inhabitants of the city of Pont-à-Mousson, Gaudard’s home town. This is his father’s own creation. But whether people prefer startling creativity or traditional pastries, all pastry chefs are out to please their customers - and the customers evidently enjoy being pleased. “We sell pleasure,” says Gaudard. “People come to us for pleasure.” It’s been one of those orange round life saver things that dangle at the back of a boat (we were just on a ferry today so the reference is fresh) in a season where I often felt as if I was drowning. This blog has led me to I often felt as if I was drowning. This blog has led me to a career that I never knew I wanted and yet now I see that all the pieces of my life up to this point have led me here. The comments, the inspiration, and the community has been a gift that often leaves me overwhelmed by its sweetness. But what I don’t get to do with the blog is actually feed you. I mean like have you sit at my table while I stand in the kitchen mixing up a batch of whatever is inspiring me in that moment. Because as much as I love this space and am so incredibly grateful for it, it’s no replacement for the satisfaction I get from feeding people. I know, I know cookie mix doesn’t put us at the same table but it is something made from my hands and then put in yours. It’s tangible, it’s real and it’s freaking delicious. Chefs have started to make elaborate and visually interesting creations using techniques such as mixing sweetness and saltiness (salty macaroons), creating original shapes (an audio cassette shaped pistachio-chocolate bar) or making surprising high-quality desserts using mainstream products such as Haribo sweets and Nutella.
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Not whithout salt by Pilar Concha
We have a sweet little neighbor boy who learned to walk this summer. I’ve watched him progress from timidly taking a few steps while holding onto his mom’s hand to now, where he is practically running trying to keep up with my big boys. He’s tenacious that one, bonking his tender head on the very not-tender pavement, letting out a few cries just before he’s up and going again. Last week I felt like that eager, wobbly little toddler. I launched the cookie mix business with great excitement, a bit of fear and a lot of unknowns. Moments after launching I felt my first bump but far from my last. There were shipping issues to work through which led us to changing our online storefront just two days after launching. Then we had some rogue flour that resisted staying in its pouch and never had I prayed so hard for chocolate not to melt while being shipped across the country. All of this made for a few bruises, mostly on my ego but each time I got back up again, still wobbling but standing.
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riday Donut (or doughnut) Day! It started sometime last year with the simple act of Gabe picking up doughnuts on Friday and then repeating himself the next week. Just like that a tradition was born. Now we all expect it, crave it, look forward to it and appreciate Friday’s all the more because of it. We’ve used it as a chance to tour Seattle via their doughnut scene, although truth-be-told we’ve mostly landed back to Top Pot because I’m weak for their Salted Caramel Old Fashioned. It wasn’t until the start of this school year that I started making the doughnuts at home. Three weeks in and, get this, my kids are begging for the store bought kind. Sorry kids, I’m making you doughnuts. These doughnuts in particular. It was these very doughnuts that had Gabe and I making the long trek from our little hotel in Notting Hill to St. John Bread & Wine across the street from Spitalfields Market. I know we went at least twice and it’s quite possible there was a third visit. It was because of these doughnuts (thanks, Molly for the heads up) and the bacon sandwich. They are a simple doughnut; soft, not very sweet and not complex in flavor but have a subtle bitter tang which I now know to be lemon zest. Like most good yeasted recipes the dough takes a sweet time rising and developing in flavor so there’s a very soft sourness. At St. John they filled them with lemon curd and – my favorite – custard. Although someone on Instagram tells me they now have butterscotch which blew my mind and had me pining for a trip back to London. These doughnuts fueled our weekly fix last Friday and the one before that. The boys missed them warm from the fryer so to make up for it I served them as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle along with a bit of chocolate sauce. I recommend that way too.
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I forgot for a moment that even in cookie mix its all about the journey. Getting from point A to point B. Refining, improving and growing without letting the bumps keep you from moving. No journey is complete without others who are willing to walk the path with you. So many times this past week I reached out for a hand to help pull me up and there were several there to choose from. We’d brush off the dust, iron out the kinks and eagerly watch our little cookie mix get better and better (thank you Julie and Gabe and my mom and aunt who drove several hours to come help restock the mix). I’m still a bit wobbly and bruised but just like our little neighbor, I won’t let a few bumps keep me from running, in fact I’ll just use them to grow, learn and become better. So, after all of that we’re celebrating with a cocktail. This simple cocktail has been our Summer ’14 go-to and as we ease into Fall it’s turning into our Fall ’14 go-to. It comes together quickly with just a few ingredients but like all things done simply, quality is key. Go for the good bourbon (doesn’t have to be THE best but does have to be good), spring for the good tonic and whatever you do use these Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. I feel a bit badly every time I urge people to try these cherries because once you taste them you are ruined for all other maraschino cherry. So start saving your pennies because a jar of these is a pretty one but oh so worth it. A few more things to add before we cocktail. Thank you, thank you to all who ordered last week. We sold out of our stock two days! But don’t worry there is plenty more mix where that came from and now it’s new and improved. The flour is staying put, the chocolate resisted melting, shipping has more options and the label is now in color!! Here’s the deal, I LOVE this blog and all of you who visit this space.
Basic French Macarons Recipe DIRECTIONS
INGREDIENTS
Preheat the oven to 280ºF, and position 2 racks in the lower section of the oven. Line
2/3 cup almond meal or ground almonds
1 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have time, draw 1-inch circles on the back of each sheet, spacing the circles at least 1/2-inch apart.
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
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If your almond meal is very coarse, grind it with the powdered sugar in a food processor until fine. Sift the almond meal-powdered sugar mixture twice through a mesh sieve.
3 Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer), and begin to beat on
medium-high. When the eggs are frothy, gradually add granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Continue to beat the egg white mixture until glossy and stiff peaks form when you lift the beaters. Gently stir in the vanilla extract. Be careful to not overbeat the meringue (e.g., the meringue takes on a clumpy texture).
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Add half of the sifted almond mixture, and gently fold it into the meringue using a flexible silicone spatula. Lift from the bottom, up around the sides, and toward the middle, being careful to not overagitate the meringue and lose too much air. Once the almond mixture is predominantly incorporated, add the second half and repeat the folding motion. When the almond mixture is just incorporated, you will need to transform the batter into the appropriate texture. Using the flat of the spatula, “punch” down into the center of the batter, then scrape more batter from the sides to the center, and punch again. You will need to repeat this 10-15 times (or more, depending on your arm strength and the beginning texture of your batter) until the batter slowly and continuously drips back into the bowl when you scoop it up with the spatula. Think of the consistency of molten lava. For the best results, punch the batter a few times, check the consistency, then punch a few more times, etc. Do not make the batter too runny or the macarons won’t rise as they should, and you could end up with oil stains on the surface.
3 large egg whites, room temperature and preferably aged up to 3 days 5 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
NOTES The basic meringue-style French macaron is merely the springboard for your wildest color and flavor combinations. Try adding a teaspoon of Dutch-process cocoa and red gel food coloring for a red velvet macaron, or a 1/4 teaspoon rose extract and pink gel food coloring for rose. Always add the dry flavorings to the almond meal/powdered sugar mixture and the extracts/gel color to the meringue.
Pour batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 0.4-inch tip. In a pinch, you can also use a ga-
6 llon-size Ziploc bag: just snip a teeny bit from one of the bottom corners. Twist and clip the top of the bag to avoid overflow. On your prepared baking sheets, pipe out 1-inch rounds in the circles you drew (remember to draw the circles on the back side of your parchment to avoid ink or pencil stains on your macarons!). Holding the baking sheet in both hands, rap each baking sheet firmly on the counter
7 two or three times. This smooths out the tops and helps form the “pied” or frilly foot on
the bottoms of the macarons. Allow the piped macarons to dry, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes. The macarons should form a very thin, smooth crust where, if you tap it lightly with your finger, the batter will not stick to your finger. If after 15 minutes, the batter is still sticky, let it dry longer. This may take up to an hour on humid days.
8 Place both baking sheets in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. After the first 2 mi-
nutes, open the oven to allow any excess humidity to escape. Halfway through, swap oven racks and rotate the sheets for even baking. The macarons are done when they are baked all the way through and the shells are just hard. Take care to not underbake (insides will still be mushy) or overbake (tops will begin to
9 brown). Remove them from the oven, and cool on baking sheet placed on a wire rack.
When fully cooled, assemble the macarons with your choice of filling. The assembled macarons can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Yield: About 4 dozen macaron halves (about 2 dozen complete macarons)
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