R Washburn

Thanks for the advice Michael. Do you have any links to filling recipes? I would like to make some liquer based and intense fruit fillings. Robert

Stellabella, great selection, but not the best prices. For Valrhona and El Ray products I shop here: Assouline & Ting. Scharfenberger and Callebaut I buy at Fairway. Robert

Nope. Different fish. Blue fin is a kind of tuna.

My local supermarket ( I live in Washington Heights) has puree, but it lacks any intensity of flavor. I was hoping to try to source a really high quality puree. If the stuff has to be shipped I may as well pick it up in Philadelphia, next time I go down there. Here is Assouline and Ting's wholsale catalog:Assouline & Ting Their fruit purees sound promising, and they do have cocoa butter and invert sugar. Thanks again for your help.

I did a trial run last night using a Gastroflex mini-madeleine mold as a stand in for the heart and seafruit molds I am waiting on. I melted and tempered ~5oz of Valrhona milk chocolate (30% cocoa?) in a double boiler ( I used an ice bath to cool the chocolate). I then spooned in a little chocolate into each mold, and pushed it around with a spoon to coat the inside of each mold. Next, I removed the excess chocolate with a bench scraper and placed the molds in the refridgerator to harden. Because the mold is so flexible, I didn't try to invert it to remove excess chocolate. For filling I piped in a little hazelnut praline spread (from "le Pain Quotidien"). I then covered the chocolates with a second layer of chocolate and wiped the excess off with a scraper. The chocolates were then allowed to set in the fridge, and finally unmolded. I won't claim they are as good as Jaques Torres', but they were a lot better than anything available in your local supermarket, or most Malls. It seems pretty hard to go wrong if you use good ingredients. Speaking of ingredients, does anyone know of a good source for cocoa butter, invert sugar and passionfruit puree in New York City? The only supplier I am familiar with is in Philadelphia (Assouline and Ting). I really want to try Cheffete's filling recipe as soon as my molds show up.

So I have been told. The cocoa butter seasons them. also you want to avoid scratching them or leaving any lint behind from the cloth.

I have tempered chocolate before, but I have never tried molding it. What potentially amusing problems problems are you anticipating? It seems pretty straight forward, although I see a lot of potential for mess. I am tempted to try out molding a few impressions in cocoa tonight, just to get a feel for it. I do have experience molding gold and silver. While chocolate looks to be more delicate, you are able to work at much lower temperatures, which I expect to make things easier. I will definitely post my results back on this thread. Robert

Pretty much. Another question for you: Aproximately how many pounds of chocolate would your recipe fill?

Thanks for the recipe. Whether or not it is cheaper to buy them, depends upon how much you value your time.

I have just ordered some chocolate molds from beryl's (Beryl's ) and I am looking for recipes and advice for fillings. I am paricularly interested in recipes for fruit based and liquer based fillings. Does anybody know how Jaques Torres makes the Alize filling for his Alize hearts? Thanks, Robert

I thought it was very good, probably the best in town until Leroux's arrival. The comparison is probably unfair, since Leroux was presonally making every item he sold, whereas I am sure Bennet's assistants were making most of what we were eating at Le Bec-Fin. I am sure the pastry at Payard would be much better if Payard himself made each item. As it is I think Mademoiselle de Paris was much better and more consistent than Payard. Some of the items were very similar (such as Feuillentine vs. Le Louvre) so I think it is a fair comparison.

No, Didier ran up a huge amount of debt and then tried to skip town with the Christmas receipts. He then had a brain aneurysm and was hospitalized before he made his escape (a french chef told me the real story at a Moore brother's dinner). The woman you are thinking of was his charming wife who worked behind the counter. Didier was the extremely grumpy young chef. I suppose he is probably toiling away in some Parissian patisserie, assuming he made a full recovery.

I still miss "Mademoiselle de Paris". Does anyone know what happened to Didier Leroux, the pastry Chef/owner? I thought his stuff was way better than Le Bec-Fin's or even Payard's in NY. Robert

I think it is his former carriage house.

Is the dessert trolley still fabulous? According to the website Le Bec-Fin is now offering desserts from a menu as well as the cart. Judging from the picture on the website, the cart looks seriously depleted. Has anyone been to Le Bec-Fin since the re-opening?

Porkpa, Seems like an odd criticism of Daniel. I don't really understand why you expected to be singled out with a visit, unless you are a good friend of his (or big time customer). Typically, I see him come out and say hi to a few tables of friends or long time regulars, but I have never felt slighted by him not saying hello. Just because he sends a nice card and a bottle of wine at Christmas, doesn't mean he knows me from Adam. The only time he ever came to my table was during my first visit to the old Daniel, where he shook my hand and thanked me profusely for having lunch at his restaurant. He is definitely the friendliest chef I have met. Robert

Cabrales-the mailing was mainly glossy pictures, showing what the place was going to look like. No details about $$$ etc. I would assume you get to try it out before you plunk down all that cash. I doubt this place is for eGulleteers. Most of us would rather spend that $130/ week on food and wine.

Cabrales, it must have been from Daniel then. I get some interesting mailings from Daniel, such as the recent one for the "Food Allergy Ball" at the Plaza. I am definitely one of Bruno's "shmucks", but I doubt he would turn any of us away if we ponied up the $7k a year memebership fee.

I bought 1/4lb of assorted Milk chocolates last week, and I think they were some of the best I have ever had. I also bought some sort of a frosted brownie and that was very good too.

I received one in the mail several weeks ago. I assumed everyone on the Daniel and ADNY mailing list received one. I don't think the club is going to be very exclusive.

Daniel does not serve lunch anymore.

I heard a rumor that Georges Perrier has dismissed his Chef and taken over the kitchen again at Le Bec-Fin. Does anyone know if this is true? Robert

For those of you with short memories, I would like to remind you that one of the great flaws in the old Bouley was the long waits for tables. At Bouley they refused to rush diners, which results in long waits for the later seatings. On the other hand, Bouley is much less expensive than the competition (ADNY, Daniel etc.). If you hate to wait, then I would reccomend making your reservation in the first seating and/or avoiding weekends.

Hi Rosie, What was fabulous about Tangerine ? The impression I had was that it was more of a "scene" than a serious restaurant. What didn't you like about Brasserie Perrier ? I thought the replacement of Francesco Marteralla with Chris Scaduzio (sp.?) was a major improvement in that the food seems more consistent. I will be having dinner there on wednesday, so I will see if it is as good as I remember. My main complaint in the past was that the restaurant was to inconsistent for that price point. I was usually happier to eat less expensive and generally better food at Le Bar-Lyonnais.