Lesley C

Madame Figaro Cuisine is also worth checking out. In fact, I think some issues are even better than Elle a table. They did an all-chocolate issue in 1999 that was just amazing. These mags are miles ahead of publications like Gourmet and Food and Wine.

I thought the cheese selection in the Vancouver restaurants I visited sucked. Lumiere, for instance, offered three gruesome products, one being either a Cantal or Compte (I always mix them up). I balked at the choice and the lovely chef de cuisine (from Quebec) arrived with many samples he had sent to him directly from the Fromagerie du Marche Atwater here in Montreal.

I'll post the list of visiting chefs and events the minute the press conference is over. That might be late December, early January.

Hi Suvir, I baked the brownies for 23 minutes, but I wouldn't hesitate to go to 25 to get a bit more cakiness going. The 23-minute brownies were mucho squidgy.

I quite like Elle a Table. It's French, but the recipes are different than the standard American food magazines, and they have a nice few pages of new French products in the front of the mag.

I'd opt for Silverton over Flemming any day. When I think of Flemming, I see watered-down Pierre Hermé. Silverton is Silverton.

I highly recommend the mint Aero as well. I have no idea if the bubbly green filling contains any cocoa butter, but it sure beats a breath mint.

Just a thumbs up/thumbs down would be greatly appreciated. I have one night in Paris coming up and for the life of me can't decide where to go. Bistro? Three-star? Can't decide. I've always been intrigued by LGV's history and setting.

Lizziee, did you make it to Le Grand Vefour?

Ouest, Lumiere and ...The Pear Tree! It's great! I can't believe he tracked that little place down.

You can't eat at Ouest and not be impressed. I found it superior to Lumiere on many levels. The food was outstanding -- the best I've had in Canada so far. Lumiere's food left me cold.

"...formed into balls, and then placed in molds." Could you explain this further.

Hevin's cheese chocolates can be seen here http://www.jphevin.com/anglais/produits/li...ts.php?id_cat=4 They're called aperitif chocolates and are made with époisse, livarot, goat cheese or roquefort. I'll have to taste these next time I'm in Paris. I'll report back if he has a curry chocolate... or one made with lobster.

What's wrong with bisque?

Interesting discussion going on here. I believe Jean-Paul Hévin is making a chocolate filled with cheese (chèvre or fromage blanc, can't remember) and I know the French love tasting something that odd. They're adventurous customers. In North America, however, I'd avoid the curry because as Suvir said, it has savoury connotations. It might taste wild to a bunch of pastry chefs standing around the marble, but will the majority of customer buy into the concept? Doubt it. I'd still be interested in using many of those spices, alone or in twos or threes, but I'd avoid the word curry. Choco-coco--spice sounds more appealing than choco-coco-curry no? I bet it would sell more on your upscale pastry menu. I know people who find coconut too exotic. And of course chefs like Adria are expected to come up with such unusual combinations. It's who they are, how they made their name. What's the man supposed to make next, a new rocher praliné? If he did, it might have bacalao mi-cuit in the middle

And I was trying to point out that the good chocolatiers do not limit their output to one style of chocolate. It's not just about diverse fillings, it's about making chocolates of all shapes and flavours that reflect the chef's particular style, taste, and technique. To me there is 0 technique in truffle casings. That's why large commercial companies rely on them more and more frequently. You can hire someone with no experience or training to fill and finish those chocolates (and pay them minimum wage), over an experienced chocolate maker.

I'm with Suvir on this one. I've tasted curry and dark chocolate together and thought it was awful. I'm not one for the eccentric flavour combinations, and this one just didn't work for me. There are many individual spices in a masala that marry well with chocolate, but all at once, and the chocolate starts to fight to get through. Or you bite into it and say "oh chocolate AND ...curry!" Steve, do you use commercial curry powder or mix your own blend?

"well respected chocolatier" I never heard of this outfit before yesterday. And if that is a piece of candied violet, it's used to camouflage the hole. Look, the bit about the truffle casings is one thing, but anyone who presents this type of one-dimensional line is just not a chocolatier worthy of merit. It's like a chef who only makes terrines. There's a lot more to the profession than that. That's just my opinion...and I'm sticking to it.

Yeah, yeah...whatever...

Awbrig, Sorry I don't believe your friend for a minute. If you want proof, just look at the chocolate on the left of the picture of 32-piece box of truffles. You can see the hole where the gananche is piped in. Also, the truffles are completely round and they are all the same size, sure signs that they were NOT hand rolled. Gimme a break, any trained chocolatier (which I am, with a degree and years of experience to prove it) could tell you those were made with shells. Also, she only seems to sell one shape of chocolate. The hallmark of a fine chocolatier is the assortment of handmade chocolates he/she offers -- squares, lozenge shapes, rectangles cut with a “guitar,” chocolates piped onto a base, hand rolled truffles and chardons, and ganache and marzipan centers cut with an “emporte-piece.” Even moulded chocolates (many of Torres' are moulded) are considered bottom of the line and are not accepted in chocolate competitions. And believe me, moulded chocolates are more difficult to make than those filled Vosges filled truffles. In my books, this product is not even the work of an experienced chocolatier.

Again Lizziee thank you for that report. As I read through these wonderful reviews of fine meals and experiences (even the lousy ones sound interesting), I’m reminded of an article in The Times (London) a few years back stating that today one could eat better in England than in France. What a load of bull. Could you experience such a wide array of amazing food in England? Bet not. Reports such as yours prove France still rules the gourmet world.

Lizziee, Please please keep posting. Reading your posts has been thrilling and educational. As much as I dream of dining my way around the French three stars as you are right now, I don't think my liver could take it. I am very happy to live the experience through your reports. Bravo!

Chefette, that is one WILD cake! About the ganache. I've seen ganache made in a Robo Coupe with a -- get this-- vacuum feature. You extract the air before processing and no air gets in while the machine is on. It's a very interesting and very expensive piece of equipment.

Hi Suvir, I make the best-ever brownies an a nonstick 9X9-inch square T-fal pan purchased specifically for brownies. I believe I cook them for 23 minutes as stipulated in the recipe.

Pastry-chef roulades are very thin. I've seen cook's roulades that are thick and may need the hot roll treatment. The secret to a good roulade is spreading the batter quickly and evenly to maintain the lift in the cake and even cooking so that the sides are just as moist as the middle. I had a chef who said a biscuit roulade (or Joconde) must be spread in 7 strokes with an off-set palate. Close to impossible, but the idea is there. If you fiddle around when spreading these thin cakes, you just kill them. As for the egg warming, I'd see no problem using eggs straight from the fridge.