Pierre Herme

[cabrales]

Cabrales--could you speak to the temperature of these desserts in containers?  were they served straight out of a refrigerated case--indicating that they'd been prepared in advance, possibly even off-site?

for restaurant patrons--did you get the sense these creations would be assembled a la minute--and then perhaps have greater contrasts of temperature and texture?

Steve Klc -- To me, these items appeared generally room temperature. They were displayed in the take-out area of Korova like other patisseries. I do not remember temperature contrasts as having been a significant element in the two Emotions desserts sampled, although, admittedly, I was not focusing on temperature for some reason.  

[cabrales]

With a Pacojet, Conticini's recipe works very well. I used it in a five servive special olive oil tasting menu at the restaurant.

Patrice -- Thanks for your contributions to this thread. When you have a chance, could you discuss your olive oil tasting menu? What brands of olive oil, and which countries' olive oils, did you utilize?  

[Patrice]

Cabrales-- This menu was for the Montreal Highlight Festival, I don't have it with me  but I'll find a copy.  I remember my dessert: rosemary pound cake, poached and caramelized pear and olive oil sorbet.  I'll make some research for the other part of the menu...

[cabrales]

Patrice -- If you don't have the menu handy, please do not allocate even a bit of time to finding it. Your restaurant is opening soon; I'm sure you have things to do with your time.  

[pirate]

Is Lokoum related to the confection Rahadlakoum celebrated by the song in  the musical "Kismet"; i.e. the  famous line " the kind of confection to drive a man out of his Mesopotamian mind"

[Bux]

Bux--I wonder if this is what gentlemen and ladies of a certain generation called a rocks glass?

Is there a difference between an "on the rocks" glass and an "old fashioned" one. For those who don't remember, an "old fashioned" was short drink with ice as opposed to a high ball. It may have been a tad larger than an "on the rocks" glass.

[cabrales]

Jeffrey Steingarten's article in the May edition of Vogue (US) features Pierre Herme, along with a wine tasting at the French Consulate in NY.

"The prodigy of pastry. The man whom French critics have called the most gifted pastry chef of his generation has finally opened his own shop at 72 rue Bonaparte in Paris [no mention of Korova or the other existing boutique]. . . .  Pierre's sleek little wood-trimmed jewel case of a shop [bux has previously described the shop similarly, without any connotations intended] . . . . There are eight colors and flavors of weightless, crisp, tender, fragile macaroons . . . .. If I lived near 72 rue Bonaparte, . . . to learn the kind of lesson in taste and aroma that only one of Pierre's unprecedented tarts can teach . . . ."

I have now obtained the names and contents of Herme chocolates (82 euros/kilo):

-- Intense (ganache nature amere, enrobee de chocolat noir) (bitter ganache, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Chloe (ganache chocolat framboise, enrobeee de chocolate noir) (chocolate-rasberry ganache, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Sensations (praline feuillete, enrobe de chocolate noir) (praline, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Caraquillo (ganache au cafe a l'anis, enrobee de chocolate noir) (ganache of coffee with ?, possibly not anise, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Makassar (ganache mousseuse au caramel au beurre sale, enrobee de chocolate noir) (softer ganache with caramel and salted butter, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Balthazar (ganache chocolate au lait a la cannelle caramelisee, enrobee de chocolat au lait) (milk chocolate ganache with caramelised cinammon, encased in milk chocolate)

-- Mathilda (praline amandes au zeste de citron et craquelin, enrobe de chocolate au lait aux amandes grillees) (praline with almond effects? with lemon peel and a crunchy? item, encased in milk chocolate with grilled almonds)

-- Mogador (ganache au fruit de la passion, enrobee de chocolat au lait) (passionfruit ganache, encased in milk chocolate)

-- Almera (pate d'amandes a l'orange confite et Grand-Marnier, enrobee de chocolat noir) (almond pate with orange confit and Grand-Marnier, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Katarina (praline a l'ancienne aux macarons, enrobe de chocolate noir) (praline ? with macaroons?, encased in dark chocolate)

-- Fortaleza (ganache au chocolat et raisins flambe au rhum) (chocolate ganache with grapes/raisins flambeed in rhum)

-- Louisa (pate de fruit banane, praline a l'ancienne, enrobe de chocolate au lait) (banana pate, praline ?, encased in milk chocolate)

-- Choc Chocolat (ganache au chocolate amer et nougatine aux eclats de feves de cacao, enrobee de chocolate noir) (bitter chocolate ganache and nougatine with highlights of cocoa beans, encased in dark chocolate)

[Bux]

Anis is, I think, anise. My hunch is that praline would be almonds and sugar, maybe something like almond brittle ground to a powder. Calling Steve Klc for a definition.

[cabrales]

Bux & Steve Klc -- I wonder what praline "a l'ancienne" might be.  

[cabrales]

The October 2002 edition of Elle a Table mentions the following two new creations from the Autumn-Winter 2002 collection of Herme (note translations are extremely rough, and I was unsure of one or two terms)

-- Emotion Acidulee (Emotions of Acidity) -- Rice with milk with mascarpone (or mascarpone milk?), pan-fried apples flavored with "pain d'epices", underneath a gelee of green lemon or lime, with mint

-- Plenitude -- In a macaron, bitter chocolat and fleur de sel

[Lesley C]

I just heard from a friend in Paris who read that Pierre Hermé is having some sort of financial difficulties. Apparently there were a few discreet lines in Le Figaro last week about trouble with his partner. Has anyone else heard this news? I'm sure he'd have no problem finding another backer if these reports are correct?

[ajay]

I have not yet had the opportunity to sample Herme's creations [i'm particularly interested in his utilization of rose flavoring]--either in Paris or in Wegmans (Paris would be preferrable, of course, of course).

Everytime I hear of financial problems, I think that a chef will pull a Kunz and basically leave the active culinary scene for a while. I hope that will not be true of Herme, if his problems turn out to be serious.

[cabrales]

I heard very vaguely that something might have happened to Kurova.

[robert brown]

Who's Kurova?

[Steve Plotnicki]

Korova (or is it Korovo) is the restaurant Herme's wife runs on rue Marbeuf. There is a small Pierre Herme shop at the front of the store. It's a weird, if not fun place to have lunch.

[cabrales]

Below is an article by Alison James in the October 21-27 edition of Variety ("Star eateries starving as Parisians bite bullet"):

"[T]he two celeb-centric eateries [Kurova and Paris branch of Nobu] are in deep trouble. Both filed for the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection recently --- amid accusations of mismanagement --- along with the trendiest patisserie in Paris: Pierre Herme. All three establishments have a shareholder in common, ubiquitous TV presenter/ producer Jean-Luc Delarue, whose success in the TV biz has apparently proved more difficult to replicate in the risky business of upmarket restauranting. . . . A telephone call to the Korova went unanswered, but Nobu was still open for business last week. . . ."

[robert brown]

Cabrales, would you care to give us more from the article or provide a link if it is on-line? Thanks.

[cabrales]

robert -- There wasn't anything else that was important, and I do not believe it is available over the net. The article is a bit unclear with respect to basic info, I agree.

[cabrales]

Bonjour Paris reports the following: "Korova's closed, Nobu's no more. There's a sniff of bankruptcy in the herb-filled air of many Paris watering holes. Some blame the 35-hours, some the fact that young Turks no longer want to work like young Turks." Do members know if Nobu, Paris has closed for good?

http://www.bparis.com/newsletter1464/newsl...m?doc_id=128270

[thefoodhunter]

I had a fabulous dinner at Nobu on October 14. It was my first ever Nobu experience, I've never been to the NY or other outposts. I went with a Japanese friend and we ordered the 150 euro tasting menu. I wasn't taking notes, but I remember endless excellent dishes, impeccable service and a totally packed house, upstairs and downstairs on a Monday night. My Japanese friend lives in Paris and thanked me for introducing him to the first Japanese style restaurant he had ever eaten in that reminded him of Japan, at least as far as the food is concerned. Last saturday I bought a huge box of macaroons from Pierre Hermé rue Bonaparte, must have been a few hours after Steve Ps aborted attempt. If you want to skip the lines there is a secret, order by phone and pay in advance. You can walk by all the tourists and snooty French folk give your name pick up your goods and split.

[cabrales]

Marc -- Have you been to one of the Japanese restaurants on r. Mont-Thabor, behind the Meurice and buildings adjacent to it (sort of)? One of them is supposed to be fairly good (one of them that is closer to the Thuileries, on that side of the road, than on the other).

[Rhea_S]

Excerpt from the newly-published Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan:

"Korova was the name of the milk bar in Stanley Kubrick's classic film, A Clockwork Orange. It was also the name of a restaurant off the Champs-Elysees for which Pierre Herme created these cookies. The restaurant is gone, but the cookies are still a specialty at Pierre's patisserie"

Seems that Ms. Greenspan knew well ahead that Korova would be closing.

[paw]

A friend who just got back from Paris says Hermé has a new pastry shop on the rue Bonaparte. She reports that the macarons and the kougelhopf are the best she's ever had, and she knows her stuff.

Is the rue Bonaparte address the one that was rumored to be in peril?

[cabrales]

paw -- No. Rue Bonaparte is on the Left Bank. The Kurova venue is on the Right Bank, in the 8th arrondisement. Bonparte is the best location for the range of Herme chocolates, in my experience.

[Bux]

But if Herme is in trouble himself, his two shops--both on the left bank--will be in trouble. Korova was his wife's restaurant, although they sold his desserts and pastries.