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New Pierre Herme Chocolate book..


tan319

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Ms. Monteaux appears to be the president of the elite "Societe du Chocolat" (?) did I mangle that???

It appears the it has recipes all built around one of his "Fetishes," Carre'ment Chocolat, which is also the title.

I can't figure out the link lanquage here yet so just go to the Livre or Librarie menu of his website.

Priced at 19.90nit on Amazon fr. or other.

Scout_21 found out about it too at the same time.

Perhaps he found some alternate sources

2317/5000

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<rant> :angry::wacko:

I decided to boycott Pierre Hermé after the publishing of Macaron.

He publishes fantastic books on pastry and then proceeds to ignore the demand for them once the first print run sells out.

I suspect these small print runs are intentional, to encourage exclusivity. He simply must be aware of the demand for his work. It's ravenous! If his publisher isn't, he should find another. He/they must know that, with existing demand, small publishing runs result in stratospheric prices and near-complete lack of availability. Or maybe that's the idea? Porsche is made by hand, Dior too, et tu Hermé? Do we sew the bindings ourselves with special, Ispahan-colored silk threading, glue the binding with flavored epoxy?

Just about every major work he's put out is physically (none available, shipping from the ends of the earth for often exorbitant rates, waiting for months to arrive) and/or economically (hundreds of dollars per book) unavailable to most who want a copy.

He doesn't hide the fact that his production follows the model of haute couture fashion, debuting a new collection with each season; and, like couture, he seems intent to tempt us with his creative genius and simultaneously exclude us from his work with this faux, ongoing caché of exclusivity that results from limited print runs.

I'll say nothing for the refusal to publish in English, other than that English translations would sell magnitudes more than the French, not just in the US, but worldwide.

I, for one, have had it with the House of Hermé.

I can make my own ma-ca-rwans. :laugh:

</rant>

Edited by fooey (log)

Fooey's Flickr Food Fotography

Brünnhilde, so help me, if you don't get out of the oven and empty the dishwasher, you won't be allowed anywhere near the table when we're flambeéing the Cherries Jubilee.

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"Macaron" is the first international Herme book to be taken out of print like that as far as I can see.

The two American books, "Desserts" and "Chocolate Desserts by..." went out of print here in the USA because of the market?

You can still buy both in French for not much more than they were costing here.

" La Patisserie" and PH10 are both priced fairly ( think college textbook) it would seem.

The price gougers on the used market on Amazon/etc. are just that for the US out of prints.

"Carrement Chocolate looks like fun for under 35 bucks.

I'll take it.

2317/5000

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"La Patisserie" and PH10 are available in Europe for less than the $400 or more dollars on the used market here?

I might reconsider if that's the case; but, you're right, "price gougers" they are.

What are some non-Amazon retailers, large retailers that compete with Amazon in France that might have them in stock at a more reasonable price?

I agree with you that the price of a college textbook is about right for these, but then the last time I checked on college textbooks prices was a decade ago, when I was in college. :unsure: I've heard they cost hundreds each these days.

Fooey's Flickr Food Fotography

Brünnhilde, so help me, if you don't get out of the oven and empty the dishwasher, you won't be allowed anywhere near the table when we're flambeéing the Cherries Jubilee.

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The two American books, "Desserts" and "Chocolate Desserts by..." went out of print here in the USA because of the market?

I got both of mine as half-price remainders, which suggests that the publisher was not experiencing very much demand at the time, or at least not enough to make it worth keeping the books in the warehouse. Just for my own amusement, I searched Bookfinder and eBay for Macaron and found nothing, which is actually unusual. It would appear that used copies of Herme's professional books are actually pretty scarce. Unfortunately, the way the publishing business works, the fact that a book is hard to find and expensive used does not necessarily translate into enough demand to keep a book in print.

"I think it's a matter of principle that one should always try to avoid eating one's friends."--Doctor Dolittle

blog: The Institute for Impure Science

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http://www.derecoquinaria.com/lista.asp?categoria=9&subcat=194&tema=133

The above is a sub-catagory of a Spanish type of book seller.

PH10 , in French, is 130 euro.

La Patisserie is 115 euro in French and English.

When PH stuff goes out of print now the going price will be sky high.

That's no fault of his I would think.

Oh, I just saw the new "Carrement Chocolat"on Amazon,fr for 18 euro.

In closing, don't buy these euro books off of Amazon.us.

You'll pay double.

2317/5000

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Have you ordered from them before, Kerrey?

Yup, I order from them all the time. I compare the price with Amazon.com and decide which I'm going to choose - but it doesn't look like Amazon.com has this book. Must be because it's in French.

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  • 1 month later...

I've always had great service from Amazon .fr as long as you use express delivery/chronopost

I've always been fairly pleased ordering from sites like amazon.fr or alapage.com with the following caveat: be aware the the phrase 'En stock' means little and if you, like me, try to order more than one item to make the most of your postage costs they'll simply drop the out of stock item and send you the remaining one with no notice until it has shipped.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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No pictures, all french. Going to be a challenge!

I don't have the book but let me know if I can help, Kerry.

John DePaula
formerly of DePaula Confections
Hand-crafted artisanal chocolates & gourmet confections - …Because Pleasure Matters…
--------------------
When asked “What are the secrets of good cooking? Escoffier replied, “There are three: butter, butter and butter.”

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No pictures, all french. Going to be a challenge!

I don't have the book but let me know if I can help, Kerry.

Thanks John,

I might just mail it your way and you can tell me what's good in there!

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