Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Cuisine With a French Flair


So to wrap up a series of blogs about Paris, I could hardly close without mentioning French cuisine. It was a dominant theme in our weekend together. Remember I told you I was there visiting a friend who had rented an apartment for 3 months? Well, here she is, enjoying her Cordon Bleu cooking class, one of her "dreams come true."



The weekend I was there, she took an all day class on fish, and we reaped the benefits that evening back at the apartment. Four courses of fish--can't beat that!



The availability of fresh food in every neighborhood is only steps away from your doorstep--the cheese shop,



the local butcher selling poultry



and fresh beef and pork.



Avoid this butcher though, unless you know what you're getting--horse meat. The first clue is a horse's head above the shop. You still see a few of them around town.



Every shop selling food makes an art of their displays.  Candy at La Cure Gourmande,



olive oil at Oliviers and Company in the Marais,



patisseries on every block,



always works of art.



Macarons of every color and flavor,



bons-bons in rainbow colors from the Japanese Patisserie Sadaharu AOKI,





and colorful-----WAIT...., how did this photo get in here? Looking like eye candy, but certainly not, this is the selection of toilet paper at the luxury toilet boutique at the Printemps department store--Point WC, it's called. New and deluxe, and certainly not free, if you want to read more about their strategy of luxury toilets at several locations in Paris, you can read more here. A whole new market to explore, with an offer of a personal shopper to make your experience more pleasurable.

How did I digress?

9 comments:

  1. such beautiful colors! it is my daughter's dream
    to attend the cordon bleu after learning portuguese
    in brazil.

    where in the world she came from i'll never know! :)

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  2. Hi Debi , so pleased you enjoyed "The flowers" on my blog :-) just a little thank you to you all..

    The picture with the horses head also has another clue , Chevaline .. Isn't Cheval French for Horse? I have been to Oliviers in Rue Cler and seen the Candy in a shop in Bercy Village. I cannot imagine for one minute renting an apartment in Paris for 3 months, it would be a dream. Something I was talking about today to my friends at work, but I was thinking of just one month .. If only I could afford to do it ..maybe one day. take care Anne

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  3. Oh my! I wonder how the horse butcher makes his displays artful...

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  4. Bonjour Debi:- I have so enjoyed your trip to Paris & to see those beautiful buildings was a real treat! what a wonderful opportunity for your friend to attend the cooking class that would have been so...special.
    Wow!! those toilet rolls~definitely classy I think I'll take the pretty lemon shade.

    ~Dianne~

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  5. Salut Debi. What a great riot of colour in those fab photos. A fantastic post and it just makes me miss Paris...

    Now: About finding somewhere nice and Autumnal for the weekend outside London: Not so easy and I haven't lived here thaaat long. We generally head out into Kent (the Garden of England) and just enjoy the beautiful countryside and as you know, Chartwell House is one of my favourite spots out there and you can obviously be inside should the weather be rubbish which might be important in this country ;-) There's a beautiful pub called "Spotted Dog" in Penshurst with fantastic views... Well worth a visit. Enjoy! Have a great weekend, Love from London x

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  6. We saw that SAME horse meat store for the first time on this trip! We have exact pictures of it... too funny!

    I have enjoyed all your Paris posts!

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  7. Loved the colorful post! And I was amazed at all the food shops in London. Remind me to lose 20 pounds before I visit Paris!

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  8. It was really interesting to read, I would probably spend a fortune in the patisseries:) Greetings!

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  9. Your timing was perfect - you were there at he right time to experience your friend's culinary talents. That sounds like a lot of fun. One class I would like to have is in making sauces.
    Well, from now on I am going to be looking out for tell-tale signs of animals and maybe also insects.

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