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The art of cooking

Cooking is an ephemeral art meant to delight first your eyes and then your palate. Like any craft, this level of mastery is achieved after many years of practice.

Taillevent, the king's cook, published the first French recipe book in 1380. This book contained 145 rather hearty recipes and dishes.

Baker

Traditional artisan bakers are careful to use flour with healthy nutrients. All of these cereals have a specific taste. The fermentation of the dough, kneading, and cooking are part of its know-how.

Bakers perpetuate a tradition dating back to antiquity with the marking of bread, like the Poilâne house with the letter P on the bread.

Mr. Antoine Parmentier and Mr. Cadet de Vaux ran the first bakery school created in Paris in 1780.

Bread marking for the house Poilâne.

The French Baguette

The baguette is a French symbol that was first considered the bread of the wealthy before spreading to other regions. There are several versions regarding the origin of the French baguette. Napoleon's baker would have created it so that it could be more easily transported in the pockets of soldiers. Another possibility is that the baker August Zang would have imported it to France, opening a bakery in Paris in 1839 with specialties such as Vienna’s kipferl in crescent shape, created for the victory of Vienna under assault from the Ottoman Empire. And the last explanation is that it would have been created for workers on the construction site of the Paris underground, allowing them to break bread without a knife.

A contest has been organized in Paris for the best baguette since 1994. A panel of specialized journalists and a few Parisians analyzed several criteria, like the taste, the crispy golden crust, and a sufficiently dimpled crumb. The winner receives a medal, becomes the supplier of the Elysée Palace for one year, and especially has new clients in the shop looking for the best baguette. Some provincial towns also organize competitions for the best bread in the region.

Pastry chef

The pastry' guild was one of the oldest guilds in Paris. The oldest documents date from the 13th century.

Before exercising his talents and using his imagination, the pastry chef must master the practice of several techniques, such as the spinning of sugar. Know-how is acquired through practice, by putting the hand to the dough.

Fine pastry chefs such as Jules Gouffé (1807–1877), with a creative spirit, developed this art and produced parts mounted in the shape of world maps, military or marine trophies, replicas of the pavilion, musical instruments, and fountains.

sugar sculptures

The sculpture called great century

For these chocolate sculptures to be comparable to works of art, these tests must be repeated with perseverance and the search for the right proportions.

Tempering chocolate, of which there are several methods, requires precision to gradually melt the chocolate at the right temperature and in a uniform way. Many pastry chefs used this technique to make moldings. The crystallization phase will make it possible to preserve the shiny appearance of the chocolate. The quality of it also influences the result because of the proportion of cocoa butter.

The realization of a chocolate sculpture begins with the sketches of shapes on a drawing and the choice of shades according to the colors available. The first stage is the creation of a stable, solid base. Then comes the preparation of the separate elements during the final assembly, during which the pastry chef can demonstrate his talent.

The sculpture: “Great century” by  M. Jean-Luc Decluzeau

Ingredients: 300 hours, 500 kg of chocolate.
The recipe is: mix a lot of patience, add a good quantity of know-how, then sprinkle a few facts without forgetting a big touch of fineness.
The result: a face-to-face impressive of 2.70 m high and 2.60 m wide, with a couple in a Louis XIV suit.

The carefully crafted details on costumes, hair, shoes, and even a reproduction wooden floor and a chair with armrests are impressive.

The replica of the Concorde, a mounted piece realized by Mr. Yves Gautier.