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Charles & Marie

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Archive for October, 2005

Big Tree Farms: Balinese Sea Salt

October 27th, 2005

SaltBig Tree Farms handcrafts exquisitely beautiful Balinese Sea Salt, Javanese honey, and several other epicurean delights. The Big Tree Farm is really a special place, supporting the preservation of sustainable industries throughout Indonesia. They say “Our hope is that by creating a model that is both ecologically sustainable and economically viable, we can offer the power of choice for a better future to the many disenfranchised artisans and traditional producers that make this region the so very beautiful.” All the packaging on their Balinese Sea Salt is hand made locally, and printed on recycled paper. They are truly producers of ‘Artisan Foods’, check out their site for more.

The Italian ‘Bible’ on Home Cookery

October 23rd, 2005

Silver Spoon“The Silver Spoon” is the most influential and successful cookbook in Italy recently published by Phaidon. Originally published in 1950, it became an instant classic, selling over one million copies in eight editions. Considered essential in every household, it is still one of the most popular wedding presents today.

The Silver Spoon was conceived and published by Domus, the design and architectural magazine famously directed by Giò Ponti from the 1920s to the 1970s. A select group of cooking experts was commissioned to collect hundreds of traditional Italian recipes and make them available for the first time to a wider modern audience.

In the process, they updated ingredients, quantities and methods to suit contemporary tastes and customs, at the same time preserving the memory of ancient recipes for future generations. They furthermore included modern recipes from some of the most famous Italian chefs, resulting in a style of cooking that appeals alike to the gourmet chef and the amateur enthusiast.
MORE…

Ladurée: The Story of The Macaroon

October 14th, 2005

Esprit IndienThese small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are the most famous creation of Ladurée. 

The story of the Ladurée macaroon starts with Pierre Desfontaines, distant cousin of Louis Ernest Ladurée, who at the beginning of the 20th century first thought of taking two macaroon shells and joining them with a delicious ganache filling. The way of making them hasn’t changed since. 

They are made every morning in Ladurée’s “laboratory.” The pastry chefs measure out very precisely the required amounts of almonds, eggs, and sugar before adding one final ingredient, a pinch of the unique “know-how” essential to the making of such a delicacy. 

Once cooked and filled, the macaroons are put to the side for two days before going on sale, precisely the amount time it takes to achieve a perfect balance between texture and flavour.

FragonnardWith each new season, Ladurée pays tribute to its most famous creation by creating a new flavour. The existing range of macaroons is always the starting point when a new one is created, as the variety of colours is as important as the range of flavours and a vital part of their appeal.

To mark the launch of Fragonard’s new “Confidentiel” line, the Costa sisters, longtime friends and associates of Ladurée, have created, with Philippe Andrieu (their Head Pastry Chef) a new white macaroon, delicately flavoured with orange blossom, so symbolic of the South. This delightful new treat is sold in an elegant box with a design of old perfume bottles from collections in the Fragonard perfume museum.

Chefs with a mission

October 13th, 2005

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Some of the best-known names in the culinary industry are giving the whites off their backs to help Chefs For Humanity, a new organization founded by Cat Cora (we all remember her as the first female Iron Chef America). Thomas Keller, Jacques Pépin, Mario Batali, and Todd English, just to name a few, have all donated their signed whites, which have just been auctioned off on eBay to support this grassroots organization. Chefs for Humanity wants to mobilize new audiences and tap into new resources to raise funds for worldwide humanitarian efforts and seeks to develop health and nutrition education programs to permanently improve the lives of those affected by hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.

Flash In The Pan?

October 5th, 2005

Certainly not! Blits is Rotterdam’s latest culinary hotspot that opened not even 2 weeks ago, that got Amsterdam talking, and that is highly unusual for a Rotterdam launch… Designed by Marcel Wanders the restaurant is located on the banks of the Maas in a building by Francine Houben from Mecanoo Architects. More a theater than a normal restaurant, Blits focusses on the experience, not just the food. But don’t be alarmed, chef Glyn Stoker is responsible for the culinary creations that perfectly compliment the theatre like atmosphere. Even though it isn’t what we’d call intimately small it is a definite destination for a killer date: in the middle of the restaurant, high above all the other tables you’ll be able to reserve the Love Suite. A tiny room created for a special tete a tete, that should make for a very memorable dinner…

So if you needed a reason to hop on that plane of yours and visit Rotterdam, Blits should be reason enough…

Blits
Boompejs 701
3011 XZ Rotterdam
Netherlands
+31 – 10 – 282 90 51
www.blits-rotterdam.nl

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