Pierre Hermé needs no introduction to macaron lovers – I’ve yet to meet a food lover or blogger that doesn’t adore these delicate little sweet morsels from heaven. Interestingly, Pierre Hermé Paris stores began in Tokyo, where most things French will receive an appreciative audience. He has been called anything from “the Picasso of pastry ” (Vogue), “pastry provocateur” (Food & Wine), “an avant-garde pastry chef and a magician with tastes” (Paris-Match), “kitchen emperor” (New York Times), “The King of modern pâtisserie” (The Guardian). High praise indeed. So it was with curiousity and excitement that I visited the main store on the Rue de Bonaparte.

It seems that on the smallest and most inconspicuous of streets in Paris lies a treasure trove of fantastic artists or designers that specialise in food. Case in point, Pierre Hermé’s shop is on a smallish street, unannounced when you’d think they would be shouting it from the high rooftops of Paris. The only hint is the minimalist words “Pierre Hermé” and the crowd. And what a crowd it is, it’s a tight fit to get into this tiny little store, outfitted like a designer set from Ugly Betty where 5 men in designer black outfits behind the counter take your precious order. It’s a little extreme and makes me giggle, especially when I am served by a very serious young man with one of those Kylie Minogue stretch headbands. Even the staff at Louis Vuitton weren’t this serious.

Keeping in mind my splurge at Laduree the other day and for good measure, a parting reminder of it before he exits the crowded shop by my husband, I select comparatively few things. Just a Desire, a 2000 Feuilles and a selection of 7 macarons in a box. I could get them packed in a plastic bag but given that the counter guy has just tried to pick up three with his tongs only to have them crumble right in front of me, I ask for the box. It’s extra of course like all nice boxes here in Paris (grrr). I feel proud that I’ve only chosen a few things and my total is only €22.88.

2000 Feuilles €6.20

We don’t have long to go home and once we do I take them out of their boxes. As the weather was a warm 25 degrees today we have to act quickly, the 2000 Feuilles is on the verge of melting. In fact just seconds after the photos were taken, it collapsed. It doesn’t stop me from sticking my fork into it and plundering its many layers. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the pastry perfectly crispy despite the custard layers (how do they do this in Paris? Everywhere else it goes soggy) and the cream is a rich caramel cream with a chocolate crunch at the bottom. The bottom layer is brushed on the base with butter and sugar. The textures on this pastry are incredible and should you ever come face to face with this pastry, open your mouth and take a bite-I dare you to stop at just one forkful.

Desire €6.60

The Desire, a fitting name is a sponge filled with cream and raspberry jelly, a lovely light concoction but I have the feeling I should have chosen a more exotic offering.

Close up with focus on the Jasmin silver dusted macaron

Macarons 7 boxed for €10.00

The macarons are what made him famous so the flavours I tried were: Eden (Peach, saffron and apricot), Jasmin, Rose, caramel a la Fleur de Sel, Mosaic (Pistachio, cinnamon and griottines aka french morello cherries), grapefruit, Mogador (chocolate and passionfruit). The Eden with apricot is my definite favourite, it is so definitely apricot-ey followed by the delicate Jasmine and Mogador (chocolate and passionfruit). The trends for these gorgeous little things are edible metallic dusts, seen most distinctly on the Jasmin macaron.

I hate to be one of those people who always has a suggestion or always harks back to something “back home” but in Tokyo, one isn’t charged for getting something in a lovely box, and this box is also functional in that it preserves your goodies perfectly so that they can be consumed with both visual and palatable pleasure. There’s nothing worse than reaching home and finding that your food has been smashed to smithereens. It upsets me in fact, that I’ve paid a premium for something that looks perfect only to eat something that looks like it’s through the spin dryer. Another thing that they will also do in Tokyo, if you’ve got a long trip home, is put in a packet of dry ice which would have helped save the 2000 Feuilles should I have wanted to bring them to someone else’s house for dinner.

In any case, my husband, my very own Louis XIV, the man whose mantra is “quantity over quality” finds himself enraptured by the macarons. When someone brings up Pierre Hermé, he startles awake and says in a very impressed tone “that Pierre guy, he makes really good biscuits”.

Pierre Hermé

72 rue de Bonaparte, 6th arrondisement 75006 Paris
Tel : +33 (1) 43 54 47 77
Open 7 days 10:00-19:00 (Saturdays open until 19:30)
http://www.pierreherme.com

Not even the dampening, miserable weather could put a lid on my enthusiasm for today. For today was the day that I was to meet and attend a cooking lesson held by Adriano Zumbo, creator of the most sublime cakes. Held as part of the Balmain Rozelle Food Week (April 21-27) this Wednesday night Adriano held just two classes for some very lucky people.

The elusive Adriano Zumbo

Trained in Paris at Ecole Lenotre, Adriano has also represented Australia in the Wold Cup of Patissier, the “Coup de Monde de la Patissier” and the “Chocolate Masters” yet those of us that await his new season’s creations like eager groupies at his small but perfectly formed patisserie only know of his friendly staff, as Adriano himself remains an elusive character. Not so tonight.

The recipe

It’s wet and rainy this Wednesday night at 6pm yet there are 20 eager students huddled in the entranceway. Each one is given a clean tea towel and apron as tonight’s class, Gateaux de Voyage is a hands on class making a coconut and coriander cake as well as a tart filled with caramel, lemon curd, praline feulletine noisette and topped with chocolate mousse and chocolate swirls. In the flesh, Adriano is much younger than you’d expect. I pictured an older grumpy but tortured egotistical artistic genius but he a young, smiling and modest guy with an eyebrow and upper ear piercing who looks like he’d be right at home at a music festival or sitting at an inner city cafe. The crowd tonight is a fairly even mix of women and men, some couples, some mums and daughters, even two of my old university professors are there and of course food lovers and I’m chuffed to hear that some are NQN readers-hello!

Adriano asks everyone to introduce themselves and explain what they do for a living to break the ice. After that, people group off into 4 groups of 5 people, each team making their own coconut and coriander cake and then making parts of the multi layered tart.

The first supply to materialise is an enormous hunk of butter on a blue plastic sheet – a good 50cm cube which was taken to with a large knife by the various groups to get their supply. I am somewhat fascinated by this enormous chunk of butter-I realise too fascinated when I get home and realise that I’ve taken 7 pictures of said hunk of butter.

Yes another pic, but it was huge!

Supply room

For the rest of the ingredients they are directed to the storeroom, a neatly stacked and ordered room.

Gordon Ramsay would be proud

There’s also a sign reminding everyone of cleaning standards, something Gordon Ramsay would only be too proud of.

I also see the beginnings of the famous Miss Marple crepe cake!

Everyone starts mixing and beating and I survey the kitchen. Adriano and his team of 4 is on hand to give advice and to ensure that everyone is following the directions that they’ve been given. Bowls are passed out and everyone is busy busy busy.

I look around and notice all of the equipment. There’s a thing that looks like a linen press or a piece of gym equipment which I am told is a pastry machine which stretches and rolls pastry. There are also three Kitchenaids of the heavy duty variety and another large mixer. At one end of the room is a huge prover set at 32 degrees for dough and at the other end two multi tiered ovens.

There’s also a huge dough mixer and I also see the enormous dough hooks that go with it.

I ask Adriano how his inspiration process works and he explains that he is at first struck with inspiration for a look which he then pairs with a list he has of flavours that he feels will work well together. Inspiration can come from anything and everything and of course like a writer or an artist, when he wants inspiration, it refuses to come. He is never short of ideas though, hence his being able to come with up a new collection every 3 or 6 months and his next collection for Winter may be out in June this year. And for those of you who want to see a cake runway show, do go to the Adriano Zumbo Appreciation Society Facebook page. When he feels that he has enough people interested, he will do one!

Tonight, they’re making two variations of the cake, a coconut and coriander butter cake and a lime and basil butter cake. Adriano shows a lady how to roll up the basil leaves together in order to cut them easier.

Buttering tins

Dusting with shredded coconut

Filled with cake mix

The mix for the cake is almost done and the tins are buttered and then dusted with shredded coconut and then filled before being popped in the oven.

Now onto the tarts! The first step is to make the caramel, lemon curd and the chocolate caramel mousse. It turns out that the chocolate caramel mousse didn’t quite come together so a fast chocolate mousse was used instead. Whilst each group does a different filling, one group starts trimming the ready rolled uncooked pastry. These are then filled with liners and then pie weights and baked dark until beautifully crispy. And I do love these tarts shells more than a person should love pastry.

One of the things that most Zumbo lovers appreciate is his attention to detail and his unfailing refusal to use the same details or decorations across his cakes. Indeed it is astounding how many individual components are made to create one single cake, at least 5 or 6, let alone the range of cakes that his patisserie produces. Ever since my first try, I’ve been hooked on the look and the taste of these fabulous creations.

Using the heat gun

So it’s with fascination that we watch Adriano create the chocolate swirls – the flourish to top off the tart. The whole process to make the 16 or so swirls takes about an hour from start to finish yet his patience is unwavering in the pursuit of the perfect flourish. It starts with heating the chocolate and getting it to the correct temperature. Adriano heats it to 50 degrees then drops it by 23 degrees, he of course knows this by feel and by instinct but most of us would be doing this by the thermometer. he’s looking for the perfect “crack”when the chocolate breaks with a glossy finish. When the chocolate needs more melting, he uses the heat gun again.

After that he sprays large sheet of acrylic with the coloured sprays, a relatively new product from France which is a huge time saver in his kitchen. Adriano says that Paris is is really the place to go to learn about the craft although there is a cooking school in Chicago run by two French chefs that also does an excellent job.

Once dry, these are then cut into strips

He then dollops a measure of melted chocolate and then using a comb runs it through touching the acrylic to make the lines.

He lifts it off and then semi dries it .

Each piece is then cut in half and twirled around and let to set in the fridge into a curl shape.

The tarts are then filled firstly with the liquidey caramel, then a light sprinkle of salt flakes, and then the praline disc.

They are then filled with lemon curd.

And then topped with piped chocolate mousse before receiving their last flourish-the chocolate swirls!

We learn that these tarts are a one off not sold in the store and created specially for tonight’s event which makes these delicious morsels even more special. One bite into the crunchy crust and praline, sweet caramel but tangy with lemon and dark chocolate I’m reminded again of how much I love the textural and flavour balance of Zumbo cakes. And when we hear the pop of champagne corks and are handed some bubbly, suddenly everything gets even sweeter.

The cakes are cut up and everyone takes pieces of the cakes and tarts home in a large white cake box. Everyone thanks Adriano and his lovely team for having us, it seems we are all happier for the glimpse into the Zumbo kitchen and to meet the man himself and his team.

For more events see the Balmain Rozelle Food Week program guide here (pdf).

To visit and join the Adriano Zumbo Appreciation Society Facebook page, click here.

To download the recipes click Adriano Zumbo Coconut and Coriander cake or Adriano Zumbo chocolate caramel lemon tart

Adriano Zumbo

296 Darling Street
Balmain NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9810-7318
Open: 8am-6pm Mon-Sat
8am-4pm Sunday