October 4, 2010 by Maggie Battista
While I love the pace of a vibrant city like Paris, I’m a New England girl at heart. As such, there’s nothing like a big green vista or a vast ocean to make me feel at home.
On my latest trip abroad – which started off with a bang last week at the lovely Chateau de Raissac (more to come on that later) – I’m scheming up several more excursions beyond the fairest city to see the landscapes of Normandy and explore the farms and vineyards of Provence. While bopping across the country, I’m hoping to make a short jaunt to visit a new virtual friend, Kate. We met on Twitter, but I already feel like we’re best friends.
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Posted in Food, Green, Tours and Classes, Travel | 9 Comments »
June 30, 2010 by Parisien Salon
Hip Paris friend Linda Donahue, behind the wonderful site Parisien Salon, just launched PS Privé - a collection of boutique tours and workshops intended to “give you a glimpse behind the closed doors of Parisian restaurants, fashion houses, artists and entertainers.” Since Linda’s talent for discovering and keeping abreast of the latest Parisian happenings is impressive even to the most jaded Parisians, we trust her new project will soon be just as successful as her wonderful website. Here she gives us a first-hand account of how the inspiration came about.
When we launched ParisienSalon.com back in May 2009, we were hoping for a positive response. We got that and more. In fact, the feedback we received went well beyond anything we expected. One response we didn’t expect was, “When are you going to start doing tours in Paris?” So many of our wonderful readers asked this question, and we just didn’t know what to say. After all, there are so many great people already doing tours in Paris, and we didn’t know what else we could possibly offer.
But one day, over a few glasses of wine in a Paris café, we realized that what we had been doing since our launch – offering insider access to the French capital – was also something we could easily build upon. We knew people, after all.
So, after months of head-scratching, brainstorming and strategising, we’re pleased to announce the birth of P.S. Privé. This “Paris experience company” will offer classes, workshops, excursions and special events in the City of Light. Continue Reading »
Posted in Tours and Classes | 2 Comments »
June 21, 2010 by Cristina - From Buenos Aires to Paris
This delicious recipe comes courtesy of new Hip Paris friend Cristina – cook, writer, photographer and blogger extraordinaire. Her mouth-watering blog, From Buenos Aires to Paris, grew from her desire to learn to cook like the French – which is something we can all relate to! For scrumptious recipes and inviting images all year long be sure to check out Christina’s delicious blog. Be sure to let all of us at HiP Paris know what you think of the moelleux once you have baked one!
One of the things that first catches our foreign eye when we come to France, apart from the Eiffel Tower, is the moelleux au chocolat — that typical French cake, so simple, yet so decadent, moist, scrumptious …And, immediately, we come to the conclusion that such a treat must be archi-compliqué to make… It ‘s French after all !
Today, I am going to show you not only how to make a moelleux but to take it to haute-pâtisserie levels, by coating it with the most luscious mirror glaze, and to top it off, a wonderfully fresh array of berries…
What ? You believe you can’t make it ? Well, unlike most foodbloggers who admit having felt a passion for cooking since an early age, I spent all my life away from the kitchens, teaching at schools and university, until one day, destiny took me to France (Yes, we are puppets in the hands of God), and there, a new passion was born ! but since learning on my own was hard, I decided to train professionally both in Buenos Aires and in Paris : Ecole Alain Ducasse, Ecole Lenôtre, in Plaisir…internship with the famous Parisian pâtissier Gérard Mulot…
This cake is not hard to make, but the first secret to incredible taste and texture begins with top quality chocolate … here I used Vahrona 61% cacao (you can buy the 1kilo package at G. Detou – 58 rue Tiquetonne). I would advise you chocolate no less than 55% cacao, but not too high either, since the cake might turn too bitter. Same holds good for the cocoa powder…this incredibly brilliant mirror glaze is impossible to achieve without good cocoa powder
Ok, let’s get working…here is the recipe…
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Posted in Food, HiP Recipes | 5 Comments »
June 16, 2010 by Rosa Jackson
Rosa Jackson, the fabulous food writer and chef, is based in Nice where she conducts market tours and succulent Provençal cooking classes. She travels to Paris frequently (as one must) in order to keep up with the restaurant scene. Last year, she stayed at Haven in Paris’ very own Houdon flat. This lovely write-up ensued on her blog…
I have a vision of my perfect Paris apartment. It would be high up – stairs don’t scare me – with a small balcony and a sweeping view over the zinc rooftops, punctuated here and there with church spires and glimmering domes. There would be parquet floors, big windows on both sides (east and west, ideally) and a sunny kitchen that opens onto the living space. Oh, and it would have central heating.
When I first laid eyes on Erica Berman’s apartment just south of Abbesses Métro station, I felt slightly breathless. That might have had something to do with the five flights of stairs required to reach it, but it also came from the certainty that this was my dream apartment. I loved the antique table and mismatched chairs, I loved the contemporary paintings and well-tended plants, and I especially loved the vintage wooden pâtisserie sign above the kitchen, which Erica found at a market in Provence.
It’s no surprise that Erica’s flat should seem so effortlessly tasteful, given that she is the owner of the hippest apartment rental agency around: Haven in Paris. I first met Erica when she came to do one of my food tours in Nice, and I immediately realized that we had many things in common: our love of Paris, Provence and Italy (especially Liguria), our fondness for off-the-beaten track bed-and-breakfasts, and our insatiable curiosity about new Paris restaurants.
When I dropped by her Paris apartment before a meal at the nearby bistro Le Cul de Poule (here is a report on the Haven in Paris blog), she beckoned me onto the balcony for a glass of Italian wine. Erica has lived in Paris for 17 years and there is almost nothing she doesn’t know about the city, as proved by her frequently updated blog. We chatted about good and not-so-good meals she has had in the Pigalle and Montmartre area: her current favorites are Le Miroir (94 rue des Martyrs, 18th) and Guilo Guilo (8 rue Garreau, 18th), the second run by a renowned chef from Kyoto.
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Posted in Homes, Parisian Living, Travel | 8 Comments »
May 7, 2010 by Rosa Jackson
I was pleasantly surprised to discover Pramil with Rosa Jackson and Paule Caillat for a tasty dinner of refreshingly delicious, and reasonably priced French fare and excellent company. Pramil is a tiny bistro tucked away on a small side street in the hip Arts and Metiers neighborhood of Paris. I’m already plotting my return and thanks to Rosa’s great write up, I can re-live the savors and the experience until I’m able to find my way there again! — Erica.
When it comes to restaurants, I’m not really that demanding. I want the basic ingredients to be seasonal and good. I want the cooking to show restraint: nothing puts me off more than an overly complicated plate. And I want the chef to have a heart that shines through in the food.
Sounds simple, right? Yet these three elements come together more rarely than you might think, even in Paris. That’s why a recent meal at Pramil felt so refreshing.
Rosa Jackson
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Posted in Food, Tours and Classes | 2 Comments »
October 16, 2009 by Erica Berman
Uninspired by the usual Monoprix, Franprix, ED, and Carrefour supermarkets in Montmartre, none of which thrill me or encourage me to buy much of anything (I prefer the small market shops on rue des Abbesses and Lepic), I was intrigued to see a new supermarket, Le Marché des Gastronomes, open its doors right across from my very own metro, Pigalle.
As soon as possible I headed on over. Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Green, Parisian Living | 5 Comments »
Kitchen at Camont - Tim Clinch
Kitchen at Camont - Tim Clinch
