Paris_ The Collected Traveler - Barrie Kerper [103]
The mill produces about three hundred liters of oil per day, 365 days a year. Leblanc père, now eighty-two, still delivers to clients within a fifty-mile radius. One is Franck Lesaige, chef and owner of Le Relais de Saint Julien in nearby Saint-Julien-de-Jonzy.
“I use Leblanc oils primarily in first courses,” says Lesaige. “One of my favorites now is a royale de foie gras. I dress artichoke hearts in pistachio oil, balsamic vinegar, shallots, and chives, then top it all with a foie gras cream.” He adds hazelnut oil to tête de veau, or boiled head cheese, and generally slips nut oils in whenever he has the inspiration.
Given their delicate flavor, nut oils are generally used for seasoning rather than cooking, although they are sometimes used in baking. Once opened, they must be refrigerated and will keep for about three months. Unopened bottles will wait indefinitely as long as they are kept in a cool dry place.
Huilerie Artisanale J. Leblanc et Fils, Le Bas, Iguerande, Burgundy (+33 03 85 84 07 83 / huile-leblanc.com). The Paris shop is located at 6 rue Jacob, 6ème / (+3301 46 34 61 55).
Chocolat
The great correspondent of the seventeenth century Madame de Sévigné counseled, “Take chocolate in order that even the most tiresome company seems acceptable to you,” which is also sound advice today! For me, fine chocolate is one of life’s supreme pleasures, and when I wanted to learn more about it I turned to what I think is the best book ever published on the subject: Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum (North Point, 2004), which was honored with an International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for literary food writing in 2006. The historic and contemporary story of chocolate is global, but how sweet for visitors to France that much of it is written in the chocolate shops of Paris. Rosenblum pleads that “if anyone ever banishes me to a desert island with only one style of chocolate, please make it French.” He also recommends The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloé Doutre-Roussel (Tarcher, 2006), which I of course had to read as well.
For me, no trip to Paris is complete without visits to as many chocolatiers as I can fit in my schedule. Each boutique is different from the next, selling varied and often inventive creations, so each visit is a fresh experience.
My number one favorite chocolate stop is Pierre Hermé (72 rue Bonaparte, 6ème / 185 rue de Vaugirard, 15ème / pierreherme.com), which is a pâtisserie that also offers an outstanding selection of chocolates. Hermé began his career as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre, and he went on to stints at Fauchon and Ladurée before earning such accolades as “the Picasso of Pastry” (Vogue), “pastry provocateur” (Food & Wine), “the Kitchen Emperor” (New York Times), and “an avant-garde pastry chef and magician with tastes” (Paris Match). He was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2007, and is the youngest person ever to be named France’s pastry chef of the year. If you have a reason to buy pastries—you’ve been invited to someone’s house, you’re renting an apartment and you’ve invited friends for dinner, you’re putting together a pique-nique, or simply that it’s Monday—Hermé is a great stop as you can buy both pastry and chocolate, as well as other gifts. The pastries here are stunning and really stand out, especially in the sleek sliver of a space at the rue Bonaparte location. There are several chocolate assortments in various-sized boxes, and the knowledgeable staff can help you decide among them. (And don’t hesitate to try the délicieuses gourmandises à croquer—chocolate-covered candied grapefruit peels, my favorite!) I even love the bags your purchases come in: sturdy white paper with a die-cut design. Ambitious home bakers may want to try their hand at some of Hermé’s recipes in Desserts by Pierre Hermé (1998) and Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé (2001),