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02/10/2003 Entry: "Chocolaterie"

Sleepy. Sore. Tired. Been feeling like this since last week. They finally switched me to a different kitchen -- I now work behind Pierre Hermé’s boutique in the 6th arrondisement, along with 6 guys with nothing but sex in the head. Typical kitchen. Wake up at 5am and take the metro with one eye closed. Been really tough, especially in this freezing weather. But I finally got to meet Mr. Hermé! He's there everyday, but he doesn't really care who I am -- I just shake his hand in the morning, say Bonjour!, and that's it.

I work in the chocolaterie section with Chef Olivier and Quentin; been helping them prepare for the valentine rush. My first day we made hundreds of boxes of chocolates, and I brought home 3 bags full of ‘rejects’. Yum, enough to last me a couple of months. Mr. Hermé’s chocolates are reputedly the best in Paris right now, according to Edward Behr (Art of Eating No. 60). If you get a chance to buy some – try the milk chocolate with passion fruit ganache, and the one with sesame nougatine… Mmm…

The cakes will equally blow you away. So much work goes into each, definitely worth the 3-4 euros you’ll spend. Here’s a little sampler I brought home with me:

Ispahan - macaron cake filled with rose buttercream, lychees, raspberries	Tartelette au Cafe - shortbread crust, coffee ganache, coffee chantilly
Surprise - meringue shell, almond biscuit, strawberry and exotic fruit marmelade (this is the best!)	Carre Blanc - poached pears, caramel cream, some berry thing

I've decided to try all the top rated patisseries here in Paris, so aside from Pierre Hermé, these are some of the places on my list: Laurent Duchene, Mulot, Lahrer, Sadaharu Aoki, La Maison du Chocolat, Jean Paul Hevin, Peltier, Kaiser, Sucre Cacao. I passed by Sadaharu Aoki's boutique last Friday -- this seems to be the most recommended one by my colleagues at Pierre Hermé. The boutique looks very similar to Pierre Hermé's -- the cakes were beautifully decorated and very elegant as well, but the taste was far from Mr. Hermé's stuff. With Pierre Hermé's cakes, you get a wide range of flavors that all complement each other. It just really opens your mind to new tastes. Here's a sampler from Sadaharu Aoki's boutique:

Aoki Winter Sampler - Symphonie, Mont Blanc, Green Tea Millefeuille, Choco Vanilla Cake	Mont Blanc - chestnut cream, blueberry compote (I think), shortbread crust, chantilly
Symphonie - macaron, raspberries, darjeeling and vanilla pastry cream	Chocolate Vanilla Cake with Praliné - white chocolate, praline ganache, hazelnut dacquoise