Bûches de Noël 2017: Top Paris Pastry Chefs Interpret the Traditional Yule Log

30 November 2017 by Margaret Kemp    2254  
Bûches de Noël 2017: Top Paris Pastry Chefs Interpret the Traditional Yule Log
Margaret Kemp
By Margaret Kemp
François Perret at The Ritz “I’m playing hide and seek with Father Christmas,” muses François Perret, chef pâtissier at The Ritz, Paris. The young talent, who does believe in Santa, has created a red and white stocking hat topped with a fluffy pompon, a white beard– it’s full of humor and good cheer. To make his hand carved log, special moulds were made by the teams of Ritz Paris. Under the bonnet and beard, there’s delicious marble cake, vanilla mousse and – in the middle – caramel with chocolate chips. “I wanted flavors that blend, but also to reflect the magical Christmas of my childhood”, smiles Perret. For 5 people €110. limited edition. Order at the Ritz Concept Store. 15 Place Vendôme, 75001. Tel: +33 (0)1 43 16 32 74. Website: www.ritzparis.com Pierre Gagnaire – Fouquet’s (opened 1899) “This is my first bûche for Fouquet’s, with whom I’m delighted to say I’ve been working since 2015, and a limited edition of 500 will be available in Paris, Cannes, Deauville, Toulouse, Marrakech, La Baule, Courchevel and Enghien-les-Bains.” Eat in or take-away. Price is 65€. Order from 1st December – collect from 15th December until the beginning of January. 99 avenue des Champs Elysées, 75008. Metro: George V. Tel: +33 (0)1 40 69 60 50. Website: https://www.hotelsbarriere.com/fr/paris/le-fouquets/restaurants-et-bars/fouquets.html Maison Lenôtre – Enchanted Forest Bûche It’s a white Christmas for Guy Krenzer and his team who have baked a fairy Christmas log taking desert aficionados on a romantic journey to the heart of an enchanted forest. Available to order from 9-24th December in most Lenôtre boutiques. Website: www.lenotre.com Pierre Hermé  The great chef reflects, “Macarons only weigh a few grams, enough to leave your senses quivering with pleasure”. From €15… Don’t miss the result of a chic macaron rendezvous between PH and Arman Petrossian of Maison Petrossian: beads of caviar, aromas of dried fruit, highlighted by fresh walnut eau de vie. 3,50 euros per piece Find the entire Signature + Christmas collection at the new Champs Elysées Concept Store, Le Drugstore and at www.pierreherme.com Angelina (founded 1903) Christophe Appert, the iconic house’s pastry chef, worked on a belle ball-shaped bûche covered with snowy white Italian meringue decorated with gold leaf. This very original log is flavored with clementine in two forms: tangy and creamy sweet textures blend with a lemon biscuit with a crisp flower of salt and macadamia nuts caramelized with a maple syrup mousse. Order from the boutique. 226 rue de Rivoli, 75001. Tel: 01 42 60 82 00. Website: www.angelina-paris.fr/en/ Four Seasons George V Executive Pastry chef Maxime Frédéric tapped into happy family memories for his first Christmas log in the kitchens of the George V. “A reminder of the wonderful times when I helped my grandmother in her kitchen,” he explains. Maxime, with input from George V’s super chefs Christian Lesquer, David Bizet and Simone Zanoni, decided to move from the traditional horizontal log with an edible chocolate tree on a pine cone base, topped with a golden star, on the white chocolate branches delicious offerings, “to nibble.” The 75% Peruvian black chocolate structure is sprayed with white chocolate and silver powder giving a seasonal snowy texture. Head sommelier Eric Beaumard, Director of the restaurant Le Cinq *** advises: “With the 75% chocolate and touches of hazelnut, I see a Porto Colheita 1997 by Dirk Niepoort. And for tea time, Christmas blend with cinnamon and orange peel.” Four Seasons Hotel George V’s log to enjoy in the three restaurants Le Cinq *** Le George * and Orangerie *. Price is €160 for 4 to 6 portions and €180 for 6 to 8 portions. 31 avenue George V, 75008. Tel: +33 (0)1 49 52 70 00. Website: www.fourseasons.com Café de la Paix Provençal Christmas “I love Provence and have always been fascinated by their tradition of treize desserts (13 desserts),” says Executive Chef Laurent André. “Christmas dinner in Provence always ends this way although the desserts vary, it’s an homage to Jesus and the 12 apostles,” he explains. André’s delicious creations take the form of Christmas wreaths – a savory bûche combines foie gras, apricots and confit of figs (€85 for 6) and La Bûche Sucrée is a divine calisson almond mousse combining soft cookies, dried fruits, mandarins confite, pistachio with hints of acidity to revive the palate (60€ for 6 people). Decorating the Christmas trees with the colors of Provence – limited edition baubles – as well as the Edition 2017 of Fragonard’s fragrant candle lending an olfactive experience to the hotel.  Available from 11 December-1st January. 5, place de l’Opera, 75009. Website: www.cafedelapaix.fr/en/ Grand Véfour Art aficionado superchef Guy Martin’s log is inspired by the iconic Buren columns adjacent to the restaurant, which he admires daily. The litchi mousse is enhanced with Timut pepper and a fine pink grapefruit jelly on a grapefruit zest biscuit. Ganache tubes of white chocolate with grapefruit stand out, with an insert of lychee and grapefruit. The log is decorated with sponge biscuits,…
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Lead photo credit : Foucade. Photo: Géraldine Martens

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By Margaret Kemp

Born in Hampton, Middlesex, UK, Margaret Kemp is a lifestyle journalist, based between London, Paris and the world. Intensive cookery courses at The Cordon Bleu, London, a wedding gift from a very astute ex-husband, gave her the base that would take her travelling (leaving the astute one behind) in search of rare food and wine experiences, such as the vineyards of Thailand, 'gator hunting in South Florida, learning to make eye-watering spicy food in Kerala;pasta making in a tiny Tuscany trattoria. She has contributed to The Guardian, The Financial Times Weekend and FT. How To Spend It.com, The Spectator, Condé Nast Traveller, Food & Travel, and Luxos Magazine. She also advises as consultant to luxury hotels and restaurants. Over the years, Kemp has amassed a faithful following on BonjourParis. If she were a dish she'd be Alain Passard's Millefeuille “Caprice d'Enfant”, as a painting: Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe !