BEHIND THE SCENES AT PIERRE HERME:French Macarons and More

As many of you know, I’ve been a Pierre Herme fan (okay, the president of his fan club), for years and years, in fact, since about 2 minutes after I met him in 1993.  At that time, he was the chef-patissier at Fauchon and had just created a cake that had the food, art, design and architecture worlds buzzing:  La Cerise sur Le Gateau, or The Cherry on the Cake

 

This was the cake’s official “headshot,” done by the gifted photographer Jean-Louis Bloch-Laine (who also did the photography for Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme).  The shape of the cake was conceived by Yan Pennor’s (sic), who went on to design Pierre Herme’s rue Bonaparte boutique in Paris, as was the three-sided box that was tied with a wide satin ribbon.  When you undid the bow, the sides of the box fell away and the bright red cherry on the top was revealed, in almost the same way a clown would pop out of a jack-in-the-box. 

 

When you got the cake home, you’d open it at the table, so that everyone could share in the drama, then gently lay it down on its side and, following the gold leaf lines, cut it into six perfect portions, each one containing all of the cake’s elements: hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate ganache, milk chocolate whipped cream, thin sheets of tempered milk chocolate and a spread of milk chocolate, praline and crushed wafers.  (A make-at-home version of the cake, called Plaisir Sucre, is in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme.)  Everything about the cake was surprising, including its being made with milk chocolate in a country where bittersweet reigns.

 

Since that time, Pierre Herme has gone on to create so many desserts that have changed the way we think about pastry.  Case in point, his family of Ispahan desserts

 

 

based on the now iconic trinity of rose, raspberry and litchi (today, there's even a yogurt that plays on this combo), which has been appropriated by almost every pastry chef in France. 

 

Even knowing Pierre Herme’s desserts as well as I do and for as long as I have, I was as excited as a little kid when I visited his kitchen behind the rue de Vaugirard boutique a couple of weeks ago.

 

My guide for the visit was Andre Loutsch,

 

the 29-year old pastry chef who is part of Pierre Herme’s “test kitchen”.  As Andre explained, Pierre Herme creates all the cakes – and, as Pierre has often said, he creates them in his head – and then the work of turning the idea, its components, its “architecture of taste,” a term Herme has used for years to describe the combination of a dessert’s taste, texture and temperature, into something “real,” falls, in part, to Andre, who works with Herme to make the actual dessert and to give it its final look. 

 

It goes without saying that Pierre Herme wouldn’t have chosen Andre Loutsch to work at his side if he wasn’t talented, but what struck me immediately about the young chef (who is about the same age Pierre was when I met him) was his extraordinary enthusiasm for his work.  When Andre talked about macarons, it was as though he had only discovered them a minute ago.

 

The kitchen, under the direction of Colette Petremant, Herme’s executive chef (I wish I’d snapped her picture), who’s been with him for almost forever (it’s rare that anyone leaves), is smaller than you’d imagine and, like every other Pierre Herme kitchen I’ve ever been in, calm.  There’s a peaceful, purposeful quiet in the kitchen (one I’ve never been able to attain in my own kitchen – even working alone, I make more noise than Colette’s entire team!).  

 

As you enter, there’s a wall of pictures

 

   

 

And then, to the right, the space where dough is made

 

 

Everything that has dough, from tart shells to croissants, lives in this corner.

 

 

When I was there, the rose filling for the Ispahan was being made

 

 

 

But, sadly, not the macarons.  Not that there weren’t macarons to see.  There was an entire refrigerated room filled with macarons,

 

  

 

the room Andre called “Ali Baba’s cave”.  Andre said that no one leaves the boutique without buying a macaron and he’s probably not exaggerating.

 

I caught the team early in the morning when they were between projects and getting ready for breakfast, which is an all-work-stops time in the kitchen.  There’s coffee, tea, cakes, of course, bread from Claire Damon’s Des Gateaux et du Pain down the street and the same great butter that Pierre Herme uses for his pastries. 

 

And, because it was still early, I was able to watch the shop come to life as the pastries were arranged in the display cases.  Here’s the Cherry on the Cake “in situ”

 

 

 

A quick aside:  When La Cerise sur le Gateau was conceived, the mold for it was made of plaster.  Just a few months ago, the cake joined the modern age: the new molds are silicone.

 

 

 

Don’t you love the indentation for the cherry?

 

And I saw the fabulous Mosaic desserts, combinations of pistachio and griottes, sour cherries, that are only available for a few weeks during the year, les temps de cerises (cherry season)

 

 

 

And, finally, one of PH’s most unusual creations, a dessert made with spaghetti – real spaghetti – cooked in strawberry juice, called Emotion Fragola (fragola is Italian for strawberry)

 

 

 

The night after my kitchen tour, Pierre and I were having dinner and I asked him where that dessert had come from.  He said he’d read that Italians had once made a dish with pasta and strawberries and the idea so intrigued him that he kept playing with it until he finally came up with this – a winner, which has the strawberry-cooked spaghetti (yes, it's al dente), crushed strawberries, balsamic gelee and mascarpone cream.

 

I finished my behind-the-scenes visit just as I’d hope I would – tasting macarons with Andre

 

 

 

And forcing him to do the impossible – choose his favorite: milk chocolate/passionfruit. 

 

Fortunately, Andre is politer than I am and he didn’t put me in a similar spot.  I could never choose just one favorite – never.

Comments

[Robyn]

Be still my heart.

[Gloria]

Dorie! All look beautiful! Really!!! xxGloria

[Edd]

What a wonderful post so interesting to see behind the scenes of such a legend. One day i would love to move to paris, even if just for a while, thankfully im from the UK so it hopefully wont be too hard and its things like my memories of visiting Herme's shop and sitting outside the Saint-Sulpice, devouring some goodies, that make me wont to go there again

[Michelle Nguyen]

What a great look inside this kitchen! The mold for cherry on the cake is amazing.

[Danielle]

I lived in France in Feb. '07 and my first stop was Pierre Herme's boutique. I call it a boutique because it's so exquisite. I felt like I was window shopping at Tiffanys but I could actually buy a macaron...I stand corrected, a few macarons. I held my own macaron tasting with my husband. Next to the passion fruit one, the olive macaron was the one that stuck with me.
Thanks for the great post Dorie!

[Eileen]

I don't think you meant to make anyone sad when you wrote this post, but now I am... Getting to Paris maybe every couple of years just isn't enough, and now I'm reminded of Pierre Herme's wonderful little shop. What a great treat to walk into Pierre Herme' and see all of his amazing creations! Such inspiration!

[Gemma]

I went to Pierre Herme for the first time yesterday as I was in Paris for 2 days. Went into the Rue Bonaparte shop and just wanted to try everything but managed to resist and came away with 6 macaroons and a small tub of plenitude ice-cream which was incredibly good in yesterday's baking heat. Back in London today and dreaming about going back to stay near by so I can go every day!

[Meredith Kurtzman]

Thanks for the pictures,words,and inspiration....the elegance of Herme's work always blows me away.

[Cathy]

Sigh. In my next life, I want to come back as Dorie.

[Thanh]

Great post Dorie. I loved seeing the machinations behind the legend that is Pierre Herme. I've only recently started getting into macarons. I'm slowly perfecting them, although it can be very frustrating at times.

One day, I hope to taste a Pierre Herme creation when I visit Paris.

[Duncan]

This is like one of those fantasy moments! To step inside and breathe the tasty goodness... ohhhh. Only a few months since I did my macaron crawl of Paris and already I'm craving a return visit.

[Paula]

Thanks for sharing a glimpse behind the scenes. That cake is gorgeous! Lucky you getting to spend the day there!!

[jack]

You can order "PH10" on-line at www.librairiegourmande.fr, althouth they are closed until August 18th. Thanks for showing the one thing I've always wanted to see: the mold for the "cherry on the cake."

[Casey]

gawd what a glorious post. DYING here.

[ellen]

Ooh! I wish I could book a flight right now! Those desserts are to die for, or at least to fly for. I must remember to visit Paris during les temps des cerises - I love pistachios & sour cherries. And that cake! Stunning...

[Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener]

OH MY GOD!

[Deborah]

Dorie: What a delectable post. I was lucky enough to go to PH's boutique on rue Bonaparte when I was in Paris in May. It was so hard to decide what to purchase but the staff was so gracious! I had no idea he was so young. I had the honor of meeting him in the kitchen of Bouley in 1993 where I worked in the pastry department. He asked to be introduced to the pastry staff after he'd finished his meal in the dining room. A true gentleman and artist!

[Mitzy]

A very nice post, thanks for sharing your experience. I'm a big fan of PH as well and was very lucky to be able to meet and learn from him during his 2-day class in Chicago last May. He was such a wonderful person, I hope he will open a shop in US soon so that I can enjoy all his amazing desserts again.

[Marguerite]

So lovely, thank you for sharing this glimpse of waht goes on behind the scene!

[maraya]

Gorgeous post. Wonder is there any way I can purchase the macaron pictures. All my attempts have failed so far. Also, how can I get the PH10 book shipped to the US. Does anyone sell it here?

[Lauren]

Great post. It looks amazing. What care goes into creating a sweet treat and the presentation, WOW! You are one lucky girl.

[Anita]

Thank you for sharing! Do you think Pierre is aware of the thousands and thousands of fans in the American branch of his fan club (of course, you know I'm among them!!) What heaven to spend a day among his creations!

[Maria]

Pierre is an absolute genius and it looks like he has some great help too! All of the desserts are beautiful! And of course the macarons are amazing. I can't imagine standing in a room with that many macarons! I am glad you got to taste them at the end. I am sure they would all be my favorite.

[RuthWells]

Oh, lovely. Thank you for this post. I can see that I'd better set aside LOTS of time here during our upcoming trip. And there's no way we're leaving without that gorgeous La Cerise sur le Gateau.

[fanny]

oh those pictures remind me of all the great moments I spent there. true love.
everytime I visit Paris, I make sure to drop by to say hello, have a chat with Colette and nibble on a couple of macarons!
and André is such a sweet person as well.

thanks for the visit Dorie. xx