The Sweetness Of Life in Paris...: Montmartre Has My Heart!

I had been hoping to make another trip back to Le Cordon Bleu before leaving Paris but I never thought it would be through an Open House! I get random e-mails from LCB throughout the year and somehow convinced myself that it couldn't hurt to go check out more of the school one Saturday morning. Then, I somehow convinced Laura to go with me. Good thing! It was an excellent morning and time not wasted!

We were whisked around the school for a quick tour before settling into the demonstration room for a Q&A session and a couple of demonstrations from the establishment's finest chefs. We also met the schools top sommelier, and all the assistants to whom were open for questions after the demonstration. We started off with chocolate macarons. Since I had already done the actual short course at the school last February, I was rather disappointed we didn't get do something else...but, I am always in the mood for a macaron and 9 times out of 10 wouldn't turn one down. We continued with intervals from the cuisine chef on how to make sea bass cooked with shellfish and lemon. A pound of butter and a two dozen eggs later, we were in business. The kitchen smelled delightful with wafts of chocolate and lemon catching my senses every time the oven was opened.

Applauds were made, individual dishes were plated, and we were all served a small portion of each dish. The sommelier had prepared an outstanding pairing with our sea bass. It was a 2009 white from Chablis and it was quite easily in one of the top 5 wines I've ever had in my life. The wine that was paired with the macaron I did not care for, as it was sweet...almost like pure sugar so I passed it over to Laura to finish. We couldn't have any more opposite taste in wines but this time, it worked out well!

Demonstration kitchen. Hard to figure it out in the photo but that is a giant mirror situated over the countertop.

Sea Bass and Shellfish

Mmm....macarons and green tea ice cream.

I do enjoy a good "slate" presentation...since its now all the rage. However, I thought this was a miss. Needed something of a different color and a bit smaller. Who am I to judge?

We were so glad we made the decision to come, even if we had to pretend we were prospective students...it was definitely worth it! Besides...I could become a prospective student. Now, who in the family is working on winning the lottery?!?!

After our mid-morning tasting we moved up to Montmartre where we passed away the afternoon. I won't recount every grueling detail, but will leave you with some fun photos I found over the course of the afternoon!

The ever so charming, Musée de Montmartre.

The garden at the Musée de Montmartre.

Signs of Spring!

Le Jardin

Did you know there is a vineyard on the backside of the hill in Montmartre? We could see it from the museum.

Around the west side of the Sacre-Coeur, just below the Musée de Montmartre lies the Clos vineyard of Montmartre. It isn't the grand vineyards of Bordeaux or Bourgogne, but it is a quiet haven of tranquility and a reminder of growth in the middle of a bustling city. It was long ago a huge vineyard that covered the entire northern terrain of Paris, but due to modernization and industrialization only a small patch was saved and restored in 1933 by the city over what was an otherwise "dumpy" part of town. Now, the bottles are supposedly auctioned off (about 1,000 of them) but they are very expensive to get your hands on. The tale is told that the wine is not very rich or complex, but that you buy them more of a novelty than for the quality.

The interior of the museum was lovely. We discovered lots of paintings and old posters from the Moulin Rouge that we fell in love with. The collection was small, but it was quality information and included detailed information about all of the areas' caberets and music halls: Le Moulin Rouge, Le Lapin Agile, Le Moulin de la Galette, Le Divan Japonais, and L'Élysées Montmartre. It was really great to get to know more about my quartier in Paris. There is so much history there and since Montmartre was the center of all things full of merriment and joy (it still is for those of us who spend the majority of our time there)....it makes for such a fun story to tell!

The surface of this bar was hidden in the owner's basement during the war.

One of my favorite posters from the Moulin Rouge.

Montmartre was considered the place where the wine was cheaper and the women less shy as the mid 19th century turned into the 20th. It's where artists and musicians played all night long and a ball room or public house was found on every corner. I also discovered that Jules Jouy opened up a cabaret at 16 bis, rue Pierre Fontaine which is just next door to where Chloé and Franck live! The actual 16 bis building changed direction 2 or 3 times before it became a nudist cabaret in 1939 and was demolished in 1960. It is now a supermarket, which is such a shame.... but I will say, I visit it quite often. If it was crumbling anyway, I'm glad they put the supermarket there....it certainly makes my life more convenient.

Please, enlarge this photo if you can. I stared at this photo for at least 10 minutes marveling at Place Blanche where I literally walk every single day. I pop out at the metro on the right hand side of the photo to get to Chloé and Franck's. On one hand it has changed so much...but on the other, it looks exactly the same!!