By Macarons by Duncan on Fri 04 Mar, 2011
I hope all my 2010 macaron devourers had a lovely summer, relaxing and eating (but not too many substandard, crunchy, flavourless macarons, please!). I know many of you have been curious about what's happening with Macarons by Duncan in 2011.
As you might know, the macarons are a second business for me alongside an almost full-time job. Being a one-man-production-macaron-maestro is not easy (the biscuits take a looong time to prepare, especially if you want something better than average!).
Lots of things going on in life away from the macarons have made it difficult to restart manufacture, leaving me with the unenviable decision of whether to (1) stop completely or (2) ramp things up by employing helpers and finding better production premises. The first option would be very relaxing (assuming I'm not stalked by macaron-lovers-in-withdrawal). The second option would require time and a more commercial enterprise.
I'm deferring the final decision until the non-macaron life has settled down a bit, but there won't be any Macarons by Duncan for normal sale in the next few months. There is a chance I'll accept occasional requests for special orders (not wedding size!), but I can't promise.
For those of you who subscribe to my updates via Twitter, I will start using that account for more general discussion, and updates about Syrup & Tang (my main food site). I'm not a big Tweeter at all, but if you don't want that non-macaron stuff in your Twitter stream, I won't be offended if you unfollow;)
If you subscribe by email, that list will simply be unused until there's any further news.
If you'd like to stay informed about things on Syrup & Tang, follow this link to see the other subscription options.
Posted in by Duncan |
By Macarons by Duncan on Fri 24 Dec, 2010
And so six months of squeezing piping bags, banging trays, swearing at ovens and buying plastic boxes every time they're on special has come to an end. Joys, travails and trivia of the adventure:
- The mini-riot in the first week of sales at Liaison.
- Overhearing someone complaining that my macarons had too much filling.
- Watching someone yesterday taste one of every flavour before buying multiples of each.
-
Discovering that people are scared of nutmeg (it was the only flavour that didn't sell fast), but unfazed by the woody unfamiliarity of licorice root.
- Having customers carefully eat around my dot, mistakenly believing it to be a blemish of some sort.
- Meeting some of the lovely regulars at Liaison.
- Putting dots on macarons is almost as hard as making macarons.
- Oh, and this:
Thanks for all your enthusiasm! Special thanks are due to Suzanne, Claire, Matt, Mark, Siâny and Danny. I wish everyone a great Christmas and a wonderful 2011. Perhaps I'll see you next year.
Wave goodbye to my 2010 babies (the Octomum has nothing on me!)
| ALEX |
dried cherry |
JULIETTE |
rose |
| ANTON |
pandan+coconut |
LUCA |
lemon (white, extradark, pepper) |
| BETH |
orange (white, dark) |
LUCILLE |
rose+lemon |
| BIANCA |
pure licorice root |
LUCY |
mandarin |
| CINDY |
nutmeg |
MATEUS |
durian |
| CLANCY |
fingerlime |
NUNO |
coffee |
| DARCY |
cocoa nibs (vanilla, orange) |
PERNILLA |
blackcurrant |
| DAVID |
raspberry (dark, white) |
RASA |
coconut |
| DIEGO |
cinnamon |
SHAREE |
cherry |
| GUSTAV |
Christmas spice |
STEFAN |
pistachio (white, salted) |
| HERBERT |
peppermint |
VIOLA |
violet+aniseed |
| JOANNA |
date+orange blossom |
YANNIC |
salted caramel |
| JUDY |
ginger |
ZARA |
passionfruit (white, effervescent) |
| JULIE |
mandarin+rose |
|
|
Posted in by Duncan, morsels |
By Macarons by Duncan on Tue 21 Dec, 2010
I'm pleased to announce another round of pre-orders, for collection on Thursday! [MAXIMUM NUMBER RECEIVED]
You can place an order for a random mix of either five or ten macarons. No flavour requests this time, sorry (Thurs is too busy for me to prepare personalised selections). See the Christmas announcement for an idea of the flavours you might receive.
Email to christmas2010 @ syrupandtang. com (remove the spaces), putting your first name, last name, email and contact number on one line (not just a signature). You'll receive an email back from me by mid-afternoon Weds telling you if your order has been successful. You must reply to that email, so check your junkmail folder too! [MAXIMUM NUMBER RECEIVED]
Posted in by Duncan |
By Macarons by Duncan on Fri 17 Dec, 2010
Every day in the week before Christmas there'll be macarons at Liaison Café. And there'll be quite a lot. And there'll be pretty Christmas ones. I've been baking my buns off to get enough stock ready for this special week. [ALL GONE!]
[UPDATED ON: Thursday]
The macarons will usually be available from approximately 10am and should last until at least early afternoon. The café closes around 3pm. Please check back for any changes or notes (I'll update this announcement when necessary).
Monday 20th:
SHAREE white (delicate cherry) / HERBERT dark (subtle peppermint) / GUSTAV milk (Christmas spice) / ANON1 (mystery flavour)
Tuesday 21st:
SHAREE white (delicate cherry), GUSTAV milk (Christmas spice), ANON1 (mystery flavour), ZARA white (passionfruit), HERBERT dark (subtle peppermint), and maybe JUDY dark (ginger)
Wednesday 22nd:
It's MACAWRONG DAY! Most of the macarons on sale will be macawrongs, sold at two for $3. If you don't know my macawrongs, read the announcement for my previous macawrong day here.
Thursday 23rd:
SHAREE white (delicate cherry), ZARA fizz (effervescent passionfruit), ZARA white (passionfruit), VIOLA white (violet + aniseed), ANON2/3/4 (mystery flavours)
Friday 24th:
This is the season finale for Macarons by Duncan! These will be the last macarons for a few months (returning at the earliest in March).
Posted in by Duncan |
By Macarons by Duncan on Thu 16 Dec, 2010
What a lovely pair for Friday! JUDY dark, all gingery, and an orangey friend…
- BETH dark: orange dark chocolate ganache.
-
JUDY dark: ginger in dark chocolate ganache.
And get ready for next week's Christmas macarons (hint: lots of macarons!). More news tomorrow.
Posted in by Duncan |
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