A delicious pairing of whole roasted hazelnuts with sweet, buttery hazelnut shortbread and the lovely tingle of salt crystals. Even people who aren't enthusiastic about hazelnuts might find themselves longing for more. It's just a pity these sablés noisette are a bit tricky to make.
Michel Cluizel's Chocolatrium
I've never been to a chocolate factory. I've long dreamt of bathing in couverture, taking illicit bites of bonbons on the production line, and other interesting fantasy activities. Even in a chocoland like France it's almost impossible to come close to such an opportunity. The Chocolatrium at Michel Cluizel is a lukewarm towel to the cold shower of chocoholic frustrations.
Spring harvest in Paris
All sorts of things grow when the weather is going crazy. In Paris this week, the temperature fluctuated between 14C and rainy and 35C and excruciatingly humid. I got home from a day of walking around the rive gauche (Left Bank = mix of university, studenty, somewhat wealthy, public service, cultural and dawdling tourist population). Look what had grown in my bag from the curious cultures floating through the air…
There was a strange box containing…
Artisan du Chocolat: less spin, more flexibility please
I had intended to review some of the chocolates from the British chocolatier Artisan du Chocolat, as I was in London recently and had previously enjoyed (and written about) them after a visit in 2007. Some businesses in high-end food succeed in respecting customers, others choose to be rigid and intentionally haughty. Artisan du Chocolat seems on the face of it to fall into a more positive category, but on this visit I was disappointed.
TASTY PRESERVES
Sydney's macarons, Adriano Zumbo, and a few other eating observations

There's a pâtissier in Sydney who has been attracting some attention for his Pierre-Hermé-esque creations. There's a chocolate-brand concept store which (I believe) introduced Sydney to macarons. There are serious pretzels to be...
Read more Sat 16 Aug, 2008Of lamb shanks, polenta, pears and luscious vanilla…

Not too long ago, someone asked me 'so do you cook?'. At the time, I was standing over an oven full of macarons and a small bowl of chocolate ganache. I was a little confused by the question. I submit, herewith, some slight evidence of other cookery...
Read more Sat 25 Oct, 2008Paper Chef: beetroot and ginger kuih with apple purée

I've been following the monthly Paper Chef event for quite a while now. You are given four primary ingredients with which to create a dish. This month's ingredients involved some bold flavours which could go in both savoury and...
Read more Tue 07 Oct, 2008A sense of humour at Eurostar

The train that thinks it's a plane seems to have a sense of humour. Putting to one side Eurostar's once unenviable reputation for tardiness and its legacy-airline pricing model, one can't help being impressed by this touch of humour on the company's website.
Read more Sat 24 Mar, 2007Two years of Syrup & Tang… it's an anniversary!

Who'd have thunk it would come to this: hundreds of hits for the word "macaron" (and many nice comments)? When I started Syrup & Tang two years ago, I set the scene with the things I love: books, travel, a moan about dining out, and (somewhat belatedly) baking. Come inside for a...
Read more Wed 25 Mar, 2009
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