March 26, 2013
2013 Omnivore Festival: Inspiration Notes
The 2013 edition of the Omnivore Food Festival (officially called Omnivore World Tour now that it's a traveling festival) was held at Paris's Palais de la Mutualité last week. I spent two days out of time in a dark auditorium, watching chefs cook on stage and jotting down notes in a handwriting that looks considerably more pulled together, I've only recently found out, if I use felt-tip rather than ball-point pens.
Every year a few common them...
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March 9, 2012
Omnivore World Tour in Paris
The Omnivore World Tour -- formerly known as the Omnivore Food Festival -- is an inspiring event during which an audience of pros and enthusiasts watch live demos by up-and-coming chefs.
The French edition will be held in Paris (rather than Deauville*) this year, from Sunday, March 11 to Tuesday, March 13, and I will be hosting the chocolate masterclasses, a series of chocolate-centric demos and discussions with pastry chefs and chocolatiers.
...
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February 14, 2012
Chocolate Appreciation Society (Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat)
A little over a year ago, I received the kind of phone call that makes you beam for hours on end, unable (and not really willing, either) to peel the smile off your face: I had just been admitted as a member of the Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat, a famous French chocolate appreciation society I'd been dreaming of joining for years.
Created in the early eighties, when chocolate and chocolatiers didn't get nearly as much attention and respect as...
"Chocolate Appreciation Society (Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat)" continues »
October 6, 2011
C&Z Anniversary Get-Together: Important Update, Now Oct 21!
Due to an unforeseen administrative snag, the C&Z Anniversary Get-Together has been rescheduled to Friday, October 21. The venue has not changed: it will be held at Verjus, the wine bar that my friends Braden and Laura (of Hidden Kitchen fame) are just about to open. We'll be there from 8pm, but feel free to drop by whenever you like. I apologize for this change of date, and hope to meet you there!
Verjus, 47 rue Montpensier, Paris 1er, +33 (0...
"C&Z Anniversary Get-Together: Important Update, Now Oct 21!" continues »
September 29, 2011
C&Z Turns Eight! + A Paris Get-Together
Today marks the eighth* anniversary of Chocolate & Zucchini. And just like last year and every year before it, I am divided between two feelings: on the one hand, I can't really remember what it felt like to experience life without a blog. On the other hand, I consider the years, months, and days, and I think, wow, it certainly is a long time to be keeping an online cooking journal. This year is an especially meaningful milestone, as it appears...
"C&Z Turns Eight! + A Paris Get-Together" continues »
June 14, 2011
Vegetable Tasting Dinner @ Bob's Kitchen
I am excited to announce that I will be co-hosting a vegetable tasting dinner in Paris on June 25th and 26th with my friend Braden, co-owner and brilliant chef at the underground restaurant Hidden Kitchen where I've staged a few times. The dinner will be held at Bob's Kitchen in the 3rd arrondissement, the wonderful vegetarian lunch restaurant where I worked in April.
Braden and I will be cooking a ten-course tasting menu that will focus on th...
"Vegetable Tasting Dinner @ Bob's Kitchen" continues »
October 15, 2010
Paris Event Reminder
Are you in Paris this weekend? Would you like to meet? Good news, we have two opportunities to do so!
On Saturday, October 16, join me at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France from 11am till noon, for a discussion on food blogs (in French) as part of a series of talks called Les Samedis du Savoir. (The event is free and open to the public.)
And on Sunday, October 17, please come and have a drink with us as we celebrate the 7th anniversary of Cho...
"Paris Event Reminder" continues »
September 29, 2010
C&Z Turns Seven!
Today marks the seventh anniversary of Chocolate & Zucchini, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, dear readers, for being here.
The past seven years have been, without a doubt, the fullest and the most exciting of my life, and it is in large part thanks to this blog and to you.
I feel lucky to have such an enthusiastic, curious, kind, positive, funny, helpful, thoughtful, articulate, inspiring and well-informed crowd gathered h...
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March 31, 2008
Chocolat & Zucchini @ La Cocotte
On Thursday, April 10, starting from 6pm, we shall celebrate the release of Chocolat & Zucchini, the French version of my cookbook, beautifully published by Marabout.
This booksigning event will be held at the adorable cookbook store La Cocotte in Paris; drinks and nibbles will be provided. (See larger-sized invitation.)
La Cocotte / map it!
5 rue Paul Bert, 75011 Paris
M° Faidherbe-Chaligny
Phone: +33 (0)9 54 73 17 77
[For information abo...
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October 21, 2005
C&Z's Second Birthday Party: a Recap
Many many thanks to those of you who attended the second C&Z birthday party on Wednesday night!
The party was held at L'Homme Tranquille in the 18th, and fifty of us managed to fit in the rather small room. It looked a little ambitious at first, and as guests were pouring in, apéritifs being frantically served, it seemed like we would have to start standing on tables or invading the kitchen (which I'm sure none of us would mind). But soon enou...
"C&Z's Second Birthday Party: a Recap" continues »
October 10, 2005
C&Z's Second Birthday Party!
C&Z turned two ten days ago, and just like last year I wanted to throw a little party to mark the occasion, celebrate all the fabulous things it has brought me, and give Paris readers a chance to meet.
So! Mark your calendars: the second annual C&Z party will be held on Wednesday, October 19th at L'Homme Tranquille, a small neighborhood restaurant Maxence and I love dearly. It's a warm and welcoming little place we've been going to on a regular...
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September 2, 2005
Reminder! WBW13: Like Wine For Chocolate
As previously announced, I will be hosting the 13th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday on September 7th, with the theme Like Wine For Chocolate.
So! You have just five days to bake a luscious smooth chocolate cake, pick a delicious wine to complement magnify enhance it, and write all about it!
More details can be found here, and don't forget to send me an email with a link to your entry once you've posted it....
"Reminder! WBW13: Like Wine For Chocolate" continues »
June 3, 2005
Un Sandwich pour le Dessert
[A Sandwich for Dessert]
"Un Sandwich pour le Dessert" is a project I worked on for Fraîch'Attitude, a Parisian gallery that specializes in Eat Art. Eat Art is an offshoot of ephemeral art that uses food as its primary material: some of the exhibitions are actually edible and are meant to disappear into the visitors' stomachs, to be recreated the next day.
The gallery just opened a new exhibition yesterday around the theme Picnic, and a...
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May 26, 2005
Salon Saveurs, Spring 2005
Last Saturday I attended the Salon Saveurs, a food show focusing on (mostly French) artisanal products, where producers come to talk about and sell their products, most of them offering samples.
Long-time readers may remember about my visit to last year's Spring edition, during which I first met a few C&Z readers who have now become good friends of mine, and with whom we organize potluck dinners every now and then. This time it was a smaller ...
"Salon Saveurs, Spring 2005" continues »
February 22, 2005
2005 Independant Food Festival: Baking Sugar with the Most Personality
Today is the 1st annual edition of the Independant Food Festival and Awards and I am honored to be a member of the jury. The truly original and exciting idea of these awards, brought to us by TasteEverything.org, is that each of the 30 jury members created one award (as focused and specific as s/he wished) and determined who should receive it. This results in a delightfully eclectic collection of awards, each of them a reflection of one food en...
"2005 Independant Food Festival: Baking Sugar with the Most Personality" continues »
January 7, 2005
Honored and Blushing in Food Blog Land
Kate has now unveiled the complete results of the 2004 Food Blog Awards and well, I am the lucky recipient of four awards: Best Writing, Best Recipes, Best Site Design and Best Overall Food Blog. Wow. I am thrilled to pieces, incredibly flattered, and just generally extatic. And grateful.
I remember very clearly the night when I decided to create my food blog, during a conversation with Maxence at a Japanese restaurant. I had been thinking about...
"Honored and Blushing in Food Blog Land" continues »
January 4, 2005
Food Blog Awards: Thank You!
Kate, a.k.a. the Accidental Hedonist is currently unveiling the final results of the Food Blog Awards -- and savoring it oh-so-slooooooowly, the girl knows how to create a suspense!
I am proud and delighted to announce that I have been voted Best Food Blog for Writing and Recipes! Many thanks for your votes and your support, I am most, most honored!
And be sure to pay a visit to my esteemed co-nominees: Pim, Debra, Molly, Renee, Mik, Elise, Ra...
"Food Blog Awards: Thank You!" continues »
December 22, 2004
Food Blog Award Nominations And A Nod From Le Monde
The official nominations for the 2004 Food Blog Awards have been posted, and it is with great joy that I can announce the nomination of Chocolate & Zucchini in four categories:
- Best Writing,
- Best Site Design,
- Best Recipes and
- Best Overall Food Blog!
Many many thanks to all of you who have kindly expressed your appreciation, the blog and I are very honored and rosy-cheeked with pride.
The actual voting has now commenced! You can use the ...
"Food Blog Award Nominations And A Nod From Le Monde" continues »
December 13, 2004
2004 Food Blog Awards
Kate, a.k.a. The Accidental Hedonist, is hosting the world's first Food Blog Awards!
There are sixteen different categories in which to nominate your favorite blogs, by leaving a comment in the appropriate post. The nominations will close on December 19, at midnight Pacific time....
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November 23, 2004
Foie Gras Tasting
If you are in Paris on Monday, November 29, 2004, I'd like to invite you to join us at La Table de Lucullus, where my friend Nicolas Vagnon is organizing a (free) tasting of his homemade foie gras.
The foie gras is from Les Landes (a region in the South-West of France), and Nicolas prepares it in the traditional salt-cooking method (cuisson au sel), using fleur de sel and black pepper.
We will be tasting the foie gras with some wine, and if...
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November 17, 2004
Notes from the Gourmet Voice Festival
Well, here I am, back from Cannes! The Gourmet Voice festival was a fabulous three days of food- and media-oriented conferences, conversations and debates. I feel tremendously privileged to have had the opportunity to attend, it was really heartwarming and exciting to meet so many people from all over the world, all sharing that same passion of communicating on, with and around food.
The festival started out in the most auspicious way for me :...
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November 11, 2004
Bar à Veloutés : Picture Gallery
iPhoto and I have put together a little gallery of the pictures that were taken during the two sessions of our Bar à Veloutés... Click here to view it.
Many thanks to the photographers -- Maxence, Patricia and my father!...
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November 8, 2004
Bar à Veloutés, Take 2
On Saturday, Marion and I hosted our second Bar à Veloutés at the Printemps department store, during the Invasions Gourmandes event. We had served savory veloutés last Thursday, and served sweet ones this time.
Our guests could choose one of three veloutés :
- Velouté coco (a kind of coconut mousse)
- Velouté pistache (a pistachio-flavored crème brûlée)
- Velouté williams (a velvety pear compote)
They could then choose to sprinkle on :
- Rais...
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November 5, 2004
Bar à Veloutés, Take 1
Yesterday was the first session of the Bar à Veloutés that Marion Chatelain and myself are hosting at the Printemps de la Maison department store during the Invasions Gourmandes event.
Visitors had a choice between three savory veloutés (a velouté is a thick velvety soup), three toppings to sprinkle on, and three edible accessories to dip in : twenty-seven combinations which were all designed to work equally well.
We arranged each serving i...
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November 1, 2004
Les Invasions Gourmandes
From now until November 13th, a promotional event around food will be held at Le Printemps de la Maison (the home section of the famous Parisian department store). The event is called Les Invasions Gourmandes, which could be loosely translated as "gourmet invasions", and involves a variety of artists, culinary designers and chefs who will do their best to entertain, surprise and delight.
To my great pleasure and honor, I have been asked to par...
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October 22, 2004
C&Z Birthday Party
Pick a good occasion to celebrate -- say, your blog's first birthday.
Talk to a chef you know, like and admire, who owns a small restaurant in an unlikely area of Paris. Invite fifty people : old friends, new friends, enthusiastic readers, neighbors and your precious sister -- guests from France, America, Canada, England, Germany, Poland, Italy and Holland.
Agree with the chef on a theme (that's easy : what's your blog's name again?), discu...
"C&Z Birthday Party" continues »
September 29, 2004
Happy Birthday Chocolate & Zucchini!
"- Bonjour madame la boulangère! I would like to buy a cake for my blog.
- What a lucky blog! Is this a special occasion?
- Why yes, it is my blog's first birthday!
- My my my, how time flies! I remember your blog from when it was just a wee little baby blog, with just a handful of posts -- and now it's one year-old already?
- Yes, I am very proud, and I think it would very much like to celebrate with a cake. Something small something chocolate...
"Happy Birthday Chocolate & Zucchini!" continues »
August 2, 2004
Birthday Party
What in the world have I possibly done to deserve such fabulous friends, I wonder?
I am still basking in the heartwarming glow of my birthday party, which Maxence and I held in our apartment on Saturday night. Old friends and new friends, all smiles and kind words, whom it was my particular pleasure to see making each other's acquaintance, mingling and engaging in happy conversation : I could not have hoped for a better alchemy.
Food and drin...
June 29, 2004
La Baguette, par Jean-Paul Gaultier
[The Baguette, by Jean-Paul Gaultier]
What you see here is a baguette created by Jean-Paul Gaultier, as indicated by the signature navy blue stripes. Well, see, I can't just eat any old baguette, it has to have some style, you know?
I bought it at an art show that just opened at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, a beautiful exhibition hall on the Boulevard Raspail. The show is called "Pain Couture", and it features bread creations by Jean-Paul...
"La Baguette, par Jean-Paul Gaultier" continues »
June 6, 2004
The Paris Potluck : Yet More Recipes!
And here is the final batch of recipes from the Paris Potluck.
~ Featured in this post, you will find :
Zucchini Carpaccio (Isabelle)
Endive and Lardon Salad (Alisa and Jean-Yves)
Codfish and Roasted Tomato Terrine (Christoph)
~ Featured in the previous post were :
Spring Vegetable Risotto (Isabelle)
Pea and Roasted-Garlic Crostini with Olives and Pecorino Cheese (Amy)
Instantaneous Carrot Salad (Jonathan)
Asparagus Tart (Malory)
~ Featured ...
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June 1, 2004
The Paris Potluck
When I went to the Salon Saveurs recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with a few Chocolate & Zucchini readers. A few hours of wandering up and down the aisles brought us closer, and as we all sat down, exhausted but exhilarated, the idea of creating a little supper club was brought up. The idea was to throw a dinner party where everyone would bring a dish, à la potluck. Isabelle and Ethan offered to host the first edition, which took place t...
"The Paris Potluck" continues »
May 10, 2004
Salon Saveurs : my Loot
Last Friday, I attended the Salon Saveurs, a food show held at the Espace Champerret in Paris twice a year. To make a happy event happier, I was blessed with the company of five other food enthusiasts and C&Z readers -- Amy, Pascale, Alisa, Ethan and Isabelle.
We were all delighted to make each other's acquaintance, and it was really great to explore the halls together, getting all excited about the same things, gesturing wildly to the rest o...
"Salon Saveurs : my Loot" continues »
May 9, 2004
IMBB4 : Around the World in a Bowl of Rice
The fourth edition of Is My Blog Burning?, the one and only distributed food blogging event, will be hosted by Pim. The theme this time around is "Around the world in a bowl of rice", and the idea is -- you guessed it -- to cook a rice dish!
Entries should be posted on Sunday, May 23rd, two weeks from now. Check out the details on Pim's blog, and take a look at the previous events' entry list :
First edition : Soups
Second edition : Tartines
...
"IMBB4 : Around the World in a Bowl of Rice" continues »
May 2, 2004
Salon Saveurs : wanna join us?
The spring edition of the Saveurs food show starts in Paris next week. I will be there on Friday at 12:30, accompanied by Amy, a C&Z reader since the early days, and Pascale from C'est moi qui l'ai fait.
If you are in Paris and available on that day and time, how about joining us? Drop me an email if you'd like to come, and we'll arrange to meet!
Salon Saveurs
When : May, 7 to 10, 2004
Where : Paris Espace Champerret
Métro : Porte de Champerr...
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April 5, 2004
A Taste of Balsamic Vinegar
Wine tasting? That is so yesterday, haven't you heard? Balsamic vinegar tasting is all the rage!
On Saturday afternoon, Maxence and I attended such a tasting, organized by the Bastille Slow Food convivium. It was held at Sur Les Quais, a spice and oil store in the covered area of the Marché d'Aligre. I've always been very fond of the taste of balsamic vinegar, but the wildly varying prices of what you find in stores are confusing, so I was de...
"A Taste of Balsamic Vinegar" continues »
April 4, 2004
Pink Buffet : More Pics
If you would like to see more of the pictures I took while preparing the Pink Buffet last week, here is a little pink gallery!...
"Pink Buffet : More Pics" continues »
April 1, 2004
Pink Buffet!
Yesterday was an exciting, if exhausting, day : I went and helped my friend Keda Black, a fellow cook and writer, with the creation of a buffet for the opening of an art show, at a gallery named La Périphérie. This gallery is a really great place, roomy and bright, setup in a rehabilitated workshop just outside of Paris. The show features illustrations by Carlotta, an illustrator who works for French and Japanese magazines. The theme for the sh...