This year would be my third time in Paris. Working in a French bakery with an exceptionally generous owner, I am lucky to tag along to go with Paris with sponsored accomodation. In the past two years I’ve done pastry courses to broaden my professional skills and knowledge, so I haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy the city as much as I would have loved to. I decided to take a vacation in Paris this year to explore what the city has to offer. Knowing me, food is the biggest attraction, and Paris is the perfect place to fill my belly. Going with my favourite co-worker guaranteed a fun and unforgettable experience. Let the journey begin!

Pierre Hermé is a must-go if you’re in Paris, they offer incredibly creative and delicious pastries. The one pictured above is called the Ispahan, the signature dessert with “rose macaron biscuit, rose petal cream, whole raspberries, litchis”. Pierre Hermé was the first to create this original flavour combination. I was rather surprised by the Tarte Tango (pictured below), composed of “sesame shortbread pastry, raspberry and sweet red pepper compote, Reggiano parmesan cream, raspberries, parmesan tuile biscuit.” Who knew red pepper goes so well with raspberries and cheese? Each element played an important role in the symphony of flavours, they played off each other perfectly.

Next up is another creative genius, Sadaharu Aoki. He is known for infusing Japanese flavours with French techniques, and this Genmaicha Écair is one of them. The flavour was so intense with was like drinking a concentrated genmaicha tea in the form of a dessert.

This beautiful chocolate caramel tart had a wonderful texture, soft caramel and a velvety ganache.

Next is a comparison of two Paris-Brest from La Pâtisserie de Rêve and Jacques Genin. The Paris-Brest is traditionally a choux pastry with hazelnut praline cream. We agreed winner was La Pâtisserie de Rêve.

Finishing with another one of my favourite: Tarte Infiniment Vanille from Pierre Hermé, I’ve never had something so rich in textures and vanilla flavour.

A visit to Paris isn’t complete without a trip to E. Dellherein and if you like speciality ingredients, don’t forget to check out G. Detou!

I also accomplished my goals of going to the Palace of Versailles, and Musee d’Orsay both of which I enjoyed a great deal, but you didn’t come here to read about that, did you? We visited Blé Sucré and Du Pain et Des Idées, and had arguably some of the best viennoiserie.

As always, Paris remains a place of inspiration and creativity and there is always a reason to go back.

How about a Paris picnic to finish off this memorable trip?