Saturday. Paris is beautiful. I spent the past few hours wandering the city: the Seine, Tuileries, random streets and alleys. Wrapped the day at Toraya with sencha tea and savory mochi, a light repast after a long night traveling. This is my third time staying at Hotel Bourgogne et Montana. The room is beautiful, the service is exceptional, and breakfast is very good.
Pam at Ecole Chocolat asked me to lead the France master chocolatier course this year. We’ll meet up with the students for lunch on Monday before taking the train to Valence for three days of hard work at Valrhona’s school in Tain l’Hermitage.
Sunday. Slept in until noon. When we return on Friday I’ll be leading the students on a tour of some of the best chocolatiers in Paris, so I spent a few hours wandering to each and previewing the route. Along the way I picked up a croissant at Claire Damon’s Des Gateaux et du Pain for late breakfast on a bench at Jardin du Luxembourg. The croissant was heavenly, the brioche made me cry: it will be years before I eat bread that good again. Dinner with friends and back to the hotel late.
Shop’s open without me–Anabel and Shaman are minding the store.