Sweet Paris
Denise Acabo – A L'Etoile d'Or
Sweet Paris
The French capital is a real Mecca for creative confectioners. The districts of Montmartre and Pigalle in particular have seen many patissiers, chocolatiers and bakers opening boutique stores in recent years, where their miniature masterpieces can be found.
Denise Acabo has been in her packed little shop “A l’Etoile d’Or” on Rue Pierre Fontaine for more than 40 years, selling chocolate from Bernachon and Bonnat, pralines from Mazet and other sweet treats from all over France. The spry elderly lady with the characteristic blonde plaits knows each of her producers personally and can tell a little story about all of the treats she sells. She proudly tells us that American actress Meryl Streep always comes to buy “Pâtes de fruit” with Mirabelle plums whenever she’s in Paris.
Fans of tarts and quiches are sure to be delighted at “Les Petits Mitrons”: whether you prefer something sweet or something more substantial, with fruit or with vegetables and cheese, the lavishly filled shortcrust tarts are all crying out to be sampled. But the huge selection doesn’t make that an easy task...
Bread is sacred to the French, especially the baguette. Paris has even played host to a competition to find the best baguette since 1995, known as the “Concours de la meilleure baguette de Paris”. Djibril Bodian (“Le Grenier à Pain”), a young baker of Senegalese origin from Montmartre, won the competition both in 2010 and in 2015. This landed him not only a cheque for EUR 4,000, but also the privilege of being the supplier for the presidential palace for a year. The young craftsman (Boulanger Artisan) naturally cannot live by baking bread alone, so he also makes excellent croissants, tarts and éclairs.
Christophe Roussel loves macaroons, the colourful little meringue cakes made from ground almonds with a delicate or tangy filling. The skilled patissier and chocolatier always has a dozen different macaroons available in his shop, with flavours including cheesecake, caramel and dark chocolate, coffee, pistachio, lemon, lavender and apricot. He also stocks chocolates, shaped like the Eiffel Tower, mouths, flip-flops, little hills (“Petites Buttes de Montmartre”) or “Grand Cru” gourmet bars.
What Christophe Roussel is to macaroons, so Gilles Marchal is to madeleines, delicate little cakes shaped like shells. Marchal spent years working as a patissier and chocolatier in top restaurants, before fulfilling his dream and opening his own shop in Montmartre in 2014. The recipe for his madeleines comes from his grandmother; he has altered it only slightly and sometimes adds lemon, pistachio or caramel. He bakes up to 1,000 madeleines on Sundays, and they always sell out quickly.
Shops
Denise Acabo – A l’Etoile d’Or
30 rue Pierre Fontaine
Tel. +33 (0)1 48 74 59 55
www.davidlebovitz.com
Les Petits Mitrons
26 rue Lepic
Tel. +33 (0)1 46 06 10 29
Le Grenier à Pain
38 rue des Abbesses
Tel. +33 (0)1 46 06 41 81
www.legrenierapain.com
Boulangerie Alexine
40 rue Lepic
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 55 08 05
Christophe Roussel
5 rue Tardieu
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 58 91 01
www.christophe-roussel.fr
Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal
9 rue Ravignan
Tel. +33 (0)1 85 34 73 30
www.gillesmarchal.com
Hotel
Prince de Galles
33 avenue George V
Tel. +33 (0)1 53 23 77 77
www.princedegallesparis.com