Mars Ice Cream, France

One of my favorite parts of visiting my offices worldwide is exploring the ice cream freezers, just to try out the local ice cream novelties, like Heartbrand ice creams in Munich, Mövenpick in Zurich, Streets in Australia, Nestlé in Canada, Hood on the east coast, and regional offerings from Ben & Jerry's in Munich.  Last week, I reviewed the Trufo products I found in the freezers in my Paris office, but those freezers were...

Read More...

Croissants from Liberté, Paris

During my first stay in Paris, I grew sick of the lackluster breakfast at the W where I was staying, and decided to venture outside my hotel for breakfast finally.  After all, I was in Paris, and there were great bakeries everywhere. I didn't have time to stray far away to visit one of the pâtisseries on my list though, as I was in Paris for work, and needed to get to the office in a timely fashion.  So I went to Liberté, a pâtisserie located in the...

Read More...

Dinner @ Dessance, Paris

Dessance, in Paris, is a restaurant unlike any other.  It is ... a dessert restaurant.  Only a dessert restaurant.  But not in the way you think - it isn't a chocolate cafe, or somewhere you go to load up on decadent desserts.  Instead, you go for a full multi-course meal (or mid-day snack if you prefer), but, it centers around sweet highlights and techniques.  I'll explain more below.  Clearly, you know how much I love desserts, so...

Read More...

Breakfast at Restaurant Les Etoiles, Sheraton, Charles de Gaulle Airport

As you read last week, I stayed two nights at the Sheraton located at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.  The evening canape selection was very disappointing in the makeshift Executive Lounge, but breakfast was served in the full restaurant, Les Etoilles, so I had hope that it at least was being prepared in a real kitchen. Breakfast was a large buffet, with continental and cooked items, plus a made-to-order egg station.  It was poorly managed.  Many...

Read More...

Pastries from Ladurée, Paris

Paris is a land of many famous pâtisseries, but even amongst the slew, Ladurée is one of the more famous.  They have been around since the 1860s, have many locations at this point, and are famed for their macarons in particular. The macarons have an interesting history, added to the bakery lineup in the 1930s, when they also added a tearoom adjacent to the bakery since ladies weren't allowed in cafes (!).  But Ladurée stayed a single bakery until far...

Read More...