Weekend in Paris #7

Chocolat chaud, an artists' co-op, and black sesame pastries.

Weekend in Paris is a bonus series for paid subscribers—it’s one part recap of my off-duty fun as a baking school student, one part dishing about (temporary) expat life. This post is now unlocked for all readers to enjoy. Bienvenue!

After a gorgeous “false spring” here in Paris, it suddenly got chilly again. (I know, cue the tiny violins.) So when a friend arrived from out of town this weekend, I knew just where to take her to warm up.

In today’s letter, you’ll find:

• 🍫 A tale of dueling hot chocolates,

• 💎 Visiting a jewel box of an artist’s cooperative, and

• 🥐 My order at a pint-sized French-Taiwanese boulangerie.

Les Deux Magots is a café in Saint-Germain-des-Prés that’s also a popular tourist destination, thanks to its history as a gathering place for the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Simone de Beauvoir, and James Baldwin—just to name a few of the writers and artists who counted it as a favorite haunt.

Its intellectual track record certainly carries a lot of weight with me…but, ahem, I’d also heard that they serve excellent hot chocolate.

Chocolat chaud is an experience I’ve been meaning to try since I read Glynnis MacNicol wax poetic about it in I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself. It’s thicker, richer, and higher-quality than American hot cocoa. Plus, it’s often served with a dish of freshly-whipped cream. Clearly the ideal way to stave off frigid temperatures!

My friend and I walked into Les Deux Magots, its dining room replete with ornate tile work, green velvet curtains, and waiters whizzing about in bow ties and tuxedos. With that backdrop, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the chocolat chaud would be the best sip of my life.

In the name of the scientific method, I had to see if this experience was repeatable, so the next morning, I headed to the Place des Vosges to visit Carette, a café and pâtisserie whose story dates back to 1927.

So, was their raved-about chocolat chaud just as good?

Let’s just say that I hope it warms up ASAP. Otherwise, I’m in danger of making this Parisian hot chocolate thing into a regular habit.

As my friend and I wrapped up our Saturday together, we decided to do a bit of aimless wandering. (Stumbling upon the loveliest side streets in Paris, of course, is an activity in and of itself.)

As we traversed the cobblestones, we were floored by an especially charming window display: a floor-to-ceiling installation of headbands wrapped in colorful silk scarves. I wasn’t sure that I could pull off the look myself, to be honest, but I was intrigued enough to walk inside.

We soon learned that the exceedingly kind shopkeeper, Junhee Kim, was also the artist behind the Mont Kiji scarves in the window display. She started her own label after more than two decades working for institutions like Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Chanel, then gathered other independent artists to open and run this physical storefront, Rendez-Vous des Designers, as a team effort. (Their story was eventually featured in the New York Times.)

While perusing the wares at Rendez-Vous des Designers, I found a delicate pearl necklace from Uraha Bijoux that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.

The brand’s designer runs the shop on Mondays and Tuesdays, so when I inevitably go back to buy it, I’ll also have the special opportunity of meeting her in person. How fabulous is that?

I learned about Petite Île during my first week of baking school, when two of Ferrandi’s chefs spoke about the bakery with pride. Chih-ya Wang, a Taiwanese graduate of Ferrandi’s boulangerie program, opened it with her husband Po-hsuan Chuang just a few short years ago.

When I investigated further, I was taken with the couple’s story. As soon as I learn about midstream career-changers who’ve entered the baking world, I feel sense of kinship unlock automatically.

Apparently, this is my week for hitting up Parisian spaces featured in the New York Times, as their bakery recently earned a spot in the NYT’s round-up of the city’s most mouthwatering bakeries.

And now that I’ve sampled their wares, I can see why.

Of the four treats I “limited” myself to, I fell head-over-heels for their black sesame pain au chocolat and the almond croissant.

In both cases, there was no skimping on the filling—always the correct decision, IMHO—and the shell of each pastry was fabulously dark and crunchy without any hint of dryness (i.e., the reason I’m usually disappointed by heavily-browned bakes).

I’m already kicking myself for leaving without trying their spin on tebirkes, the classic Danish pastry. Guess I’ll have to head to Copenhagen next weekend…

And with that, it’s back to the (fabulous) grind. I’ll be back with another baking school recap on Friday!

Warmly,
Maddie

Breakfast Club is a newsletter about pastries with a side of personal growth, from an ex-financial planner turned baker. If you savored this edition, click the ❤️ (or share with a friend!) to help new readers discover it—and subscribe to get each letter fresh from the oven.