Le Foodist Paris Cooking Class



Delicious and Tasty Pastries made in France

Read more about our Pastry Classes here

Visiting the “City of Love,” and want to indulge in the sweet fantasy of flaky, layered, goodness that can only be called pastries from Paris?

There are several patisseries ready to serve up the best treat you’ve ever tasted. When planning a trip or want to take the day and travel around the town to try some of the best sweets in town, you will need an itinerary because there are a ton of shops on every block, each with sweets. Of course, you can always join in a croissant class in Paris and learn to make some of these yourself.

But if you want to test your palate’s ability to find the best pastry to buy in Paris, then follow these top 11 suggested patisseries which are selling only the best in France.

  1. Ladurée

How can one speak of the best and not mention the renowned Ladurée? Decadent pastel-colored macarons that are unremarkably the best ever. Each meringue cookie perfect sculpted, providing an airy texture offers hints of gently folded almond flour and egg whites. There are several locations, but for a nice scenic walkabout after your visit, then the one on the corner of Rue Bonaparte & Jacob near the Champs-Elysées terrace. If you are looking for something special under seven bucks, then try their amazing Saint-Honoré Vanille, made with Vanilla, caramel, cabbage, and creamy whipped cream. Yum!

  1. Odette

Want to enjoy a delicious cream puff? What about one of the best in Paris? If you're hunting for the best flaky pastry and it has led you anywhere, then it will have led you to Odette, a small treats store located down the cobbled-stone street of Rue Galande, in the Latin quarter. Here you will find their renowned choux à la crème, which is only the best cream puff ever! Also, you can grab a box of 12 of your favorite puffs just under $25. Not bad for a takeaway gift, huh?

  1. Pierre Hermé

We make our way back to the Rue Bonaparte, where we travel to Pierre Hermé. While Pierre is mainly known for their incredibly irresistible macarons, do not let them fool you because they have several sweets that will blow you away. You can find some traditional food in France, but mainly elegant treats fill this store. Like their Éclair Infiniment Chocolat consisting of the optimal amount of crème, chocolate, and fluffy perfection for just $9. If you haven’t started to drool yet, just wait, we’re only getting started.

  1. Sadaharu Aoki

Looking for some unique and interestingly creative sweets? How about a cultural clash of French artistry and Japanese creativity placed into a tasty pastry? As soon as you walk in, there they are, staring at you. Rows and rows of mind-blowing food art situated behind display counters where the professional treat makers of Sadaharu Aoki at the Boulevard de Port-Royal location sit and wait to greet you with a smile and a suggested treat, happily. Some of their sweets are only able to be enjoyed during certain seasons, but when it’s offseason, it is still pretty easy to find something great tasting here. If available when you visit, give their Bamboo dessert a try. Watch out because it does contain a little amount of green tea punch which has alcohol, along with Joconde biscuit, green tea cream, and dark chocolate ganache.

  1. Blé Sucré

On the outside of 7 rue Antoine Vollon stands an ordinary building with nothing special that grabs the attention. Inside, however, lies the deceptively delectable secret that is Blé Sucré, known for creating some of the most eye-catching bread, sweets, and of course, you can find one heck of a pastry here too! Reasonably priced to be extremely affordable on nearly any budget, visiting Paris and not checking out Blé Sucré would be a crime.

  1. Pain Pain

Venturing further into Paris, we find ourselves walking down rue des Martyrs, where a bold blue storefront stands with the name Pain Pain printed across the top and on the front window. From the name, you may not know that they serve some of the best sweets in the city, but they do! From lovely cocoa-infused croissants to an array of baguettes and other delectable sweets just ripe for the eating. Try their well-known pistachio-chocolate roll for the ultimate combination of godly ingredients that send your taste buds on a roller-coaster of pure bliss. Can you resist the PainPain?

  1. La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Traveling to this next place may require baking classes Paris offers in order to truly understand the exquisite flavor profiles developed inside the walls of La Pâtisserie des Rêves. Glass domes elegantly cover multiple sweets, some with cocoa and some without. From Pain au Chocolat to Duja Shortbread Biscuits, you'll find here supreme baked treats that will literally send you overboard. If you are looking for a something more than your average treat, you’ll find it here for sure. It really doesn’t matter which Paris location you go to, but if you need a little help the one on Rue du Bac is a pretty outstanding one to visit.

  1. Café Pouchkine

This patisserie is nestled inside Printemps, the department store, making a sugar run during your shopping trip that much easier. The master chef manning the kitchen here provides incredible presentation of carefully crafted treats. You can find some great sweets here, certainly any experienced gourmand will enjoy their signature pastry, the Pouchkinette, a light dish coated with a blanket of colored sugar matching the filling, which can be one of ten flavors. Which one is your favorite? It’s exactly what you would find in a French pastry shop.

  1. Carl Marletti

Absolutely nothing say scrumptious like a signature treat from Carl Marletti. His decked out artsy sugar-filled store can be found on rue Censier, where you can choose from several amazing dishes, all bursting with flavors of fruits, nuts, and a combination of other sugary goodness like caramel, crème, and chocolate. Do you really want to know what is so special about French cuisine? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The level of care and the attention to detail is more than admirable, its mesmeric. Stop by Carl’s store and taste Paris.

  1. Yann Couvreur Pâtisserie

One the quest for the best, another stop has to be in one of the three parisian establishments (Galleries Lafayette, Parmentier and Rosiers) of the artisan at heart Yann Couvreur. Mastering multiple styles of culinary expertise in the desserts department, you’ll find amazing éclairs, great tarty meringue, and the incredible awarded dessert Millefeuille à la Vanille des Comores that will have you travelling across the world to come back for more.

  1. Angelina

From the moment you walk into Angelina’s store, your mouth will be a nonstop faucet, dripping and drooling from the wall-to-wall lined white room, filled with some of the most delectable treats in town. With too many options to name, one of their famous classic pastries is called the Mont-Blanc, a meringue, light Chantilly, and vermicelli with chestnut crème delight that can only be described as divine. If you are looking for the best around, then you certainly can’t make the best decision without giving Angelina’s a whirl.

Why are French Foods so Magnificent?

Read more about our Pastry Classes here

The yummy sweets, oh, the yummy treats. Aren’t they magnificent? Yes, yes they are. We all love the cuisine in France, especially the sweets.

People endlessly ask, what is so special about French cuisine? And, in response to that question, first ask, “have you tried it?” If you haven’t, you are missing out on some of the most mouthwatering bites you will ever experience. You’ll probably be addicted in no time, to be honest.

Even though we have mentioned some top pâtisseries, there are still others that are well known throughout Paris; we have not talked about the great reputation of French cuisine. Believe me; it's worth looking into. It may even leave you craving French plates more than ever before. If you haven’t tried the cuisine native to Paris, specifically make it a point to travel to this magnificent country and try it first-hand. While you’re at it, visit the link above to check out why it really is so special. Once again, you won’t be disappointed.

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Classes help learn more about French foods

Read more about our Pastry Classes here

If French meals excite you, and you don’t want to only learn about the delectable croissants, baguettes, and macarons from Paris, instead you’d rather book a class to get into the nitty-gritty of French pastries.

You’re in Paris so Enjoy France with a Chef-taught Class

Read more about our Pastry Classes here

All of this talk about the tasty sweets flavored with strawberry, raspberry, almonds, etc., Traveling to a renowned shop known in Paris should be topping your list.

Before you visit a shop, try a baking class concentrated on pastries to fully get a clear understanding of what it means to be a sugary delicacy. Head over to one of many baking classes Paris offers, and learn the basics of baking each of the sweets you’ve seen while window shopping. With the professionals teaching you, you’ll get the hang of the recipes in no time. And, you’ll be able to take home all the creative ways to make each dessert savory. They’ll probably let you have a sample, or two, while the class is going on, too!

For more information, please refer to the following pages:

FAQ

Read more about our Pastry Classes here

  1. What is the difference between boulangerie and patisserie?

In France, a boulangerie—or bakery—primarily sells baked bread, whereas a patisserie—or pastry shop—primarily sells baked goods like croissants, cakes, and macarons. You may occasionally see a bakery that sells both pastries and breads, but most shops in France will sell one or the other. For the most part, boulangeries will mainly sell a variety of basic breads, such as baguettes and sourdough, along with specialty breads flavored with nuts, fruits, or olives. In order for a French bakery to be officially considered a boulangerie, they must be run by a properly-trained boulanger, or artisan baker. Patisseries, on the other hand, are pastry shops that sell a wide variety of baked goods. Some patisseries will sell everything from simple butter croissants to decadent, multi-tier cakes while others are more specialized. However, regardless of what the patisserie chooses to sell, it must be run by a professionally trained pastry chef, or patissier.

  1. Where to buy the best Saint Honoré in Paris?

Saint Honore cake is a classic French treat made by carefully arranging individual puff pastries into a cake formation. Because puff—or choux—pastry is notoriously difficult to make, creating a Saint Honore cake requires high levels of skill and precision. So, if you want to order a Saint Honore cake in Paris, then you will want to order it from a highly skilled patissier. While you’ll find plenty of great pastry chefs in Paris, certain restaurants and shops stand out among the rest for their perfection of the Saint Honore. Adrienne Bozzolo is well-known for his Saint Honore at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which holds an annual party to celebrate the art of patisserie. La Pâtisserie des Réves is another excellent option for finding the perfect Saint Honore, and for a creative twist on the classic dessert, you can visit Carl Marletti, which offers a violet-infused version of the dessert.

  1. What are the best vegan friendly bakeries in Paris?

Although most classic French baking involves plenty of butter, cream, and sugar, vegans can still enjoy many classic French pastries at vegan-friendly bakeries. VG Patisserie is an all-vegan bakery that recently opened in Paris, and at this patisserie, you can find vegan versions of classic French goodies from cheese croissants to flan and miniature cakes. Likewise, Cloud Cakes is an all-vegan bakery and breakfast restaurant where you can enjoy a light breakfast or a delectable croissant. For a wide array of vegan sweets, head to Jo and Nana Cakes in the 17th Arrondissement, and many vegan restaurants and coffee shops, such as Sunday’s Coffee and Cuppa Cafe, will also have vegan baked goods available for purchase. You can also find plenty of vegan confections at specialty grocery stores like Naturalia, and a handful of boulangeries and patisseries will offer vegan options in addition to their classic baked goods.

  1. Where to buy classic french Christmas cake in Paris?

During Christmastime, many French people indulge in classic French Christmas cake, which is called Bûche de Noël. This log-shaped cake is a chocolate cake rolled with whipped cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar. For the most part, you can buy this Christmas treat at nearly any French patisserie, but be sure to order your bûche de Noël in advance - this cake becomes quite popular as the holidays approach, and many bakeries will require at least two days’ notice to complete your order.

  1. How to find a good patisserie in your parisian neighborhood if you are new in town?

Paris is inundated with patisseries, so finding the best one in your neighborhood can seem like an overwhelming task. So, how can you find the best local patisseries? First, you should ask around. Your hotel concierge, Airbnb host, or neighbors will likely have a strong opinion on the best pastry shop near your accommodation, so they can be a great resource for finding the best one. You can also consult online guides as well as review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor to see what locals think of the patisseries in your neighborhood. If you’re wandering the streets, the best way to see if a pastry shop is high-quality is to observe its crowd. If a patisserie is packed to the gills with Parisians, then it is likely one of the best in the area. Luckily, however, the vast majority of Parisian patisseries are high-quality, especially considering how competitive the market is, so you’ll rarely have a bad experience at a bakery in Paris.

  1. Where to find the best sugar free pastries in Paris?

Many traditional French pastries contain loads of sugar, but luckily, many French patisseries cater to people who want sugar-free goods. Given the popularity of sugar-free diets, many large bakeries will cater to people who crave sugar-free treats and offer a handful of sugarless confections. Traditional bakeries that are known to have excellent sugar-free selections include Ble Sucre, Du Pain et des Idees, and Laduree. However, some patisseries exclusively serve sugar-free goods. Les Belles Envies is located in the 5th Arrondissement, and it is largely considered one of the best places to buy sugarless pastries in Paris - particularly since it also foregoes chemical sweeteners. The owner, Alixe Bornon, is diabetic, so she was inspired to open the bakery so that people who cannot eat sugar can also enjoy pastries. The shop sells a variety of baked goods, including lemon pie and coconut biscuits, and it also serves sugar-free chocolates and charcuterie goods.

  1. What baked goods do you typically see in most Parisian pastry shops?

While no French patisserie is exactly the same, you’ll surely find a handful of French bakery staples in nearly every bakery that you visit. The croissant, for instance, is a traditional pastry that’s featured in nearly every pastry shop, and as is its chocolatey cousin - the pain au chocolat. Shell-shaped tea biscuits called madeleines are also in most patisseries and as are classic eclairs. Macarons - delicate meringue cookies with ganache filling - are also a common sight in French bakeries, and you can find them in a wide variety of flavors. Other French patisserie staples include mille-feuille (commonly called a “Napoleon”) and various tarts. In addition to these basic treats, many French pastry shops also feature more complex creations like the Paris-Brest, Opera cake, and Saint-Honore cake. These larger cakes can sometimes be purchased by the slice, but most often, you must buy them whole.

  1. Which neighborhoods have the best bakeries in Paris?

Paris is filled with high-quality bakeries and pastry shops, but which Arrondissement has the best baked goods in the city? While no single district can claim that title, certain districts - Montmartre, Le Marais, and Saint-Germain - are well-known for their abundance of high-quality baked goods. Montmartre is located off the beaten path in the 18th Arrondissement, and despite its location in central Paris, it resembles a quaint hillside village. Here, you can find award-winning baguettes at Boulangerie Alexine or dine with the locals at Le Pétrin Médiéval. La Marais, which is home to the Jewish quarter and Rue des Rosiers, is also a bakery hotspot. Boulangerie Murciano is a Jewish quarter staple that serves both traditional French goods along with Jewish- and German-inspired treats. Finally, Saint-Germain offers some of the best and trendiest bakeries in the city along its streets and in its famous covered market, including Meert - one of the oldest pastry-makers in Paris!

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More About Our Baguettes Classes

Getting a bit technical during our Baguette Class in Paris

The French baguette, actually probably better known as the Parisian baguette has beome a true symbol of French popular gastronomy. A true icon of French life even - look around and you will see the Parisians strolling back home with their baguettes under their arm. But if you are French why would you learn how to do this? You can buy a baguette at any corner of Paris for about one Euro a piece.  But in our Baguette Class in Paris  you will learn how do this from scratch. It is somewhat technical, but also full of tips and tricks. But when you leave, it will have not secret left for you. From the original mix to the famous "scarification" through adding water to your oven through baking, you will see and do it all.

Learning more during your Baguette class in Paris: Croque Monsieur Bread and Brioche

This class is like all our other baking or cooking classes: totally hands-on. So you get to practice from beginning to end - and to taste at the end. But not only will you learn how to make Baguette, but you will also learn to make two more types of bread: the French Croque Monsieur bread. The basis for the classic French bistrot appetizer. And in your Baguette class in Paris you will also learn how to make your own Brioche. Probably the most indulgent bread you will find in France - if not the lightest ...

And you might learn some history during your Baguette Class in Paris

While you will learn the techniques to create - and get to taste - three classic types of French breads, you will also learn some of the stories on the origin of the baguette. Just beware it is still being quite hotly debated. What is for sure though is that the Baguette is absolutely part of today Parisian's life. A classic you will be able to take back home with you.

More About Our Wine and Cheese Lunch in Paris

Cheese and Wine in Paris

The pleasures we can derive from French cuisine can seem endless.  However two of the best known and loved French gastronomic heroes are French cheese and wine. Whether we talk about a Brie which actually comes from very close to Paris, to a creamy Camembert from Normandy, or a Comté from the Alps, French cheese has a delight for all palates. And of course, French wines are even better known whether from Bordeaux great wines or Burgundy sophisticated whites – all of which enthral wine lovers.  Well, at our course on cheese and wine in Paris you will come to appreciate that although each is delicious on its own, properly matched cheese and wine together can make the experience of each even more enjoyable and an absolute delight.

How to pair French cheese and wine

Because not all pairings are actually what people expect, at Le Foodist we have decided to call these experiences 'Daring Pairings'. Maybe because we like to step out of the ordinary to challenge our taste buds, but really all we try to do is give you the perfect match fo cheese and wine in Paris.  So not only will you learn how to select the best wine to go with your cheese, but you will also learn what are the big cheese families in France – there are actually only five, and this is one of the keys to great pairing. In discovering all these pairings of cheese with wine you will be convinced that indeed two things together can be better than the sum of their parts.

It is important to have fun with pairing cheese and wine in Paris

Beyond the tastings though, we have found that the best way to help our clients remember and re-use their experience is to vary the way to approach both wine and cheese.  That is why during our courses on cheese and wine in Paris we share sensory games and many an anecdote to bring the produce to life in your mind as well as on your palate. Overall we will feature four excellent wines, one Champagne and demonstrate to you how best each combines with cheese, letting your taste guide you along with our teaching.

Understanding cheese and wine pairing while in Paris

While for many top Parisian wine stores and restaurant wine lists can be confusing and even intimidating, we believe that after our lunch learning how to pair cheese and wine in Paris, you will feel much more comfortable navigating all of those.  And we sincerely hope your knowledge will help you unlock a door to a whole new world of enjoyment of French wine and cheese pairing.  At every step of the way our sommelier will also share unique tips and tricks to understand wines better and how culture and wine are so related in France; hopefully enriching your own experience as well.

And they do not have to do with what you will find in those markets. They have to do with when you can go shopping there. Open Air markets are only open in the morning. Typically from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. And they are not open every day. As a matter of fact for the vast majority they are open either open every other day (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday or Wednesday, Friday, Sunday), or sometimes only twice a week. 

This is the case of the Bastille Market (Metro Bastille and Metro Bréguet Sabin )which is open only on Thursday and Sunday morning. We like to send people there because it is a very big market with over one hundred vendors. And it has a nice stand of Crêperie in the middle. Here you get a video of a lady preparing a crêpe there; and you can get that crêpe for only 3 Euros!
There is only one Open Air market open every day of the week, it is called Marché Aligre (Metro Ledru Rollin or Metro Faidherbe Chaligny) which happens on the eponymous street. It is an interesting market because you find all kinds of quality in that market – the good, the bad and the ugly. There is also a nice covered market in the middle of it called Marché Beauveau – sometimes called Marché Beauveau Aligre. On the contrary, Covered Markets are open every day, and not just in the morning, but also in the late afternoon. Typically from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm.

We are blessed with two markets close to where Le Foodist is located, so we can walk to a market every morning – sometimes it is the Maubert market, and sometimes it is the Monge market. Both nice with their own specififies. Last but not least, none of these markets is open on Monday. Do not sign-up for a Market Tour on Monday, you might never see that money again …

Choosing Ingredients in Paris

While all markets are different, they also have some things in common. First they work on specific schedules as explained before. But also you will find always at a minimum the following vendors: a Maraîcher – this is the name we give to people selling fruits and vegetables, a butcher, a fishmonger, a cheesemonger and a baker. Normally you will find several of each, with different levels of quality, organic or non-organic, local or not local (but mostly not local unfortunately).
And we explain how to recognize each of those of course during our Market Visits and Cooking Classes in Paris. But choosing ingredients can be daunting at first, because of the variety that is on display. A typical fishmonger will carry 20 different types of fishes, and as many shrimp and shelf fish varieties. A good cheese monger will easily carry up to 100 different types of cheese and obviously you could get over 100 different cuts of meat at a butcher (from the type of meat to the cut itself). And a normal Maraicher will carry between 50 and 100 fruits and vegetables as well.
This is what makes these markets so exciting – the variety of products, the beauty of their display, and the exchange you can have with most of the vendors. We give you tips though on how to make sure that exchange with the vendors go well – a few magic words, and everything will be fine!

Cooking in Paris

Obviously going to markets is nice, but actually knowing that you are going to cook what you find there is even more exciting. It is not uncommon for Parisians to buy a little bit too much food because they get so excited at the idea of cooking it all! But as most of us have hardly any space where we live, that can limit the enthusiasm sometimes. Because of the lack of space, Cooking in Paris can be quite different from cooking in the rest of France. And there are also dishes that are typically associated with regions which the Parisian will not cook at home – but taste when they visit friends or families in the various regions of France. However our kitchen has plenty of space, so we can cook traditional French dishes without a problem – whether they come from Paris or any region. And the most important part for us is to ensure that we share techniques much more than just recipes. As a matter of fact, we love to share a bit of the science behind what we do so people can better remember the “what” by understanding the “why”.

Sharing Stories

In November 2010, some experts from the UN cultural organisation, decided tha France’s multi-course gastronomic meal, with its rites and its presentation, fulfilled the conditions for featuring on the “world intangible list” of the UNESCO.
In this list you can find all kinds of cultural practices, including Mexico Day of the Dead festival for example. Importantly this is not suggesting French cuisine is better than other cuisines (even though we the French tend to believe that …). It is only saying that the gastronomic meal and what it entails is a very vivid cultural practice which people in France partake into on a very regular basis. That is why the same experts indicated that the French gastronomic meal is a “social custom aimed at celebrating the most important moments in the lives of individuals and groups”. And in that social custom, there are many parts: the attention we pay to the way we choose ingredients, how we pair wine with food, how many dishes we will present to our guests, how we lay the table, etc… But one big part of the cultural practice is that commensality (the fact of sharing the food) is always accompanied by sharing stories about …. Well, you would have guessed it, Food of course!
To us it is THE perfect example of how Food and Culture come together – actually we decide to share food is a considered a cultural practice. I would argue that it is true of all countries, regions, etc… As the way we relate to Food is such a big part of anybody’s identity. But as a result and to make sure you have the most genuine experience of French culture, after the a coking class in Paris at Le Foodist, you will share a gastronomic meal at a common table with your Chef and fellow participants to the class.

French Wine and Food Pairing

As mentioned above, one of the big cultural practices in France is choosing how to pair Wine and Food in general and Wine and Cheese in particular. We actually have a class which focuses specifically on this. As it is so important though, we always make sure we share white and red wines during our meals, chosen to pair well in our opinion with the food we cook. And being at the table together is a good opportunity to discuss about wine as well, with concepts such as “terroir” (to simplify, terroir means “what you do depends on where you are”) which are essential to grasp the way the French think about Food.
And all this will always go with a cheering “Santé” – which quite simply means, to your good health!

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