TASTE LE TOUR 2014 EP210 Raspberry Millefeuilles
Channel: Peter J Warren
Date: 2020-07-10

After three weeks of tasting the glorious food specialities of England and France It is a great joy for me to have finally arrived in my favourite city, the beautiful Paris.

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My yearly visit for Taste Le Tour confirms to me that Paris has kept its place as a wonderful gastronomic destination.

Close by the Concorde Place on the rue de Rivoli, the very fine Hôtel Meurice houses one of Paris’s best French restaurants, run by world-renowned chef/restaurateur, Alain Ducasse.

The glorious dining room is a reproduction of one of the lounge rooms in the Château de Versailles.

It is an honour to spend time in the heart of the kitchen talking to Christophe 
Saintagne, the chef de cuisine, who has inspiring thoughts about contemporary cooking.

interview Christophe Saintagne

La philosophie de ce lieu, c'est d'arriver à proposer les plus grands produits français d'une façon très directe, d'une façon très simple.
(Our philosophy is to manage to present the best of French products in a very pure and simple way).

Aujourd'hui les plus belles émotions dans la cuisine, elles sont procurées par le végétale.
(Nowadays the most beautiful gastronomic emotions come from vegetables).


Dans le goût d'un légume, il y a une forme de justesse, de sincérité auquel on est moins habitué.
(In the flavour of a vegetable ,there is an exactness, a sincerity that we are not so tuned to.)

Tout le monde sait manger une entrecôte de boeuf.
(Every body knows how to appreciate a beef sirloin.)

Par contre, on est souvent surpris par la délicatesse d'un petit pois, par le côté épicé que peut avoir une asperge.
(In contrast, one is often surprised by the delicate flavour of peas or the light spiciness that asparagus can have.) 

Donc, je trouve que ça ce sont des émotions qu'on doit encore approfondir. 
(So I feel that we need to recreate more deeply these emotions.)


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It's a must for a top French restaurant, like Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, to serve exquisite desserts, and the young pâtissier, Cedric Grolet, creates amazing sweet sensations.

This dessert of poached cherries with beetroot wafers and caramelised nuts served with a smooth ice-cream flavoured with a French chilli is amazing.


Raspberry Millefeuilles
Millefeuilles aux Framboises

The raspberry millefeuille is a classic French dessert.

First, I lay some puff pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper.  I prick the pastry with a fork, dust it with caster sugar, then bake at 200°C for about 10 minutes.

Next I press down a bit with a rack to help prevent the pastry from rising too much, and cook it for 5 minutes more.

I then remove the rack and turn the pastry out onto a second baking tray lined with baking paper.

I dust the top of the pastry with icing sugar and bake in the oven at 250°C.

I cut the cold pastry into 3 long strips, then cut each strip into 6 equal rectangles.

I pipe a bit of cream in the centre of two of the pastry rectangles.

Gabriel to camera  

"The cream won't make the pastry soggy because the pastry is caramelised."

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I garnish with raspberries, then place one on top of the other.  Top with an ungarnished pastry rectangle and dust with icing sugar.

These millefeuille aux framboises are so good!.


Gabriel to camera  
 
It has been a great pleasure for me to present this tenth addition of Taste Le Tour. 

And what a privilege to meet the great chefs and pâtissiers and to discover their glorious food and gateaux!

And what a joy to visit the colourful markets and to taste some beautiful cheeses and wines¡

So until next year, merci et au revoir!