Black Paris Divas Are Back! - Gourmet Cooking Class and Walk

For the third year in a row, Discover Paris! organized cooking classes and gourmet walks for Black Paris Divas. We had the pleasure of serving two groups this year!

Magret de canard (duck breast) à l'orange, roasted spring vegetables, and tarte tatin (upside-down apple pie) were on the menu for both groups.

The information-packed classes were run by Chef Eric, who is always in a jovial mood.

Chef Eric demonstrates how to prepare magret de canard
© Discover Paris!
Everyone gets involved!

Getting to work
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Scoring the duck
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Slicing carrots
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Peeling asparagus
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Massaging veggies
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Preparing oranges and juice for sauce
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Chef Eric is passionate about leading these classes and he is always careful to explain everything thoroughly.

Chef Eric explains how to prepare orange sauce
© Discover Paris!
Time to prepare the tart!

Preparing pastry dough
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Caramelizing the apples
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Nestling apples in the pan
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Rolling the pastry dough
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Tucking the dough around the edges of the pan
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Tarte tatin is ready
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When everything is prepared, the table is set and everyone sits down to enjoy the meal.

April 2 group
© Discover Paris!

April 10 group
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Duck à l'orange and roasted spring veggies
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Tarte tatin unmolded
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Tarte tatin plated
© Discover Paris!
After class, everyone gathers downstairs for photos. Then, those who have chosen to participate in the gourmet walk set out with me for a one-hour stroll to visit boutiques selling artisanal wines, foie gras, exquisite ice creams and sorbets, single-plantation olive oils, fresh roasted coffees, and more!

Ready to set out for the gourmet walk - April 10 group
© Discover Paris!
If this has whetted your appetite for a fun-filled food-centered experience the next time you come to Paris, contact me at so that we can discuss organizing a cooking class, gourmet walk, or other epicurean activity for you!

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Crêpes on a Summer Day

A crêperie is a restaurant that specializes in the ultra-thin pancake that has become a gastronomic cliché for France. Americans commonly mispronounce the word "crêpe" - the true pronunciation rhymes with the word "step."

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As Tom and I were enjoying one of the last glorious days before the rentrée (the return of all French citizens to their homes and jobs after summer vacation), we happened by a crêpe stand across the street from the Jardin des Plantes. Lo and behold, a young black woman was behind the counter producing these lovely confections!

Our server
© Discover Paris!
Crêpes can be sweet (sucrée) or savory (salée) and they are one of France's most popular forms of fast food. The crêperie that we spotted was on the corner of rue Buffon and rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, right next to an Italian restaurant.

Adjoining Italian restaurant and crêpe stand
© Discover Paris!

Crêpe menu
© Discover Paris!
I ordered a beurre/sucre (butter and sugar) crêpe and Tom ordered one filled with crème de marron (chestnut paste).

Our server uses two griddles to produce a single crêpe. She butters the first griddle and ladles the batter onto it. As it begins to cook, she butters the second griddle.

Buttering the griddle
© Discover Paris!

Ladling the batter
© Discover Paris!
Once the crêpe is set, she moves it to the other griddle to continue the cooking process. She can begin cooking an additional crêpe on the first griddle if there are a large number of customers waiting, thereby reducing the wait time. On this particular day, we were the only people there so we were able to watch the process and photograph it at our leisure.

Moving crêpe from one griddle to the other
© Discover Paris!
Our server "dressed" the crêpes with the fillings that we ordered, wrapped them, and handed them over to us. We both preferred Tom's crème de marron crêpe - it was sweeter and more consistent!

Handing over the goods!
© Discover Paris!
Next time we come to this neighborhood, we'll order the Nutella crêpe as a comparison. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!


One of the stops on the Discover Paris! Ile Saint-Louis gourmet walking tour is a crêperie. Click HERE to view the Love2Eat video where I tell Lové Anthony all about crêpes during this walk. Then contact me if you'd like to book your own gourmet walk with us!

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Black Paris Divas Cookin' It Up Again in Paris

Black Paris Divas enjoyed yet another fun-filled day of cooking and walking earlier this month. First, the group met for a lunchtime cooking class, where participants prepared pan-seared, roasted salmon with bearnaise sauce,

Cutting Salmon
© Discover Paris!

Searing the Salmon
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Ingredients for Bearnaise Sauce
© Discover Paris!

Whisking the Bearnaise Sauce
© Discover Paris!
roasted veggies,

Preparing Veggies for Roasting
© Discover Paris!

"Massaging" the Vegetables
© Discover Paris!

and chocolate soufflé.

Soufflé Batter and Separated Eggs
© Discover Paris!

Buttering Soufflé Molds
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Soufflés Fresh from the Oven
© Discover Paris!

The group then sat down to eat, with Chef Eric and group member Hawk serving.

Chef Serves the Salmon
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Hawk Pours the Wine
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Enjoying the Meal
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After breaking bread together, we left the cooking school for a gourmet walk that featured the concept of terroir, which means everything that goes into the environment from which food items emerge - soil, sun, wind, altitude... The flavor of everything that we eat and drink - wine, olives, butter, and even chocolate - is affected by terroir.

Talking about Coffee and Terroir
© Discover Paris!

Participant Almetta Vaughn, who purchased three Food for the Soul (soul food) cookbooks and signed up to join the Entrée to Black Paris community after the class, had the following to say:

"Monique knows Black Paris!! Her tour taught me about ... the culture which includes the food, wines, and lifestyle. I will proudly recommend her to anyone who goes to Paris to feel the black experience."

Almetta Peels a Shallot
© Discover Paris!
If you'd like to titillate your taste buds while learning French cooking techniques, enjoy consuming the fruits of your labor, and have the opportunity to shop for gourmet souvenirs while stretching your legs after a bountiful lunch, contact us at info@discoverparis.net! We'll be happy to organize a gastronomic experience that you'll never forget!

Black Paris Divas group and Guide Monique
© Discover Paris!

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Cooking and Walking with Black Paris Divas

For the second time this year, Black Paris Divas enjoyed a gourmet experience with Discover Paris! during their visit to the City of Light. Group organizer Kat St. Thomas had the following to say about the day:

Last April, those that participated in the Gourmet Food Walk on the island of St Louis here in Paris were slightly disappointed because they assumed they would be sampling tasty treats along the way so therefore basically went hungry. So to avoid that issue, this time, Monique Wells of Discover Paris! decided to offer a cooking class where group members could eat what they prepared and then begin the walk; stopping outside the gourmet shops (cheese, chocolate, pastry, ice cream, foie gras, wine) that she selected for the tour. Monique planned to meet us at the school – La Cuisine Paris – and take pictures of our group as we worked.

Invitation to come into La Cuisine Paris

© Discover Paris!

Just before noon, we donned our coats, hats, gloves, scarves and we on our way by metro. In less than 25 minutes we were at our destination. We waited a short while in the lobby chatting with the receptionist until handsome 6'2", Chef Eric greeted us and escorted us to his kitchen. At each place there was a chopping board, knife, all 3 recipes and an apron. After washing our hands and introductions were completed, we were ready to begin.

Chef Eric
© Discover Paris!

Recipes and chopping board
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A few months ago I took the liberty of selecting the lunch menu: duck with an orange reduction sauce, roasted vegetables (parsnips, orange & purple carrots, squash – all julienned – and diced potatoes), wine with the main course, and for dessert – Tarte Tatin (which is an upside down apple pie).

Root veggies and pie fixins
© Discover Paris!

In our short time, we all learned so much and got so many helpful hints. We prepped the vegetables for roasting, prepared and rolled out the dough for the pie.

Chopping veggies and making the Tarte Tatin

© Discover Paris!

We were shown how to prepare the duck breast by first cutting away the fat and then cooking it in a heated skillet.

Preparing the duck breast

© Discover Paris!

We started after 12 pm and by 1:20 pm we were all enjoying a fabulous lunch with Chef Eric and Monique.

Lunch is served!

© Discover Paris!

Chef Eric is not only a handsome, knowledgeable chef but a natural comedian as well. The group had such a good time that I have specifically requested him for the group when we return in March 2013!

Chef Eric and the group

© Discover Paris!

After the class, I led members of the group on the gourmet tour. Because it was their last day in town, only two people from the cooking class – Lucia Watson and Lynda Session – opted for the second part of the gourmet experience. Contrary to the saying “the more, the merrier,” in this case, “less was more” because we were able to enter boutiques since our numbers were small.

Lucia, Lynda, and Monique!

© Discover Paris!

Olive oil was the star attraction of the day, as Lucia and Lynda tasted several varieties in two shops and took away tasty souvenirs of their visit.

Tasting olive oils

© Discover Paris!

Black Paris Divas and Discover Paris! are forging a gourmet tradition! To be continued in March 2013…

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