Busy busy…

Well folks, it’s been a busy few weeks…
Here’s a quick recap:

Feb. 16 and 17: “Quelques pains faciles” workshop at Les Touilleurs. I put together the menu with the talented and charming chef de cuisine at Olive+Gourmando, Vanessa Laberge. I proposed bread ideas that fit with what François wanted for the workshop and she answered back with perfect accompaniments. She’s a real pleasure to work with and seems to have no shortage of great ideas.

First, with a basic white dough, I made long wide bread sticks with cherry tomatoes pressed into the top (inspired by Jim Lahey’s tomato stecca). We also shaped some into yummy twirled sticks served plain or rolled in various seeds. We served these with local cheese, butter, and Papille’s superbe Rosette de Lyon. Then a rye bread (heavy on the caraway seeds) was served with a delicious maple and pepper smoked trout spread. We finished off with small sandwiches made on soft English muffins- Italian sausage from Marchigiani’s, caramelized fennel, tomato, watercress and mayo! Holy moly!

Both nights were lots of fun and the participants were delightful. As usual, François Longpré and Sylvain Côté (as well as the whole Touilleurs gang) made me feel right at home in their beautiful shop and kitchen. I’ll be giving this workshop one more time on March 29. Call the shop (514 278-0008) to see if there are any seats left!

Feb. 21: A super fun private workshop. This group of five wanted me to show them how to make foccacia, naan bread, and arepas. Yummy yummy!
Here are a couple of cool shots taken during the sunday afternoon affair…

Feb. 28: Six-hour intensive bread baking class at Académie Culinaire. Again, a great bunch of participants. And this time for a hands-on class. We made five recipes (Challah, Bacon Onion Potato Rye Bread, Apricot Breadsticks, Multigrain Cranberry Loaf, and Pain au lait) and everything turned out great!

And just the other day, I did some hand modeling for the station ID spots for Zeste, the new French language food channel. For the shoot, I had the pleasure of working with food stylist Heidi Bronstein. This was the second time I got to work with her…Wow, this girl rocks!
Stay tuned for more info as the channel goes on air only on March 22.

Cheers!