French pâttiserie

by Abdon FLORES

When you say France you say Gastronomy, almost always. The coined French expression Art de vivre finds in food a high peak of pleasure; a pleasure that defines a life style with a so well defined frame that it has become world known. Another leisure adored by French people is literature. Publishing houses in France have an ancient and notable reputation as well as gastronomy. That’s why books about food are taken very seriously here, and new releases are always more than welcomed.

Ferrandi Paris, French pâtisserie, Flammarion, 2017, 656 pages. Prix: 49,90 €.

 

The 130 years old publishing house Flammarion decided to publish a major book on a French specialty we eat at the end of the meal: pâtisserie. It could be a sin of gluttony but making pastries, cakes and any other sweet course requires a special qualification. For over a century the reputed school Ferrandi has taught French cuisine including pâtisserie. Famous chefs have been educated here. Well, all that savoir faire is contained in this 656 pages and 4,2 kg book that aims high since it has a treatise allure.

The statement could be: if you want to know on French pastry, this is it. Names as Christophe Michalak, Pierre Hermé, Julien Alvarez, or even the chocolate specialist Frédéric Cassel are included with their creations. But the book is actually a compendium on any aspect around this kind of sweet course; 200 techniques, 1500 hand dexterities, and a total of 130 recipes make of this book an opus on sweet delicacies and tasty indulgencies.