5 secrets so very French, I learnt from my visit to Studio fifteen
1) Passion trail from macaroons to more
Pooja Dhingra - the pastry chef is an over achiever in her field better known as macaroon queen. She introduced these colourful, round, cookie-like, sandwiched, tender, sweet drops that remind you of flowers seen from a height or polka dots on the dress you wore as a child to the Indian market. She acquired her skill sets in Switzerland and Paris, the business acumen from home (her family is in restaurant business too) underlined with passion has led her to open Le 15 café in Colaba. She has influenced Chef Pablo Naranjo who has worked and partnered in restaurants in Paris to join her, their chemistry, comfort and expertise was quite evident as they conducted a workshop for us ( bloggers from FBAI) at their studio named Studio Fifteen.
2) Bomme Maman fruit preserve can add a zing to your cookies
Bonne Maman fruit preserves are 100% fruits with no preservatives. We are lucky to find this product in the Indian market. Pooja and Pablo gave us two recipes and we worked on them together, both of which had Bonne Maman fruit preserve.
3)France opens its heart for vegetarians
It is known to all that Paris is the gastronomic capital of the world. As more and more people are turning towards vegetarianism, France promises not to disappoint likes of us ( yes! I am a vegetarian), the representatives from Atout France ( France Tourism Development agency) spoke candidly how France is sensitive towards different cultures and so ready to experiment and execute dishes that suits all kinds of palate. While she spoke, I transcended to a café with Eifel Tower in the backdrop and eating a hearty meal.
4) Rest the cookie dough for an hour and a half in the refrigerator
I have made cookies and never knew that resting the dough would make such a difference to my final product. I have faced the issue of oil spilling out from the cookies in the baking tray. Little did I know that by resting it in the refrigerator the butter cools down and does not separate.
5) Burn the butter
When you are in the company of experts all things turn out exceptional. The same can be said about the cookies. By putting the burned butter( meticulously done on gas) in the Matcha Apricot Financiers it brought an amazing flavour. The simple technique of burning butter which I learned that day, I can use it at home easily to make restaurant quality cookies.