I have visited this
special place many times now and have grown to have a great respect for Chef
Jacques Genin and the quality he manages to maintain day in and day out.
The chef himself seems truly to be present in his kitchen. During
one of my visits, he descended inconspicuously to place bags of perfectly baked
madeleines on the sales counter. My companions and I saw him strolling
outside with an interviewer and he later returned to go back to his kitchen.
My mom, who was visiting from the US, told him how exquisite her
experience was and he humbly thanked her like a real professional.
Each front-of-the-house
employee is dressed in refined black clothes and they all at least speak French
and English. If you can, visit around the time of a holiday to see the
elegant chocolate displays and take one home with you to enjoy that evening.
Because let's be real, no matter how beautiful it is you are not going to be
able to resist having a taste. If you are lucky enough to visit when the
chef himself descends with a limited amount of some special treat he has
whipped up, snatch a bag without hesitation. They will not last long and
are worth the price.
The chocolates at
Jacques Genin are mostly decorated with acetate cocoa butter transfer sheets.
Genin chooses minimalist designs that allow the rich tones of the dark
and milk chocolate to shine through. This master works with Valrhona chocolate and he knows how to add flavor to this perfect product without
compromising the taste of the chocolate itself. Many of his offerings are
delicately infused with spices and herbs while others are filled with classic
praline mixes that never disappoint.
If you have the time to
sit in the tea room and order a pastry, you will leave Paris feeling that you
have had a true French experience. You will have the choice of several
beverages to accompany your freshly made pastry. You will be presented
with your coffee, I recommend the café crème, a glass of water, a small plate
of chocolates and/or pâtes de fruits, and your flawless pastry. Even if
you are trying to resist the tourist itch of taking photos of everything you
eat, you will not be able to resist documenting these wonders.
Paris-Brest
The Paris-Brest is a
pastry that was created in the early 1900s by Louis Durand in honor of a
bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back to Paris. It consists of a pâte à choux ring, meant to symbolize a bicycle tire, sprinkled with sliced almonds, baked,
and filled with rich praline cream. It is often adorned with a dusting of
confectioner's sugar.
Jacques Genin makes the
minor change of swapping the almonds for chopped hazelnuts because the praline
paste he uses savors primarily of hazelnut.
Tart au Chocolat
(Chocolate Tart)
Normally, a chocolate
tart is a simple pate a sucree shell filled with a ganache of dark chocolate.
Chez Jacques Genin does
not deviate from the original. It is a smooth and crunchy morsel of
deliciousness.
Saint-Honoré
The Saint-Honoré is
named for the patron saint of bakers. This wonder mixes a few of the most
delicious components in French pastry. A base of puff pastry is adorned
with a ring of pâte à choux, and cream puffs with caramelized sugar. The
cake is filled with crème chiboust and topped with crème chantilly.
Traditionally, this
pastry is in the form of a circle. Genin updated its format by beginning
with a rectangle and omitting the piped pâte à choux. His version still includes the cream puffs.
Fraisier
Perfect for springtime,
the Fraisier is a strikingly beautiful and classic cake. Genoise, or
buttery sponge cake, sandwiches a generous layer of vanilla cream bejeweled
with fresh strawberries. The entremet is finished with a thin layer of
almond paste or marzipan.
The marzipan layer is
often artificially colored green, but at Jacques Genin you will not find any
fake colors in your almond paste.
Forêt Noire (Black
Forest Cake)
This well-known cake
originated in Germany, but that does not stop other nations from making it.
You will find layers of chocolate sponge cake and whipped cream
highlighted with boozy cherries and chocolate shavings.
The version at Jacques
Genin is modern and sophisticated. Chocolate sponge cake, chocolate
mousse, and whipped envelop whole cherries and a shard of tempered chocolate sticks
like a piece of fancy jewelry to the side of each slice.
Well, internet, now you
know my obsession with Jacques Genin. If you want to see the man in
action, but cannot visit the shop, check the links below for a few short
videos.
Jacques Genin
http://jacquesgenin.fr/fr/
Perfect bonbons, refined tea room, and perfect ambiance.
133 Rue de Turenne
75003, Paris
Metro: Republique
27 Rue de Varenne
75007, Paris
