an illustrated journey of an american in paris
Making a salad is easy! All you need is a pair of scissors, an exacto knife…
…some seasonal fruits and vegetables…
…and a plate.
Cut out your favorite fruit and veg, including their tabs.
Fold over the tabs.
Using an exacto knife, cut out the lines on the plate.
Poke the tabs into the lines on the plate to attach the salad.
Toss accordingly and garnish to your taste.
Bon appetit!
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Feta, fève.
Presa iberique, ail des ours, petit pois.
Agrume, sesame.
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34 Rue Sainte-Marthe, 75010 Paris
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Marble enamelware
MERCI 111 boulevard Beaumarchais 75003 Paris
P.S. I’m now on Instagram. If you’d like to the see the photo that inspired this illustration, follow me.
Moving to France for me was inspired by the heady culinary pursuits of chicken liver pâté and pomme frites. But no other moment sparked as much gastronomic joy as the moment the patisseries dip a menagerie in chocolate and tie it all up in grosgrain. I’m talking about Easter! There is no greater testament to the French expression of art and culinary craft as the proud moment the big chocolatiers showcase their signature eggs of the year. Behold, my very subjective top-3.
3. For the lover of Easter fantasy and the eternal believer in the Easter bunny, gastronomic fairy tales fall in the trusty hands of Fachon, responsible for this 60cm masterpiece of 70% pure cocoa Venezuelan dark chocolate.
Peacock Egg 60cm – Fauchon, €795,00
2. Don’t let its R2-D2 appearance fool you. The walls of this oeuf crack into flaky layers of dark chocolate, wafer and praline.
Oeuf de Pâques feuilleté – Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse, €60.00
1. Swiss artist Beat Zoderer reinterprets the iconic symbol of springtime, encasing a secret drawer with colorful chocolate bands.
ŒUF SUPRAMAT D’APRÈS BEAT ZODERER – Pierre Hermé €210.00
Happy Easter!
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Yes, this might be one of those nostalgia-inducing posts only people who post childhood profile pictures can appreciate. But on a much overdue trip back to Chicago after 4 years, I found something even better than a letter to myself in the future, Jessie’s Book of Fabulous Recipes. Amongst the remnants of 18 years of unrequited love in the attic of my childhood home, I found this document scarily predicting my future, all captured in beautiful food illustrations. Doughnut-flavored gyros with caramel? Dare I say this was a precursor to molecular gastronomy? An alive pigeon in honey dijon mustard? Dare I compare this to French cuisine? 
Insert song lyrics here.
1. Jour du Macaron. On March 20th, every cent donated towards cystic fibrosis gets a free macaron at all participating bakeries, pâtisserie powerhouse Pierre Hermé included. The joyous day happily falls on my birthday every year where I join the swarms of frantic gourmandes and Japanese tourists on a passionate mission for macarons and a cure for cystic fibrosis.
2. Competitive terraces. When the cafés turn off their outdoor heat lamps, the competition for the best terraces begins. It’s anybody’s game for the most prime real estate in town for people watching and sporadic rays of sunshine. A humble glass of Côtes du Rhône is certainly worth the price of admission.
Le Petit Fer à Cheval 30 rue Vieille du Temple 75004 Paris
3. Daffodil bouquets. This is the earliest symbol of springtime, often peddled outside of every supermarket and Metro stop on the streets of Paris.
4. The return of strawberries. With seasonal produce a prized staple in France, the first sign of anything sweet and fragile is reason enough to swear off root vegetables for as long as possible.
5. A city in bloom! Every outdoor surface in Paris becomes an open invitation for picnicking and public drinking alike.
Viva la France!
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