A Mystery Macaron-Maker

I had a big surprise the other day. I did a Picture Yourself in Paris portrait for PB reader, Judi in Australia...
I discovered Judi is an expert macaron-maker. No wonder she wanted to be painted in Paris.
Judi wants to remain semi-anonymous. She's right to think we would all besiege her with orders for her superb macs. I know I would...
Bakers and pastry chefs are different from the rest of us.
They are precise.
And exacting. They don't throw things in a pot and pray for the best like some of us do...ahem
They are more like scientist experimenting over and over with endless patience until they get it right, just the way they want it.
In a word, they are perfectionist.
These photos are all by Judi of her macaron experiments in Australia.
Here's what she has to say:
I first tasted macarons in Paris at Easter 2004. I saw the lovely boxes in the window (I collect boxes) and went inside. Of course, when we took a bite I had to hurry back in to buy one of every flavour. A friend and I have spent the last month making our own and after a couple of very ordinary batches and a bit of experimenting with different recipes we have just about got it down pat. Our lemon, hazelnut/choc, passionfruit/choc and pistachio are terrific but it's hard to replicate any other flavours, mainly I think because the flavouring ingredients just aren't available here. We've tried making violet macs with Monin syrup and crystallised violets but they lacked strong flavour. I see there's a violette paste which we could obtain from Amazon but it only comes in 1kg jars and is prohibitively expensive. I have given some of our macs to friends who have never had the genuine article and they are very impressed, saying they are the best things they have every had, so I always tell them to go to Paris and be really blown away!
My husband and I were in London two years later and the first thing we did was have afternoon tea at in Harrods.
Here's another of Judi's pastry creations - lovely non?
Judi says: The further I get from my memories of the first macarons the more I forget what they were really like. A return trip to Paris in the future is a must obviously.
Don't you think we should all send Judi back to Paris?
Here is Judi's portrait sketch...
And her finished Paris portrait.
*By the way the Picture Yourself in Paris portraits until midnight January 31st deadline has been extended UNTIL FEB 28
Are there other PB readers out there making macarons?
I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Let's Talk.
Judi likes these macaron sites:
macaron tutorial PDF is in Tartelette's sidebar
Melanger Baking
Mercotte.fr
Syrup and Tang
Bonjour Judi in Australia et merci!