La Madeleine Paris map

 

I’ve been working on the madeleine de Paris map since the first of August.

And I have the hips to prove it and as Shakira says, those hips don't lie.

There is a lot more history than just Proust’s obsession Which as it turns out, the madeleine was not his first choice to dip in his tea, but that’s another story…

Back in 1755 King Stanislaus III of Lorraine was having guests to tea (Voltaire etc.). 

Thanks to his pastry chef having a fight with his butler and thusly quitting (so much history is the result of chefs quitting. Did you see the film Vatel?), we now have the madeleine sponge cake. 

A cook, named Madeleine Paumier, stepped in and offered her grandmother’s recipe. Natch Stanislaw named the little cakes after her or so the story goes.

      Voila. DIY? Try Jill Colonna’s recipe in her Teatime in Paris or here.

Going back to the1600s, pilgrims on the way to Camino de Santiago de Compostela wore scallop shells to  indicate all the routes they’d taken to get there. And as homage to St. James (who supposedly washed up covered in what else? Scallop shells.

i.e.The first madeleines were scalloped-shaped. 

La Madeleine de Proust has taken up the traditional shape and size again with giant-sized cakes. 

In 1928, madeleinier Fernand Grojean started his enterprise, Madeleines de Commercy in their oblong cloche 🔔 boxes and the perfect 3” dipping size we adore today.

If you’re so inclined on the 3rd Sunday of November you could go celebrate 🥂with the Confrérie Gastronomique des Compagnons de la Madeleine. I’m seriously thinking about it.

Meanwhile back in Paris there are a number of madeleine-focused places you can easily visit without waiting for November to roll around. Blé Sucre was the first to emphasize the madeleine with a giant-sized version weighing in at a pound, along with your usual size mady. Blé Sucre won Figaro’s meilleure madeleine de Paris in 2014. 

Mado à Paris on rue de Rivoli at Place de Concorde is a special favorite. 

Endlessly inventive with the pretty flutted madeleine design, they also make it also into tiny chcolates and guimauve/ marshmallows. 

Not-to-be-missed for madeleine afternoon tea lovers is the fabulous Proust Salon de thé at the Ritz, Place Vendôme. 

                                  Photo by Paris Chez Sharon 

Or bought directly from the Ritz le Comptoir for beautiful boxes of uniquely-shaped madeleines of pastry chef, François Perret.

Last, but never least, top pastry chef, Gilles Marchal is a strong advocate for Paris madeleines. His eponymous shop is in Montmartre.

A multitude of French grandmas are responsible for making France’s top chefs what they are today. 

Gilles says, “you must break open the little cake and inhale before eating”. 

4 weeks of research eating of madeleines is over👏🤸‍♂️ 

The new Paris map 🗺 should hit la poste 📮 today🥂👏🎉 

More hot news! My small watercolors can be wrapped as a gift 🎁 Yay 🎉🤸‍♂️👏