La Galette du Coeur, La Galette des Chefs, St Germain des Près

 

Every January, I look forward to the annual Saturday morning pastry chef soirée. 

It’s always held outdoors at Saint Germain de pres. Usually quite chilly and yesterday rain was predicted. 

But that didn’t stop dedicated galette seekers from showing up.

Its a chance to get your paws on some of Paris' top pastry chef’s galette des rois/Epiphanie kings cakes, all funds donated to the charity OPIC. 

Every year there is a giant galette des rois made by major Paris catering company, Potel et Chabot . Take a look at their website. Wow!

This year’s big galette had a chocolate filling rather than the usual almond frangipane. Kids get it free and grownups pay 2€. The translucent crown 👑 was made of a sucre/sugar a kid told me…after I touched it and got sticky fingers 😮

The variety of fillings and decoration on the kings cakes is daunting. 

These were the biggest gold 👑 crowns I’ve seen yet. 

There is a limited number of cakes from each chef or hotel on offer so competition can get fierce. 

Some interesting ‘lewks’ at the gathering…most toute en bleu marine with a some exception. 

This year a fève/charm dealer showed up. The bear 🐻 was calling my name but I resisted 😬

Every year they serve up steaming bowls of traditional garbure soup, a warming, hearty soup/stew from the Pyrénées.

These two gents will tell you (in French) how to make it yourself. 

Of course during the week I was running around gathering galette research, mainly at Lafayette Gourmet, since so many pastry shops have stands (Yann Couvreur, Pierre Hermé, l’Eclair du Genie, CinqSens Paris, La Glacerie, Chez Meunier, Dalloyau, Marcolini, Alain Ducasse, Jean-Paul Hévin to name a few). 

As hinted previously January’s Paris map is on the Galette Des Rois. Tadum as the French say. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post please support it by buying my Paris letters and watercolors. Pass this on to someone you think might enjoy it. Happy Sunday and stay dry please Seattle readers🙏👑🫓

La Galette du Coeur, La Galette des Chefs, St Germain des Près

The first Saturday in January after New Years is the don't-miss annual Galette du Coeur/La Galette du Chefs. If you don't know Or never tasted king's cake with almond frangipane filling, here's a fast video with subtitles. I certainly didn't before moving to Paris.

Now its a month long struggle to resist the buttery aromas wafting out of every boulangeries. Held in the street and open to all in Place Saint Germain under the church come rain or shine.

Paris' top, top pastry chefs donate their galette des rois/Epiphanie kings cakes to raise money for OPIC. Bear insisted we arrive by 10 am before the giant galette was gone unlike last year.

We fell hard for this tiny feve/favor of the bell hop from Hotel Peninsula.

Solli and I had a grand tea there. And I stayed one whole unforgettable month in the Hong Kong Peninsula in my fashion design days.

Box tops are constantly flipped open to show off the contributions like this almond-covered galette from François Perret of the Ritz. It was gone in a flash though you can still find it at his chalet in Vendome.

Somehow I was easily convinced to buy this outrageously delish Ritz Belle Helene jam. Sadly its almost gone. Bear was at it last night. 

Pierre Hermę's galette Mogador has his signature combo of passion fruit, roasted pineapple + milk chocolate.

On Friday Bear leché vitrine/licked the windows at Hermé admiring the 'individual' galette with a feve/favor from fabulous jeweler MESSIKA (6,90€). 

Not just cake was on offer. Sud-Ouest hardy soup Garbure, paté, oysters were provided for early morning cake shoppers.

If you didn't make it to yesterday's galette feast you can find plenty in the surrounding neighborhood at Maison Mulot, Christolphe Michelik, Arnaud Larhrer, Pierre Marcolini and all over Paris for the month of January. Post feast we ran to see LITTLE WOMEN and absolutely loved it. The colors and lighting are wonderful among many other things. Go see it💋Thanks so much for keeping us in Paris 😄❤️ XXX Carol and 🐻

La Galette du Coeur...La Galette des chefs 2017

I've been missing in action of late felled by a nasty cold I caught staying up past my bedtime (8:00 pm) on New Year's Eve. Plus ODing on the l'Epiphanie galette des Rois. How else to figure out how to paint the thing? I went for the 3rd year in a row with Solli to the annual charity galette fete at Saint Germain de Pres last Saturday sniffling and sneezing.

Some things are worth getting out of bed for.

I was not alone in my excitement. Red Riding hood showed up too.

There is the inspection of the galettes of course. Pierre. Herme does a lemon galette.

Karamel did of course caramel.

Très elegant from. Hotel Raphael.

Square shaped with hazelnuts instead of the almonds - very appealing.

I settled for a plain jane classic almond franipane galette and dolled it up with a coating of passion fruit/apricot confiture plus toasted almonds. A quick reheat in the oven = divine.

I did the same to Picard's DIY individual small galettes. Look at this year's feves (hidden favors). Sweet little porceleine animals.

Somehow tasting one or two galettes is not enough. Isn't it fortunate that you can find them all through January at some boulangeries and patisseries.

I was longing to try Gerard Mulot's stunning pistache/noisette. Very nice.

You will not believe some of the concoctions Paris pastry chefs come up with. Framboise-pistache. Tonka beans. Even savory galettes. I almost bought a spinach cake. Here Christolphe Adams creates an eclair/galette. His mini eclair feves were awfully appealing (25€).

I loved the scrawled lettering, 'l'Epiphanie' in his newspaper and drew it on quite a few galette watercolors.

Maybe I got a little carried away.

What I learned from all this painting and tasting is...stick with the classic glalette au amande. You can never go wrong being a purist. No matter how many creative hoops Parisian pastry chefs jump through to outdo each other, in the end you'll know a good galette from a so-so galette with no distraction from exotic flavors or odd shapes. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Thank you for reading and supporting Parisbreakfast by buying Paris letters and watercolors. HAPPY NEW YEAR again!

Galette du Coeur 2014, les Feves

On Saturday the 4th, an annual special event, the 9th edition of the Galette du Coeur took place outside at place Saint-Germain-des-Prés. A grand sale of 400 galette des roi donated by top Paris pastry chefs, members of Disciples Escoffier. All funds donated to Association des POIC. 

Tomorrow is the celebration of Epiphanie. Time to dive into the traditional buttery gateau and hope to land the little feve/favor inside without breaking a tooth.

The annual sale is sponsored by l’Association des Disciples Escoffier.
 

A slew of top chefs and patisseries were on hand donating their best galettes: le Moulin de la Vierge, Potel et Chabot, Hélène Darroze, la Grande Epicerie, Saint Clair le Traiteur, Pierre Hermé, la Maison Kayser, le George V, Michel Rostang, les Bistronome, Poilâne, le Plaza Athénée, Thierry Burlot, Bakery, William Ledeuil, la pâtisserie Jean Millet, la Closerie des Lilas et Clerardin.
 

It was a fun scene.
 

The unusual galette in the middle is from Guy Savoy, pralinée.
 

A donut-shaped gateau topped with nougat from the Intercontinental.

A huge galette for everyone to taste.
 

A slice was a mere 2€.
 

Kiddies got free tastes but it's all for a good cause.
 

Canal Gourmandises reporter Christophe Devé interviews Escoiffier  president Jean-Pierre Biffi.

All the chefs get to chow down on breakfast of paté, huitres et Burgundy. The event went on from 9 am till noon.
 

Then a quick waltz around the 6th to view the other galettes on offer. Pierre Hermé was just about to open at 10 am.
 

Hermé's galettes are filled with riz de lait et caramel.

On rue de Seine Arnaud Larher has candied almonds inside.
 

Pastry chef Gerard Mulot himself is checking his windows.
 

Mulot's golden feves/favors are an homage to balloon inventer Mongolfière.

Petty mini pastry feves from Hugo et Victor.

For the horsey set from Frederic Cassel Fountainebleu. Collectors of feves are called 'fabophiles'. All limited editions never to be seen again. 

My local boulangerie Au 140 had a set of 12 bakers baking. Tomorrow's the day to get your galette and celebrate!