What’s the best way to immerse yourself in the culture of a new place in the world? Cook with the locals! I could not be more impressed with Le Foodist – a super friendly french cooking school in the heart of the Latin Quarter of Paris. A husband and wife team, Fred and Amanda run an incredible business of sharing the beauty of french culture through a variety of cooking, pastry and even wine/cheese classes! Erik and I joined in on an afternoon macaron class. If you have travel plans for Paris, I highly recommend this fantastic opportunity at Le Foodist. See below for more footage from our day of macaron making and details on all the fun to be had at Le Foodist cooking classes! Can you believe Erik and I made ALL of these macarons ourselves — over 30 of them to take home in a box!
First, we were welcomed into a beautiful kitchen space. Amanda and Fred had everything perfectly set-up to start the class. From materials, instructions, ingredients and tools – we were ready to go. All we had to do was watch, listen, learn… and of course — DO! From measuring to mixing – it was very hands on.
Here is the a little bit more about Le Foodist and their mission statement:
Food not only touches upon but probably is at the origin of many cultural practices of societies around the world. To this day, even in ‘modern’ societies the way families and friends connect everyday or on special occasions defines key aspects of any given culture. Hence we believe Food is not only a very appropriate way to discover any Culture; it might well be the best and ultimately only way to decipher a culture.
But in addition to promoting more cultural understanding we promote bringing as many things as possible to the table: more taste, more people, more variety.
In our class we created three delicious flavors: lemon, pistachio and chocolate!
And after a brief 10 minutes, our shells were cooked and crispy – ready for the final step!
A macaron is a sweet confectionery. Its name is derived from an Italian word “maccarone” or “maccherone”. Although predominantly a French confection, there has been much debate about its origins.
This word is itself derived from ammaccare, meaning crush or beat, used here in reference to the almond paste which is the principal ingredient. The macaron is commonly filled with a buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two macaron cookies.
When the shells were cooked we simply took two of about the same size, sandwiched them carefully together with the different ganache flavors we made — lemon, pistachio, chocolate.
At the end of the macaron making experience, Le Foodist set up a lovely tea table for us to enjoy conversation, stories, tea… and of course – our freshly baked macarons! What a lovely experience here in Paris at Le Foodist Cooking Classes. I highly recommend this fantastic opportunity in the heart of Paris for your next trip — for a family, couples, friends traveling together — its a great way to do something fun, immerse yourself in the culture, socialize and taste delicious treats that you prepared yourself with the help of an expert! A big thank you to Fred and his wife Amanda for welcoming us into their cooking space and facilitating such a wonderful afternoon of cooking in Paris!
Le Foodist
59 Rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris, France
+33 6 71 70 95 22