Pierre Hermé’s New Cookbook ‘Pastries’

Pierre Herme cookbook Pastries 468x412 Pierre Hermés New Cookbook Pastries

French pastry chef Pierre Hermé is set to release a cookbook filled with some of the recipes and pastries that have made his name a powerful brand around the world.

Pierre Hermé gives readers a hundred recipes that reinvent classic French cakes and desserts into innovative new flavor combinations, like croissants filled with rose-scented almond paste and a raspberry and lychee compote.

The Saint Honoré cake is reinvented with green tea, chestnuts and passionfruit, while a ‘foie gras’ crème brûlée is adorned with caramelized mango.
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Anna Wintour receives the Legion of Honor

nicolas sarkozy anna wintour 468x270 Anna Wintour receives the Legion of Honor

Anna Wintour, Editor of U.S. Vogue Anna Wintour was awarded a Legion d’Honneur award by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on July 6

Wearing brand-new Chanel Couture that had walked the night before, Anna accepted her pin in front of a crowd that included Bernard Arnault, Karl Lagerfeld, Stefano Pilati, Donatella Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Alber Elbaz, Franca Sozzani, and Riccardo Tisci.

Wintour was awarded a Chevalier (Knight) of the Order, which was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and signifies the highest order of decoration in France.
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French houses honored at French fragrance awards

Belle dOpium ad 468x404 French houses honored at French fragrance awards

The French fragrance foundation awarded its annual prizes exclusively to local brands last week.

Its main awards for best fragrance of the year went to Yves Saint Laurent’s Belle d’Opium, in women’s perfumes and Bleu de Chanel in the men’s category.

All other winning brands, including Lancôme, Hermès, or Biotherm, also hail from France.
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Chanel’s cruise collection: highlights

Chanel Resort 2012 Fashion Show 468x322 Chanels cruise collection: highlights

Celebrities including Vanessa Paradis, Blake Lively, and Rachel Bilson looked on as Karl Lagerfeld showed his annual Croisière collection at the Hotel du Cap in Antibes on the French Riviera on May 9.
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Paris’s ‘palace’ hotels – the winners and losers

Palace 468x341 Pariss palace hotels   the winners and losers

The French government announced the eight recipients of its new ‘palace’ hotel rating May 5, dealing a blow to some of Paris’s most famous hotels.

The ‘palace’ rating is an official designation above five stars awarded by the French tourism authorities — it’s designed to help travelers identify the cream of the country’s many swanky hotels.

A total of four Paris properties were given the award — the Bristol, the Meurice, the Park Hyatt and the Plaza Athenee.
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Paris names best baguette maker in the city

Grand Prix de la baguette 2011 468x296 Paris names best baguette maker in the city

After smelling, crackling, tasting, and scrupulously examining an interminably long row of baguettes, a panel of judges whittled down a list of 174 contenders, all vying for the Grand Prize for best baguette in Paris, to just one.

Tuesday’s competition crowned Pascal Barillon the best baguette maker in Paris this year, a competition that turns humble bakers into instant celebrities and attracts snaking lines of customers outside their bakery every day.

The edible icon of Paris is an institution not just for tourists, but for the French who also rhapsodize about the best baguettes in the city.
continued Paris names best baguette maker in the city

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