Paris Journal 2014 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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“Henri was as sweet as honey, but his brother was as sour as vinegar. Two things that go to make a very good vinaigrette.” – from Broke the Grape’s Joy, by Patrick Hilyer. *** In my walk through the Luxembourg Gardens on Sunday, I passed the apiary. A small crowd of people were waiting patiently by its gate. It was not yet Fête du Miel (honey festival) weekend – that happens on September 27 and 28 in the Luxembourg Gardens. Nevertheless, tours of the apiary were being offered this past Sunday. Only within the past year have I come to believe that a bit of honey is an essential ingredient for vinaigrette. Now, I won’t make a vinaigrette without it – not just honey-mustard vinaigrette, I mean any vinaigrette. It doesn’t take much honey – just a little bit – but it takes the edge off the vinegar and yet still allows the taste of the vinegar to shine through. (Some say that eating locally produced honey will help to control allergies; that’s another reason to always put it in vinaigrette.) I detect the touch of honey in many, if not most, vinaigrettes served on greens that often accompany appetizers and main courses in Parisian restaurants. Honey production in Paris is taken seriously. In addition to the apiary at the Luxembourg Gardens, there is one at the Parc Georges Brassens. The one in the Luxembourg also offers courses in “apiculture” (beekeeping) beginning in February and ending in September of each year. The Société Centrale d’Apiculture oversees these operations in Paris as well as at three other ruchers (apiaries) in forests just outside of Paris. The organization and the beekeeping school were started in 1856, with the original goal of fighting against the practice of “étouffage,” in which bees were asphyxiated in order to harvest the honey. “Étouffage” was outlawed in France in 1941. The Luxembourg Gardens is a natural place for an apiary because not only is there an abundance of flowers, but there are also an orchard and lots of chestnut trees and linden/lime trees – all contributing to a honey with a unique, fresh, and light taste. In recent years, Parisians have been establishing hives on rooftops. The esteemed restaurant Tour d’Argent has done this, as has the Beaugrenelle commercial center and the Westin Hotel on the rue de Rivoli. Bee colonies can also be found on top of the Grand Palais and the Paris Opera. Bees do well in Paris, where a typical urban hive can produce over 100 pounds of honey in a year! There are several reasons why bees thrive in the city. For one thing, it is warmer in the city so that breeding can start earlier. Ten years ago, Paris cut the use of urban pesticides by 90 percent, in an effort to help bees and improve water quality. And in these days of mega-farms -- each with only one or two dominant crops -- there is much more variety in the flora of the city compared to much of the countryside. When analyzed, Parisian honey is found to have hundreds of different pollens. Odd, isn’t it? It is not what you’d expect: city bees are doing better than their country counterparts. The first honey harvest from the hives of Beaugrenelle just happened about a week ago. The total amount collected? A whopping 140 kilograms (309 pounds)! This honey is from six apiaries and the work of about 400,000 bees.
You see, Beaugrenelle has over 7,000 square meters of gardens, including vegetated rooftops. I think this figure includes the older Beaugrenelle office and residential towers and the new commercial center. Last night, I detected a touch of honey in our appetizer, main courses, and dessert at Le Seraphin. We decided to try this place again even though the food there was dull last year. In the menu this year, I saw indications of a change. And today I’m happy to report that positive change has indeed happened at Le Seraphin; the food angels have returned. The server told us there are actually two chefs there now – one who focuses on French cuisine, and one who has more of an Asian style. Their combined efforts are deliciously successful. We started with a “rafraichi de sardines” which included squares of fresh, marinated sardines in a chilled coulis with sweet tomatoes and grapes. Lovely! And then Tom had the daily special of salmon with veggies that had a decidedly Asian twist in seasoning and light sauce. My linguini with salmon and prawns was very similarly flavored. I gave half of the pasta to Tom, and he gave me some of his big salmon filet. We were both very happy then with just the right amount of fine food. The dessert was an apple and red fruit tart prepared in the fashion of a crumble: definitely homemade, and definitely delicious. The total for the dinner was only 50 euros, with a big LaFourchette.com discount. The short walk home through the ancient streets was illuminated by soft light. September in Paris can be beautiful . . . .
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Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Apiary in the Luxembourg Gardens.
Our main courses at Le Seraphin: linguini, veggies, salmon and prawns (above),
and salmon and veggies (below).
Saint Sulpice at night, as seen from the corner of rue
Servandoni and rue Palatine.
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