Macarons

[max_boost]

Looking for places in Calgary where I can get some decent macarons.

Or places that ship!

Thanks

[300rwhp]

l'epicerie next to manuel latruwe has them. Not amazing but not bad.

[Altezza]

Nowhere in Calgary makes any decent Macarons (if they make them at all). As a result, I import mine from France. Even in TO, finding good Macarons are difficult. To make matters worse, people often mistaken macaroons with macarons. Manuel Latruwe was going to make me some, until I told him I knew Pierre Herme. Then he just flat out refused to make them and sent me on my merry way. I've never set foot in his shop since then.

Pierre Herme ships. So does Fauchon. Both are in France.

[lelalong]

http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/10/w...and-paris.html

Damn, those look good! I found this list of places doing a quick search. Obviously, someone else is obsessed with those.

[Ebon]

for nectar desserts here in Calgary.

Not much of a sweets person but I love their desserts. Havn't had macarons anywhere else before though so ive got no frame of reference.

[Kritafo]

I haven't seen Macarons in Calgary in a while, nor were they ever good. Yes most bakeries just think your talking about Macaroons like stated. If you find some let everyone know.

[300rwhp]

how much are pierre herme and do they arrive in good condition. Also nectars macaroons are not that good.

[BigWill]

question... whats a macaron?

[flipstah]

Originally posted by BigWill
question... whats a macaron?

Dating back to the 18th century, the macaron is a traditional French pastry, made of egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar and sugar. This sweet pastry came out of the French courts' baker's oven as round meringue-like domes with a flat base.

Macarons are not to be confused with macaroons. Macarons are sandwich-like pastries made with two thin cookies and a cream or ganache between the cookies. Macaroons are dense cookies made with coconut.

Macarons come in a wide variety of flavors varying by store and season; ranging from traditional to exotic.

Wiki.

========

I've never actually had a macaron and so, I shall check these places out and see what the fuss is all about!

EDIT

Originally posted by Altezza
Nowhere in Calgary makes any decent Macarons (if they make them at all). As a result, I import mine from France. Even in TO, finding good Macarons are difficult. To make matters worse, people often mistaken macaroons with macarons. Manuel Latruwe was going to make me some, until I told him I knew Pierre Herme. Then he just flat out refused to make them and sent me on my merry way. I've never set foot in his shop since then.

Pierre Herme ships. So does Fauchon. Both are in France.

So... I checked out Pierre Herme...

My gosh, what are these things made of?

A box of 24 macarons would be 48.00 EUR, which is the equivalent of ~ 78.00 CDN before shipping.

So each would be $3.25 CDN. Never had a $3 pastry before but hey, let's try it out.

[E36M3]

The best macaroons I've ever had were in Geneva (likely the same chain as mentioned above in Paris) and haven't ever really found great ones here.

Call Choklat in Inglewood and see what they can do. They are absolutely amazing and the only place in Western Canada that makes their own chocolate.. all to order, nothing stale. It is amazing:

https://www.sochoklat.com

Try the smores..

[Ebon]

I really gotta try macrons from France sometime if I nectar is supposed to suck in comparison.

Also want to give choklat a shot. Do you have to order ahead or can it be done to the same quality if you just walk in?

[E36M3]

They have a great ordering tool on their website, or you can wait while they make your order.. it only takes a few minutes typically. It is worth the trip.

Originally posted by Ebon
I really gotta try macrons from France sometime if I nectar is supposed to suck in comparison.

Also want to give choklat a shot. Do you have to order ahead or can it be done to the same quality if you just walk in?

[punguuu]

the ones at nectar's aren't that good... they don't have the batter consistency right so it peaks... i just make my own

[Kritafo]

Originally posted by E36M3
The best macaroons I've ever had were in Geneva (likely the same chain as mentioned above in Paris) and haven't ever really found great ones here.

Call Choklat in Inglewood and see what they can do. They are absolutely amazing and the only place in Western Canada that makes their own chocolate.. all to order, nothing stale. It is amazing:

https://www.sochoklat.com

Try the smores..

Macarons and macaroons different items. Plus last time I ordered from Sochoklat my order wasn't ready when it was suppose to be.

[Kritafo]

I know there are recipes all over the net for these, but I have never had any from the house that were any good. I know one person in Calgary that makes great home-made ones, but she is a French Pastry Chef, trained in France. Unfortunately she is not currently working for anyone.

[300rwhp]

choklat sucks imho as they dumb down there expensive chocolate bars. Claim they get the best beans but they are no where near as good as amedei's chuao.

[bc9701]

Hi.

Brad Churchill here from Choklat.

I'm sorry to read that you think we suck.

Your comment about Amadei's Chuau is correct. It's a very good bar. It's also very expensive. The Chuau estate has been known for a couple of hundred years to produce cacau that's legendary in the industry.

If I imported Chuau cacau I too could make chocolate of the same flavour. Would we suck then?

In the same token, our Porcelana is just as rare and is incredibly unique, just as is the Cuyagua we will have arriving this week, or the Ocumare we've had now for several months.

What I find most interesting about your post is the comment that we "dumb down" our expensive bars.

Would it not be more reasonable to say that other chocolatiers "dumb down" their chocolate, because to them, chocolate is just chocolate, whereas to us chocolate is an expression of the flavour of the cocoa bean? After all, in our case we even go so far as to use the same recipe to make all of our 70% so that you, the customer can buy them, sample them and compare them.

Is that "dumbing it down" or is that celebrating the flavour of the chocolate?

As far our prices go... well... you're in outer space on that one. Try and get your hands on a Porcelana bar from the only other 3 chocolatiers in the world that make them, and you'll find yourself paying $30 USD for the same amount of chocolate that we sell for $10. Oh, and don't forget to include the shipping too!

Or maybe you'd like to buy two bland, boring tasting 50g bars of Callebaut chocolate for $7 in his shop, as opposed to the average $6 price in ours for a 90g bar.

Having said that, don't forget that Bernard Callebaut doesn't make chocolate. He buys it from a factory that produces 1.6 BILLION pounds of it every year, puts his name on it and sells it as his.

...just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[berbatov]

Brad, where is your store located ?

Edit : 403-475-0453 403-457-1419 / Inglewood 1327A 9th Avenue SE

[300rwhp]

Got to love someone who signs up on a car forum to make one post defending his product. Did you just google choklat and then go everywhere that dislikes your product.

So to me dumbing down means not extracting the true flavor and rather producing a product that will not turn off high quality chocolate newbs. Your bars have very little of the bitterness that a high content cocoa bar will have, which you attribute to using more cocoa butter in your bars. But that bitter flavour is also where a good portion of the depth of flavour is constructed. Stepping stones perhaps is your model. As you didnt use to have the pocelana bar but maybe it will also be lacking in deep extracted stone fruit flavours.

As to how you constructed your argument by implying i prefer bernard callebaut yeah way to use rhetoric to prove your point. I dont eat bernard for the same reason i wont go back to your shop. Expensive bars that lack a flavour palette that develops in the mouth from a base point through to a deep lasting end note.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by bc9701
Hi.

Brad Churchill here from Choklat.

I'm sorry to read that you think we suck.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

...just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

That's nice.

So where can we buy some macarons?