Captiv Magazine: Le pain, patrimoine vivant!
January 29th, 2010 | Published in Life & Culture | 6 Comments
Bread! Photo: Denis Morel
New from our partner Captiv Magazine, this authoritative article about the history of that precious French cultural commodity, bread, covers the history of le pain through to its place in modern French eating habits and ever-evolving baking methods. Read the full article at www.captiv-magazine.fr
February 8th, 2010 at 12:29 pm (#)
Theres a great American guy called Kaplan,He was featured recently on TV talking about his lifelong love of French bread.He visited Paris in the Sixties as a young student and on the first morning in France he opened up his window and was knocked sideways by the aroma floating up from the Boulangeries and cafes below,He rushed out hungry and curious and soon had his first taste of French bread.It started a lifelong love affair and he stayed in France to become a world french bread expert .He goes all over Paris selected the best bread and giving confrences in The United States and France
February 8th, 2010 at 12:36 pm (#)
I think the programme was Des Racines et Des Ailes by the way,
February 8th, 2010 at 2:13 pm (#)
I think I know the guy you mean – he has protested somewhat about the decreasing crustiness of French bread in the face of globalised taste for soft foods. Bread has to be one of the things I love the most about this country too.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:16 pm (#)
Thats the guy James I think,It was a really lovely programme,A real slice of Paris as well from another angle if you will forgive the pun.He was filmed sitting in some left bank cafe under a pile of Baguettes he had spent the whole of that morning selecting!The came the moment of truth,The Tasting,It made the elaboration of wine tasting look understated,Kaplan took to the MASHING?CRUNCHING AND NOSE DIRECT TO CRUST SMELLING WITH UNBRIDLED AND UNASHAMED ENTHUSIASM!
February 9th, 2010 at 3:59 pm (#)
I read that Kaplan carries a good baguette with him wherever he goes and if he deems a restaurant’s bread sub-standard, he’ll pull out his own. I think he even refers to it as the “baguette of shame” but says that some restaurants are actually responsive and come to chat with him about how to find a better bread supplier.
I suppose having a Frenchman ask an American for advice on bread is about one of the highest compliments to one’s knowledge that could ever be hoped for!
February 9th, 2010 at 8:37 pm (#)
This Kaplan fella is the man!
I wish I was that cool …