“Garden of sweet delights by the Picasso of pastry…”

Source and copyright: www.pierreherme.com

Pierre Hermé, French pastry chef worldwide famous for his macarons, invites you this year to tour is garden of sweet delights: “ Les Jardins de Pierre Hermé” . Like some fashion designers, Pierre Hermé creates themed seasonal collections. In 2012 every month will bring a new taste and sensory experience to “Les jardins”.  

At the end of June, the inventor of the famous Ispahan and of the “Olive Oil and Vanilla” macaron, invites us to taste already 6 exclusive macarons which will not belie his reputation of using unusual flavor combinations and unexpected ingredients… 

JARDIN ENCHANTÉ - Lime, Raspberry & Espelette Pepper

JARDIN MARIN - Green Tea, Chanterelle Mushroom & Lemon

JARDIN SECRET - Rose, Vanilla & Clove

JARDIN PARFUMÉ - Rose & Jasmine

JARDIN DU PARADIS - Aniseed & Saffron

JARDIN D'ÉDEN - Vanilla & Basil

The Jardin Marin arouses our curiosity in particular: “inspired by the note of iodine present in "ocean" air, a note borrowed from the perfume-making repertory that blends the aromas of chanterelle mushroom, lemon and sencha green tea, Pierre Hermé reinterprets these tastes to compose his own fragrance. The composition strikes one as being just right and leaves a sweet botanical taste on the palate. Disconcerting, it carries the imagination away to faraway places…” (Source : www.pierreherme.com)

Pierre Hermé says that he "uses sugar like salt, in other words, as a seasoning to heighten other shades of flavor." Use sugar sparingly to create fine and delicate pastries, here is his motto.... 

So let's finish the week on that note of poetry while looking forward to discover next exclusive flavour next week...

                                     

Source and copyright: www.pierreherme.com

ESPRESSO SOLO : conceptual concrete espresso machine

credits pictures:design: Shmuel Linski, photo: Sasha Flit,http://www.linskidesign.com

A while ago we were presenting the concrete speakers, designed by Shmuel Linski(israeli designer).Driven by his interest for concrete, Shmuel has designed several interesting items build up in concrete, to enhance the beauty and practicability of this beautiful material. Today we present one of these designs, the ESPRESSO SOLO : conceptual concrete espresso machine for Lavazza. 

''The espresso machine makes only espresso: short and long. The design process begun in choosing the material: I chose concrete. I had a vision: concrete in the kitchen, not only as a wall or decorative part, I wanted it to be a desirable consumer product. Also, the contrast in the espresso machine of the roughness, massiveness , hardness of the concrete between the fine metal parts which are dealing with the coffee preparation process, was very challenging and interesting for me. The machine works with coffee beans: they are poured from the top part. The water is poured into "water drawer” in the back.''(Shmuel Linski, designer-http://www.linskidesign.com).

credits:

design: Shmuel Linski

guide:Alex Padwa,Eyal Kremer (YAMA design studio)

photo: Sasha Flit

http://www.linskidesign.com

Wagashi-Japanese confectionery

wagashi: pictures copywright and source:http://higashiya-shop.com

Back to the Japanese wonderful culinary traditions, lets have a look today to the delicious Wagashi . Beautiful and delicious, Wagashi is a traditional Japanese confectionery typically made from natural (plants) ingredients, and often accompanies tea.

''In ancient Japan, people ate fruits and nuts as confectionery and sweets, to supplement nutrition in addition to grain, such as rice, wheat and millet. In an excavation of a Jōmon period archeological site, the carbonized remains of what appeared to be baked cookiesmade from chestnut powder were discovered. According to the Kojiki, Emperor Suinin ordered Tajima-mori to bring Tokijiku-no-Kagu-no-Konomi (登岐士玖能迦玖能木實 a kind of orange) from the Eternal Land. Ten years later, Tajima-mori returned with the orange, but Emperor Suinin was already dead. Tajima-mori mourned since he could not carry out his mission and took his own life. By tradition, Tajima-mori is worshiped as spirit like a patron saint among confectionery craftsmen. Grain processing technology evolved through rice cultivation. People began to produce a parched rice (yaigome), sun-dried cooked rice (hoshi-ii), rice flour, dumpling (dango), mochi, ame (made of saccharified rice malt), and so on. Thus, ancient people's confectionery was very simple.''(source Wikipedia)

During Edu period Wagashi became a very popular gift between the Samurai( something like a good wine).

Today, wagashi confectioneries are still making a great gift, as specialised shops like Higashiya place a lot of effort into enchanting clients not only through the delicious sweets but also through the beautiful packages.

wagashi gift box by higashiya shop: pictures copywright and source:http://higashiya-shop.com

different types of Wagashi made of green tea, pumpkin jam and purple sweet patatoe ; pictures copywright and source:http://higashiya-shop.com

various types of jelly:pictures copywright and source:http://higashiya-shop.com

gift box by higashiya shop: pictures copywright and source:http://higashiya-shop.com

source picture:http://stephanietomczakjewelry.blogspot.nl/2010/09/bitesize-inspiration-wagashi-and-petit.html

Lab'process interview at Designer Dinsdag!

The two hosts of Leefstand blog, Alex and Charlotte invited Lab'process at "Designer dinsdag" this week. As well as their interesting shop in Rotterdam, The Hubshop, their blog offers the opportunity to young designers and creative entrepreneurs to present their projects and ideas.

You can read the article on: http://leefstand.wordpress.com/. 

Thank you Alex and Charlotte for the nice article!