Authentic Experiences in Paris & an Authentic Cyling Tour in Champagne

Who wants to feel like a tourist when you're traveling? Not me! I always try and sneakily hide my map or fold it up as quick as humanely possible inevitably destroying it's perfect folds and scrunching it into a ball in my purse. Coming back from a trip to Paris with pictures of the Mona Lisa and an Eiffel Tower replica in your suitcase and actually believing that you have captured the essence of the city of lights is a pretty big faux pas in my book. As is thinking that you actually ARE going to bump into a real deal Parisian with a mustache outfitted in a beret and a striped shirt holding a baguette under his arm. Chances of that are low. Very low. What you should and hopefully WILL do is wander off the beaten paths to discover!

Marché d'Aligre is the BEST Parisian activity (before 13h) at Place d'Aligre 75012, Paris 

Touch, feel, experience things you didn't plan (like the Marche d'Aligre above with hundreds of 1500-1700 books or the cheese shop Barthelemy in the 6eme by Rue de Bac which you can actually SMELL 1 mile away before you even arrive)! One of the ways to experience something real is to hop on the 'ol train and come 45 minutes to Reims or 1h20 to Epernay in Champagne! Get outside of Paris just for 1 day and into the countryside where you can bike and taste with champagne producers!

Fabulous cheese shop in the Latin 6eme, Paris

Keep in mind that Paris and its neighboring regions such as champagne have MUCH more to offer and there is still authenticity to be found if you know where to look ;)

Traveling is so much more of an enriching experience and a personal one when you live and feel it while avoiding the row after row of souvenir vendors and clichés. Bike tours are a good example of this. They get you on the streets and allow you to cycle around a city.

Bike About Tours or Fat Tire Bike Tours are among those who make visiting Paris pretty fun. They give you an insider's look at the city and don't just show you what you're expecting to see. Paris is more than the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame, and don't get me wrong, they are marvels for sure, but there's so much life, so many smells, sights and small cobbled and winding streets filled with incredible little stores and cafés.



The same is true in champagne. The Champagne region is more than Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon and 200,000 person population of Reims. It's passionate growers, rows and rows of vines and bubbly flowing/ corks popping from house to house and village to village!

Instead of going straight to the capital of Champagne why not cycle around gorgeous vines and champagne taste with growers who supply to all the major brands ie Moet et Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Roederer?

Traveling is about discovery and adventure, it's about learning what a culture has to offer. Go ahead and throw your tour book out for the day. Wander, get lost and do something authentic! If you need help doing so Tasty Side To Life Tours helps you plan champagne tasting biking trips in and around Reims and Epernay just 45 mins or 1h20 from Paris. Contact here if interested in a champagne tour. 

Langoustine tartar- citrus, melba toast, impérial Baéri caviar. Cooking class in Champagne

 This post is courtesy of one of our past champagne tour clients who wrote a fabulous article on her blog about her Michelin  star cooking class in Champagne with our favorite 1 star chef Michael Nizzero from La Briqueterie in Vinay!

We bring clients to eat lunch at their gorgeous property during our Champagne Tasting trips. We usually squeeze in a cooking class from 15h30-16h30 just after a tasting at Dom Perignon and just before a tasting with an award winning champagne grower! Pricing for the private cooking class with the head chef is 150€ per person for a 1 hour class or 75€ per person for a 30 minute class. I wanted to share with all our readers the recipe and notes from Annette Freeman. Booking for your own private cooking course can be done here. Enjoy the article and recipe below from our dear Australian client!

Michelin star Cooking Class in Champagne

An opportunity for a cooking lesson/demonstration from a Micheline-starred chef in France? The answer is, naturellement, 'oui, oui!' Our chef was the amazing Michael Nizzero, presently at L'Hostellerie la Briqueterie at Vinay, near Epernay in the champagne region. A snippet of his impressive resumé from their website:

Michael Nizzero is a 28yr old Belgian Chef who joins us from The Waterside Inn, Berkshire, UK. Chef Nizzero spent 4 years at the prestigious 3 Michelin starred Waterside Inn as First Sous-chef, under Grand-chefs Michel and Alain Roux. Previous to this he was Head Chef of Pisces Restaurant, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. Under his guardianship

 this restaurant was awarded best seafood restaurant in Dubai 3 years in a row.This already tells us that the food is likely to be pretty wonderful, but we had checked this out by dining at La Briqueterie the evening before: foie gras, delicate fish, and a cheese trolley straight from heaven. What would Chef Michael have to show us in his high-powered kitchen the next morning?

The recipe, he said, was a favorite of his which he had included on the menu ever since he had begun at La Briqueterie: Tartare de langoustines aux senteur d'agrumes , toast melba et caviar d’Aquitaine. After a brief kitchen tour, and some attention to the day's supply of foie gras, prepping it to be baked, Michael turned to his ingredients, laid out on the stainless steel bench.

"First," he said, "kill your langoustine." They like things fresh at La Briqueterie. But if you don't have any handy langoustine, you can use instead yabbies, or scallops.

I'll give you Michael's recipe  - then add a photo tour of the proceedings.

Easy to make at home! After you catch your langoustine, of course. Bon appétit.

Tartare de langoustines aux senteur d'agrumes , toast melba et caviar d’Aquitaine

4 personnes

24 langoustines live or Scampi, peeled and cut into large brunoise pieces

For garnish 

X 1 green chili, finely diced 

X 1 red chili, finely diced 

X 1 bunch chives chopped 

Lime zest 

Lemon zest 

Orange zest 

Salt / pepper 

curly 

vinaigrette 

Shoots beet x 12 

Shoots red chard x 12 

Caviar d'Aquitaine x 40 gr 

12 Melba toast 

For the citrus vinaigrette 

Squeeze and zest 2 limes, 2 lemons and 2 oranges and whisk in a steady stream of a couple tablespoons of olive oil of Papillon, salt and pepper. 

Instructions 

Bring water up to a nice boil. Add live langoustines for 10 seconds not more and immediately submerge in an ice bath. Now separate the head from the body. Use your fingers to crack the back bone. Now pinch the tail and pull very gently the vein out of the langoustine. Now add the langoustine to the vinaigrette with the brunois chili, chives, salt and pepper. Arrange on a plate as pictured. Top with caviar d'Aquitaine.

*These are live so we don't need to worry about how fresh they are! Yet do keep in mind some simple tips of how to check freshness: look at the eyes which should be black, the shell or color should be red and there should never be a strong fish smell!

Juice of three different citrus: lemon, lime & orange.

Zest of the three citrus.

Quality virgin olive oil.

Combine half-and-half citrus juice and olive oil and season.

Chop previously prepared langoustine into 1cm chunks.

Add zest to chopped langoustine.

Mild red and green jalapeño peppers
finely diced (with the skill of a professional chef, of course)

Add diced peppers to the langoustine.

Chives, chopped finely with similar skill.

Add chives to langoustine.

Season.

Michael adds the vinaigrette to the langoustine.

Finished langoustine and vinaigrette mixture.

Spoon mixture into a small circular mould to shape for serving.

Decorate with tiny melba toasts.

Garnish with some delicate  greenery.

Michael's suggested brand of caviar.

Top with a generous spoonful of caviar.

Taste!

That went quickly....

In case you need help with technique in terms of the langoustine go ahead and watch this Youtube video from Pavillion France of how to prepare the live langoustine!

Champagne Wine Route: Tasting at Taittinger vs Pommery in the Champagne region

Rolling hills, art deco architecture, birds chirping, row after row of vines for as long as the eye can see and the echoing familiar sounds of corks popping-THIS is champagne!

Where to taste, eat, what to see/do on a champagne tasting trip is always a tough question! In my book the thing to do is to get lost in the gorgeous champagne countryside tasting with real deal "growers"as opposed to tasting with the names we know and love from home. I know sounds counter intuitive, right?

In champagne there 14,000 champagne growers who supply all the grapes to the large brands or "negotiants" we know and love-ie Veuve Clicquot, Louis Roederer, Krug, Ruinart, Dom Perignon, Pommery, etc. Just 15 minutes outside Reims you are literally surrounded by 19,000 growers and 14,000 of these vigneron independent sell their grapes to the big commercial houses. 5,000 of these small independent wine growers are left for you taste their splendors :) Speaking french is nearly mandatory so if you don't speak it than you better hire Tasty Side To Life Tours.

If you decide to stay in Reims we have some tips for you below!

Private tasting at Veuve Clicquot

If you're American naturally the first large champagne producer which most likely pops to mind is Veuve Clicquot. While Veuve Clicquot is centrally located in Reims and is quite gorgeous please do keep in mind that the French don't heavily drink Veuve as it is mass marketed to the USA. Veuve is great because they do own some of the best "Grand Cru land" ie terrific soil in champagne yet the downside is they can be quite hard to get into as they limit the size of their tastings.

Veuve Clicquot

Tasting of Champagne Veuve Clicquot

Recently this has changed and they offer many more tastings than previously! If you need help getting a reservation please contact us but it you decide to skip Veuve why not taste champagne at two houses which are more regional to France?

Two such fabulous alternative champagne houses which are nearby (5 minutes down the road) are Taittinger and Pommery. I'll give you a quick little pro and con list of both.

Caves of Champagne Taittinger

Taittinger

Pros- Fantastic history. A gorgeous 11th century church Sainte Nicaise was burned to the ground during the French revolution. On top of the barren ground Taittinger was built. Beneath it are caves dug out in the 3rd century by the Romans with engravings from the World wars. 

Champagne- for a large house it has fantastic minerality while giving you a great acidic bright and crisp long finish. Nice!

Details- This tasting and tour is 1 hour and includes 1 glass of Brut. Pricing is 16-22€. English tours are at 10h20, 11h, 11h50,14h20, 15h and last tasting at 16h. Visit is 1hr with tour and tastings. Tastings only not possible. Taittinger- 9 Rue Saint Nicaise, 51100 Reim +33 0326854535

Cons- Commercial Tour. Starts with a video which could put you to sleep ;) Only 1 glass of champagne for the tasting. Aesthetics of outside building- not special. Large tour with 10-30 people.

Reservations: Not necessary

Champagne Taittinger

Pommery

Champagne Pommery

Pommery 

Pros- Certainly one of the most GORGEOUS champagne houses to visit with ancient caves and a never ending staircase down into the chalk caves. The light is beautiful reflecting off the ancient chalk walls and there is a fabulous history to this house as well.

Widowed Madame Pommery lost her husband and built Pommery to what it is today alone in the 1800's! I love their passion for art and installation artwork. They have one of the largest barrels in the world engraved and previously brought to the World Fair in the 1900's by 24 oxen. The caves here were dug out in the 3rd century by the Romans are gorgeous and engravings inside the caves are unique to the region and fabulous. I also love the installation artwork which varies seasonally from a carousel, a giant paper mache egg, self moving boots, etc.

Champagne- Traditional brut is quite boring and mainstream meant to please the masses. YET their vintage cuvee called "Cuvee Louise" is a tribute to the window Louise and is made from only Grand Cru vineyards in Ay, Avize and Cramant. This cuvee has a richness or rare complexity and aromas of quince and dried acacia with a gorgeous minerality and roundness. I'd compare this cuvee to Dom Perignon. It is certainly worth a visit to taste this cuvee!!

Cons- Boring traditional cuvee. Slight commercial feel. Large 10-30 person tour. The Cons here are overshadowed by the various positives in my book :) I LOVE Pommery and it along with Ruinart and Veuve are my favorite large producer tours!

Reservations: Yes. We (Tasty Side To Life Tours) can help if you contact us

Caves at Champagne Pommery

Pommery Different cuvees or blends of Champagne

Braised Wild Boar in a Red Wine Jus with Truffle Polenta and Crispy Onion Rings (Hurley's in Napa Valley, Ca)

BRAISED WILD BOAR red wine jus- winter vegetables- truffle- polenta. A hearty, rich and cozy dish which is PERFECT for a cold winter night! Wild boar is a great alternative to farmed commercial pork and a beautiful meat to cook. If I could eat wild game (ie elk, bison, boar, etc) instead of hormone filled  commercial  meat each time I ate meat I would! I mean wouldn't you? When braised Wild Boar becomes beautifully tender and paired with a red wine jus, creamy polenta and truffle it becomes the perfect winter treat. This recipe is courtesy of Hurley's in Yountville, Ca.   Makes 6 Servings Combine and Marinate Overnight

3 pounds Wild Boar Shoulder de-boned, fat scored in diamond pattern  (can substitute hormone free Pork Shoulder) Pinch of Sea Salt 10 juniper berries, crushed 3 Bay leaves broken up and several sprigs of fresh thyme 1.5 cups Red Wine (Syrah, Cab or Barolo) 1 tbsp brown sugar 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup rapeseed oil or peanut oil 1 tbsp crushed black peppercorns 4 cloves garlic Ingredients 1 large carrot, peeled an diced package of Sugar Snap Peas 5 Tbls of Olive Oil 2 ribs of celery, diced 1 onion peeled and diced 3 shallots 3 cloves garlic (green inner garlic spring removed) 2 quarts veal stock For the Polenta 1 cup Polenta 1.5 cups chicken stock 1/2 cup cream

For the marinade place all ingredients in a glass bowl, add the wild boar and mix together. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 24 hrs.Remove boar from the marinade and set it aside. For the Wild Boar Preheat the oven to 300. Remove the meat from the marinade and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Reserve the marinade. Strain all solids from wine marinade and set aside. In a saucepan, heat wine to a simmer and skim all the impurities from the top while reducing it by half. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in deep dutch oven, season the well dried boar well with salt and pepper and brown the boar for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Set aside Add the reserved vegetables to the now empty pan to lightly  caramelize them. Add the shallots and onions to the pan and cook until softened and transparent and slightly caramelized. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Next add the celery and carrot.  When vegetables are softened add them to reserved meat. Add wine, reduce again by 1/3 and finally veal stock to cover (if you find yourself short on veal stock, use a fortified chicken stock). Stir well. It is important that the meat is covered with liquid during the braising. Bring to a simmer, cover and place in a 300 degree oven for approx. 3 hrs or until very tender (after 2 hours, check every 30 mins or so).  Baste regularly by pouring cooking juices back over the meat and adding more stock if necessary. Just before the boar is done cooking uncover the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes or so. When the meat is tender, remove from the braising liquid. strain all solids from the liquid and discard. Leave the meat covered in a warm place to rest for 30 minutes.  Place the braising liquid in a saucepan and reduce slowly while skimming off the fat and impurities. Reduce until it reaches desired volume, viscosity and flavor (generally by at least half). While the sauce is in progress, take the partially cooled meat and clean off the major fat and set aside. 30 mins before serving combine meat and sauce. Re-heat gently. For the Polenta: In a large heavy based saucepan bring the chicken stock to boil over medium heat.  Add the polenta to the hot stock in a thin, steady stream. Stir immediately with a wooden spoon and continue stirring for 2-3 mins. The polenta will thicken and have the texture of a mashed potato when cooked.  Stir in the cream and season with salt, pepper and truffle oil. Slice the wild boar and serve with the pan juices and creamed polenta and garnish with herbs. For the thinly sliced onion rings follow this great detailed recipe

The Best Napa Wineries and Restaurants-Flavors of Napa 2013 and The Appellation trail Event

I was lucky enough to attend the mother event of all Napa food events a couple of months ago, ie Flavors of Napa (Napa, California)! I had a 2 day press pass with my company Tasty side to life tours and was able to watch, taste and learn from the best Chefs in the industry (sans  The French Laundry's Thomas Keller and Chef Christopher Kostow of Meadowood). 


The events was filled with renowned vintners and engaging experts and was a 5 day celebration including demonstrations, farm to table dining, world class wines, lectures, cooking classes and other awesome epicurean and enological experiences.
Culinary geniuses from Napa Valley included Rogelio Garcia ( head chef at Angèle but formerly at Hurley’s, Redd, Michael Mina,  Cyrus,  Calistoga Ranch and  The French Laundry), Michael Gyetvan (Norma Rose Tavern and Azzurro Pizzeria e Enoteca), Scott Ekstrom (Angèle, Napa), the great Tyler Rodde  (Oenotri), Brad Farmerie (Public NYC and The Thomas and Fagiani's), Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto, Napa) and Michael Chiarello (Bottega)

Lucy Restaurant-Sugar Pie Pumpkin Soup with Tempura Shrimp and Nutmeg Creme Fraiche

I soaked up every second of the live demo's, atelier's, cooking lessons and wine tasting lessons.

Some of the stars of the night were Angele in Napa's little Pork Belly Croque Monsieur which was just so tiny, decadent and perfect! It was a nice little hunk of pork belly, brioche with a egg yolk mousse w/ cream fraiche, a dollop of truffle marscapone and a sprig of parsley for color. I mean?! AMAZING. If I could eat it daily, I would. 

One of the stars of the night Pork belly Croque Monsieur

The Thomas and Fagiani's in downtown Napa. Black Pudding Waffle with Whipped Miso Butter and Spicy Poached Pair. The butter was ever so smooth, airy and sweet w/ that miso addition. The pears added a great spicy touch. This was by far one of my favorite dishes of the day!

Other stand outs of the night pictured below were the laid back Yountville's Hurley's which blew me away with their succulent Wild Texas Boar, Ca' Momi (organic eatery in Napa VPN certified to have authentic Napletana pizza) with Chef Valentina Guolo Migotto was outstanding with their cute little honey beignets and Norman Rose Tavern impressed me last year with their deviled eggs with apple and smoked trout and this year with Sour Cherry Bread Pudding with a Guinness Anglais. 
Here's a glimpse of what was going on:

Braised Wild Texas Boar with Truffle scented Polenta and Crispy Onion Rings. Gorgeous balance of succulent meat, savory polenta and crispy onions!

We're helping people taste with small great growers like this in Napa, Ca so if interested email Tasty side To life Tours or Tastysidetolifetours@gmail.com. Below ar more stand-outs of the night:

Sour Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise. There is nothing like a great bread pudding. This one was perfect. Dying to try Norman Rose Tavern, Napa!

Chicken Liver Mousse on Crostini from Press St Helena

A classic Beef bourguignon from the great Bistro Jeanty

Morimoto...poached fish. YUM

Silverado Dolce Resorts

Farm at Carneros Inn-Pumpkin pudding with cranberry compote and cinnamon fluff. 

Love winding up the mt road up to Mt Veeder

Yummy milk and honey beignet from Ca' Momi- a restaurant which I'm dying to try as well!

Another knock-out was Chef Brad Farmerie of The Thomas and Fagiani's Bar. His dish was definitely the most ballsy of the evening-blood sausage in the form of a waffle! I know it sounds odd but it was HEAVENLY! Blood sausage in France is a staple and it's so great seared with a wedge of slow cooked apple. This was a waffle with a homemade miso butter and spiced poached pears. LOVED. 

In terms of wine I LOVED Spring Mountain Vineyard '09 Estate Blend Elivette (voted Best US Bordeaux @ Decanter World Wine Blind Tasting 2013) and their '01 Estate blew me away, Barlow Vineyard- Family owned with a great Bordeaux Blend Barrouge, Ackerman Family Vineyards '05-100% Cab which was great and very well balanced and '09-spicy and young, Jackson Family Wines-Bright, Fresh and Tropical Sauvignon Blanc 2012 and Lang and Reed Wine Company's 100% Cab France, Bouchaine '10 Chard had lots of buttery notes yet still maintained a great brightness and '11 Pinot, Cade '10 Cab with was dense and spicy, Amici '1 cab which was smooth and balanced at the top of Spring Mt, Cakebread had a surprising great '10 Syrah when they are mainly known for their chards and Bello Family Vineyards had a great oakey chard.

For tickets for next years event click here or to visit the region on a guided tour click here:

THE APPELLATION TRAIL: TASTING NAPA VALLEY

EVENT DETAILS

Date:Friday, November 22Time:6:00 PM - 9:00 PMVenue:The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone | MapPrice:$165

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ABOUT THE EVENT