An Edible Voyage

February 2020 Anywhere else this would be textures of chestnut.    A miniature chestnut crème brulee works fantastically well to give a subtle variation on a traditional dessert, and features alongside a miniature chestnut tart and madeleine.    Use the chestnut brittle and smears of the sticky, sweet crème de marron to balance the delicious, almost savoury chestnut ice cream – a real highlight of the dish for me.    Find it at La Montagnard in St Martin de Belleville, a cosy restaurant in a converted barn with an intimate atmosphere and cheerful staff.    They also do a fantastic burger topped with local cheese.

February 2020 Patisserie I love a good choux pastry.    In fact, it’s probably my favourite type of pastry, so any trip to France is a great opportunity for me to get my fix.    It only seemed right to combine it with a French favourite – crème de marron, et voila, you have a Choux Crème Marron.    A sort of chestnut flavoured pastry cream is piped on to a choux dome with a very thin tipped piping bag so it looks like spaghetti.    The slightly crisp, light choux pastry the perfect vehicle for this very sweet with a hint of nuttiness creamy delight. French meringues are a delight for my palette when it comes to texture – crunchy outside, chewy inside.    Add in the crack of dark chocolate chips and it’s a winner. Find these at La Rissole, St Martin de Belleville’s village bakery.    They also do a delicious tarte au citron – tangy, sweet and a little bit sticky. Viennoiserie I’ve spent a lot of...