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David Lebovitz Archives: February 2007
« January 2007 February 27, 2007 |
Comments (12)
Living in a foreign country, as an outsider, you tend to notice lots of contradictions. If you try to learn the native language, like I am, you'll notice there's all sorts of curiosities specifically designed to trip your up. When people ask me what I do all day, they don't realize that just to do something as basic as write a check, I often have to pull out the dictionary. (Although I've seen French people consult theirs almost as frequently.) But English ain't no walk in le parc either...we've got where, we're, wear, ware...that all sound exactly the same but mean pretty different things.
 Caramelizing Nuts for Praline at REGIS
For example, Paris is generally pronounced Par-EE, without saying the final 'S'. But if you say the name Régis, you say Rey-GeeSS you certainly do pronounce the final 'S'. Similarly, if you mention the 16th arrondissement, most Parisians who don't live there (or is that 'their'?) will sneer and say, "Oh, they are all snobs over there" or "I don't like those people there, they're not very nice." So imagine me being pleasantly surprised when I went to visit REGIS chocolatier in the heart of enemy territory. Continue reading "REGIS Chocolatier" »
Allegedly The Birthplace of Kouign Amann February 25, 2007 |
Comments (18)
Anyone who uses iPhoto probably remembers your first thrill of plugging in your digital camera and magically, with no effort at all, having your photos automatically downloaded for you. Then they're neatly filed on your computer so you can view, cut, or paste your memories until your heart's content. It's great for the first few times, but once you've hit a certain number of photos, in my case the 1k mark, things start to slow w-a-a-a-y down, making it necessary to either burn them onto disks like the old days (iPhoto's dirty little secret, forcing us to resort to 'outdated' technology...bad Apple!) So I spent my weekend going through my older photos and realized that I never wrote about one of the most special places in France: Locronan, allegedly the birthplace of my beloved Kouign Amann.
Although the town is teeming with tourists who come to gawk at the granite buildings and churches, the town is also teeming with other fans of the sweet-stuff: les guepes, or yellowjackets.
Continue reading "Allegedly The Birthplace of Kouign Amann" »
February 23, 2007 |
Comments (9)
My friend Patricia Rain was just pronounced to be fully-cleared of an agressive and invasive cancer, which she'd been fighting with a combination of mainstream and alternative treatments since 2004.
We're often faced with lots of choices in the marketplace. Continue reading "The Power Of Good?" »
February 21, 2007 |
Comments (13)
With all due respects, the first time I met Sherry Yard, I was squirming in my seat. I was sitting in the originally Spago, in West Hollywood, overlooking the city of Los Angeles. The room was filled with celebrities, but I remember getting special treatment. I arrived in my best; a well-tailored Italian wool suit that I hoped made me fit in a little better with all the glamorous types seated all around me. It was a great meal, and we were having a wonderful time. But the longer I sat in the stylish chairs, the most uncomfortable I was becoming. It wasn't that I felt out of place. It was that my rear-end was starting to itch uncontrollably. I knew that I shouldn't stand up and engage in an all-out scratch-fest (although nothing would have felt better), but I didn't know what to do. The longer I sat, the more intense it got. The wool in combination with the padded chairs was driving me nuts! But soon enough, it was time for dessert, the cavalcade started. Sherry starting bringing out all sorts of wonderful things; tastes of hand-dipped dark chocolates, puckery lemon tartlets, and twists of crackly caramel that were so stunning, all these hot-shot celebrities starting looking at me. But miraculously, as I started to spoon up and savor all these desserts, the itching subsided and each dessert was more delicious than the next. That was the first time we met and I was charmed at what a genuinely lovely and funny person Sherry is.
Who are some of your favorite celebrities that you've cooked for? Sherry: I guess you can say them all, from David Lebovitz to Presidents.
How's it been working with him, and what's he like as a boss? Sherry: At the 2000 Bon Appétit Awards, Barbara Fairchild introduced Wolfgang Puck as my boss. His response, with a chuckle, when he walked up to the mike was "Anyone that knows Sherry knows she is my boss!"
I love the desserts you make. They're always so contemporary, with clean, modern tastes yet grounded in traditional pastry techniques. I remember a Concord Grape Gelée that you made, enrobed in dark chocolate that was exceptionally good. Continue reading "Pastry Chef Sherry Yard" »
February 20, 2007 |
Comments (5)
You may have noticed a couple of explicit comments here on the site (more than the usual ones that I leave...) Although I've closed comments for older posts due to spam, now they're appearing in recent ones, which I delete as soon as possible. (Yesterday I deleted 4785 junk messages.) I'm adding a comment verification feature shortly which should alleviate the problems, since I welcome and enjoy all your comments very much! Consequently, many emails are not reaching me as well, for some reason, or are being returned as undeliverable. I don't know. If you've recently sent an inquiry, please check the FAQ's in the Category box (to the left) which may provide an answer to your question, or leave a comment here.
February 18, 2007 |
Comments (13)
Global Warming=More Ice Cream I recently recommend an ice cream maker to one of my friends. It was the model I used to test many of the recipes for my upcoming book, the Cuisinart ICE-50. He then sent me a message that Amazon is currently selling reconditioned models of this machine for just $129!
You just press the button and start churning away. I don't know how long this offer will last, so get one while you can. I've been using my daily for months with excellent results (and have the gut to prove it.) And they make excellent slushy frozen margaritas too...
Congratulations to friends of mine, and of this site, for their nominations for 2007 Weblog Awards and the winners will be announced March 12th. You're probably wondering what happened to my nomination. Continue reading "Sunday Stuff" »
February 16, 2007 |
Comments (32)
I was going to write a post, and call it, The Rabbit of Seville. If you're old enough to remember, there was a Bugs Bunny cartoon that was a spoof of The Barber of Seville*, and that's what it was called.
As mentioned, I've been quite busy. Too busy, in fact, to look up whether it's Poser le or Poser de. And since Seville orange season is short and fleeting, I wanted to get this post up sooner rather than later. And what was I doing, you might ask? Continue reading "Seville Orange Marmalade" »
Hot Chocolate With Caramel-Beurre-Salé February 14, 2007 |
Comments (26)
My ultra-special mix for Hot Chocolate with Salted Butter Caramel is now available at several outdoor markets in Paris, and we hope to make it available to our friends in the US and elsewhere.
 Each basket contains a pot of handmade salted butter caramel, French bittersweet chocolate, fleur de sel, and a wooden salt shovel
You can inquire about overseas shipping at Traditions Guérande, or visit Régis Dion at one of these markets in Paris this weekend at times noted, and on a regularly scheduled basis thereafter.
Cours de Vincennes Market Popincourt Market
Bourdain's Food Network Take-Down February 13, 2007 |
Comments (73)
It started at Michael Ruhlman's site (which is up to 468 comments) with Anthony Bourdain's take-down of the Food Network. Then it moved over to Elise's Simply Recipes, where I felt compelled to add my 2 centimes worth....
"I'm curious when people say they appreciate these time-saving cooking shows. But really, how long does it take to make good food? A roast chicken can be tossed with a broken up head of garlic and some herbs in less than 30 seconds. And how many seconds does one save by opening a bottle of pre-made salad dressing as opposed to mixing together a few spoonfuls of olive oil & vinegar? Is it really that much easier to rip open a box of cake mix than to drop a stick of butter in the mixer, add some eggs, then stir in some flour?
I feel bad when people tell me they don't have time to cook. Why are these programs so popular?
February 12, 2007 |
Comments (13)
I think I've finally become French. At the supermarket this morning, my total came to exactly 15€. So I handed that over.
February 11, 2007 |
Comments (12)
I don't know if some of you noticed this, but there's been a petit void in cyberspace lately. As some of you know, Michèle of Oswego Tea has moved to London and at the same time ended her blog. The good thing is I don't need to add that pesky backwards accent anymore now that she's moved to England. (Although she started adding the British extra u to words like flavour...who does she think she is anyways, Madonna?) A while back one of my readers advised if I ever got back to London, I need to go to Melt, one of the highly-regarded chocolate shops in the city. Since I didn't know when I'd get back there, I thought I'd send Michele in to check it out. So I started bugging Michele to get over to Melt to hopes she'd write an entry here about it. It took her a while, but she finally wrote back, saying she was really busy after her move, but realized that it was time to "...get my ass to melt!" However in deference to folks searching the internet for photos of butt-melting (which I'm sure there are out there...) I changed her wording a bit since I didn't want to get my potty-mouth washed out with soap, like Michele's gonna get next time she comes back to Paris for punishment. While I've no doubt pictures her butt melting might be far more intriguing to some readers out there who came expecting something other than a visit to a chocolate shop, you'll have to make do without. But for those of us who've missed Michele's terrific blog, I finally was able to get her to do her guest post here on my site about getting her butt to Melt.
When a friend sends you an email asking for a favour, admit it, sometimes you worry. In the back of your mind there's this nagging voice that says "Please don't let it have anything to do with moving a large couch up a narrow flight of stairs.." Luckily for me, the friend in question was David, who at the first mention of looking for a new apartment will come right out and say "Don't ask me to help you move." I think he waved a finger the first time he said that to me. The favour he wanted of me? Continue reading "Getting Your Butt to Melt" »
February 8, 2007 |
Comments (29)
Yesterday, I decided that since I was the last person in the world to be using Safari as a web browser, I should switch to Firefox. Everyone says it's better and since I use Movable Type for the blog, Firefox has little buttons to make things bold or to italicize, so I don't need to type in a bazillion symbols everytime I do that.
 When you work in a restaurant, you develop a rhythm, especially when it comes to setting up your statio in preparation for the rush of customers. If you have a fixed menu and you've been working in the same place for a while, when you arrive, you can almost work on auto-pilot to make sure everything's in place (called mis-en-place), so when the rush comes, you're full-organized and never get buried under orders (or as they say, 'in the weeds'). If you've done it right, the evening runs like a finely-tuned Swiss watch. If not, you've got no business in a restaurant kitchen. So one evening, someone brought in something which we ingested that was terribly strong and radically alerted our 'perception of reality' (yes, even vegetarians have their vices). As we started our work, though, the owner arrived and surprised us with a brand-new menu, full of items we'd never seen before. So we had to completely change our set-ups and prepare all new dishes. It's like your computer crashing, taking everything with it, and you need to re set-up everything again. To make a long (long) story short, once the customers arrived, it was like your worst dream coming true, the kind where you're running towards something, but the faster you run, the farther away it gets. So as the order tickets started coming in, we all panicked and found ourselves seriously in the weeds (in more ways than one), and the evening was a catastrophe. When I installed my new browser yesterday, everything changed on my little Mac. My beloved bookmarks, which I've spent years collecting, I cherished as your grandmother cherishes her Hümmel figurines, were gone. And the look of my blog platform changed: Yes there were those terrific little buttons that add links, italics, and what-not, but each time I used one, it jumped up to the top of the document, meaning I had to re-scroll back to where I was typing, prompting a mad dash to find where I left off. So like coming down from a bad high, back to my familiar reality, I've returned to Safari. I guess old habits die hard. Like my love for rustically grainy breads, and had a chance to return to one of my favorite bakeries in Paris yesterday when I had a doctor's appointment on the other side of the city. Continue reading "Browsing in Paris" »
Paris Pas Cher: 8 Money-Saving Tips for Paris February 7, 2007 |
Comments (23)
When I moved to Paris, I was pretty shocked at how expensive things were. And I don't mean Louis Vuitton suitcases or Kelly bags. Something as simple as a sponge at the supermarket would cost 4€ or a plastic storage container at BHV might run you 15€ around here. Ouch! Then I learned about the Paris pas cher stores all over town. Although concentrated mostly in the less-chic neighborhoods, they're sort of 'catch-all' shops that sell everything from scissors, thongs, cookware, hammers, luggage, lice shampoo, and old Nicole Kidman movies she made when she was a teenager, when her face was far rounder (and she had the ability to move it), and her hair was a mess of long, unruly curls and she wore ratty red-hooded sweatshirts. (I'm kicking myself ever since for not buying one. That would have been perhaps the best 1.5€ I ever spent.) Since discovering the Paris pas cher stores, in spite of the frightening Nicole Kidman DVD's you sometimes might run across, I've found they're great places to scratch your shopping itch. You never know what you're going to find exactly, but they're great fun to wander through and see what they've got if you pass one. You'll know you've found when if there's lots of stuff hanging from the ceiling, stacked out front, and piled high if you peek inside. Frequently there's an overwhelming smell of insecticide or mothballs, but you get used to it after a few years, I guess. (Judging from the people who run them, who seem to be oblivious.) Paris pas cher, in case you didn't know, means 'Paris Not Expensive', and the term is also used to denote bargains in the city. Since the dollar is tanking, I thought I'd share a few of my money-saving tips with you I've learned along the way:
If you're sitting in a café, you'll notice that few people are drinking soda. Most are lingering over tiny coffees, which cost about 2€ instead. You can stay as long as you want without having to order anything else once you've finished, no matter what you ordered. My theory is people order coffee because it's the cheapest thing you can get. I'm often guilty of that too. (If they ask you to pay, it's usually because the waiters are changing shifts, so don't fell obligated to split.) Standing at the counter cuts the prices roughly in half so if you're just looking for a quick thirst-quencher or a shot of caffeine, you might want to stand. (I'm a total rube myself. One of my first times in Paris, I ordered a coffee at the counter, then carried it over to a table. That got quite a response!) In a café, order wine by the carafe which is usually drinkable and inexpensive. Don't feel like you need to spend a lot of money on wine in a regular restaurant either. Unlike in America, it's easy to find good wines in the 15-25€ range. Don't be afraid to order the Vin du mois or something they're featuring. Continue reading "Paris Pas Cher: 8 Money-Saving Tips for Paris" »
February 5, 2007 |
Comments (28)
I Ate A Croissant Yes, I know. I'm sure on one of those bulletin boards somewhere, someone will be making fun of me, "Wow, David Lebovitz is bragging about eating a croissant. Who does he think he is anyways?" It's a common joke among Americans who live here that people think all we do is sit around eating croissants, visiting museums, praying for salvation at Notre Dame, and climbing the Eiffel Tower every afternoon.
Although stories abound, no one quite knows who invented le croissant. It's believe to be in an invention of the Austrians, who created a crescent-shaped pastry to oppose the Ottomans, who had invaded their country. They symbol of Turkey is a crescent, and granted, who doesn't like to eat Turkey? Except maybe vegetarians. (Surely followed by, "And who does he think he is anyways?") But today, I think few would argue that the croissant is most closely associated with France and in fact, one rarely comes across a bakery in Paris that doesn't offer their own version. If you need further proof of their proprietary aliance with French gastronomy, ask yourself when was the last time you heard the words das croissant? (Ok...case closed.) Continue reading "The Best Croissant" »
Do You Know Beans? Les Haricots Tarbais February 3, 2007 |
Comments (28)
Back in my intrepid youth, when my hair dipped below my ears (when I had hair, that is...), I flirted with vegetarianism.
And don't get me started on the bizarre customers we'd get. We had one regular, whose name we didn't know (so we just called her 'Beyond') who would sit in the dining room and order only a bowl of brown rice. Then she'd spend hours in the dining room writing in her journal, in the teeny-tiniest letters imaginable, eating her rice grain-by-grain. And we never knew what our long-haired baker would come up with. He once made a lovely-looking, golden brown-crusted pie for dessert. When I cut it open that evening to serve the first wedge, I'd discovered that he filled it with sweet black beans and an alarming amount of cumin. (Unfortunately, it, um, accidentially fell into the garbage before I could serve it.) Eventually I got tired of being served pizza smothered with soggy 'veggies' (God I hate that word...is it really all that hard to say 'vegetables'?) and was constantly dreaming about diving into a big, soft, overstuffed corned beef sandwich.
Continue reading "Do You Know Beans? Les Haricots Tarbais" »
February 3, 2007 |
Comments (10)
In this section, you'll find answers to some of my most commonly-asked questions, including...
If you have specific inquiries that aren't addressed or answered below, or just want to say hi...feel free to drop me a line!
Q: Why did you move to Paris? A: Because I wasn't breathing in enough second-hand smoke in America.
A: No.
A: It's an unfortunate stereotype and there are rude people everywhere. In my experience, people here are been very welcoming and tolerant of me, bumbling their beautiful language and adapting to the customs. I've seen perhaps more tourists be rude to Parisians than the opposite. Way more.
A: Probably about as long as you plan to live where you live now.
A: Actually, I fall within the range of what is considered 'normal' for my height and age. I walk a lot, as well as engage in regular exercise. I have a black belt in karate and a second-degree black belt in aikido, and I currently practice yoga 3-4 times per week. I eat a high-carbohydrate diet, which includes lots of bread, and a moderate amount of meat and fat (mostly in the form of cheese and dark chocolate). I very rarely eat junk or pre-prepared foods nor do I drink calorie-laden coffee drinks topped with whipped cream in 24-ounce portions.
A: The professor. Or maybe Little Buddy if I've had a few drinks.
Q: I'm coming to Paris! Can you give me restaurant or hotel suggestions? A: You'll find many of my personal suggestions already here on the site for hotels, restaurants, and my favorites shops. Search in the Paris Travel Tips as well as My Paris for restaurants and places to eat. You can also use the search engine on my Home page for specific suggestions as well as the Categories for shops, bakeries, chocolate shops, and markets. If you're interested in renting a short-term apartment (for a few days or a week), this site boasts a comprehensive listing of the agencies with links which rent Paris apartments in all price ranges. Here's a few links with safety tips: In general, Paris is pretty safe. No need to be paranoid; just cautious.
A: Unfortunately I don't have time to assist individuals with their travel plans, but I do recommend a few specialists: Secrets of Paris, Paris Trip Tips, and Take My Mother Please for personalized vacation planning.
A: Geez, I barely have time to see my friends, so I'm generally unable to greet new folks. Although I can be bribed with a fancy dinner: minimum one-Michelin star. If you'd like to meet, or visit my favorite market or chocolate shops with me, you might want to sign up for one of my Paris Tours. You'll get so much of me, by the end, you'll be begging for mercy!
A: You can find a complete list of them in English here.
A: Due to various projects I no longer offer day-long chocolate or outdoor market tours in Paris. If you're looking for a market or culinary tour, you may wish to visit my friends at Context Travel. I do offer week-long tours once or twice a year and you can read more about them here: Chocolate Tours.
A: Fresh meats, fruits and vegetables are prohibited for sure. Often you can bring back raw-milk cheeses as long as they're in quantities obviously for personal consumption and not resale. Many cheese shops in Paris will pack them sous vide, cryo-vac'd, for transport, which I highly recommend doing. (There is often a small surcharge for that.) Foods packed in cans are normally fine and some things in jars are, but occasionally meat products in glass, like foie gras, can be iffy. Personally, I've not had problems with chocolates, filled or solid bars. Rules change frequently, and without notice, but here's the latest information that I know of for bringing foods home from abroad.
A: I don't have much experience with travel insurance but experts say it's a good idea to have it. Be sure to check those with limitations for pre-existing conditions and the like. World Nomads was recommended to me by friends and has an informative website, but I haven't used them. Here's a good article with information, and Travel Insurance Review is full of useful information as well. If you're American (or English-speaker) the American Hospital in Paris offers treatment for emergencies and other ailments, and is familiar with American-style health insurance plans. You'll need to pay at the time of treatment, then apply for reimbursement from your plan back home. Should you have the need for medical care while in France, SOS Médecins will come right to where you are—24/7, for a reasonable fee.
A: Yes, I do. There is also another supper club in Paris, Hidden Kitchen, which does private dinners as well.
A: You can find suggestions on the site here.
A: You can find my list of cooking schools & classes, as well as wine-tastings here.
A: I only attended one, but there's a pretty good discussion on eGullet from folks who've attended the others.
A: Since I haven't had the need to hire a private chef here, so I can't vouch personally for their services. But two people you may wish to inquire with are Braden Perkins (of Hidden Kitchen, above) and Edward Keller.
A: I'm not much of a techie so it's best to contact your provider at home. To avoid roaming charges, you can rent a phone from Context Travel during your stay. You can also buy a 'sans abonnement' (no subscription) phone, where you purchase the phone then add minutes by buying the numbers which you punch into the phone at Tabacs and phone stores. In general, the phone will run you less than 99€ and you can use it forever. (Although you lose your phone number if you don't use it after a certain amount of time, often 6 months, but you can get another number on your next trip.) The three major phone companies which provide mobile service are Orange Mobicarte (France Telecom), Entrée Libre at SFR, and Nomad at Bouygues. Virgin Mobile is making inroads into France as well with similar service. There are mobile phone shops all over Paris, such as Phone House, as well as in the major department and electronics stores such as Darty and FNAC. Here's more advice about which kind of cell phone coverage might be best for you. More Tips For Paris Travel
Q: How long did you work at Chez Panisse? A: I started in 1983 and worked there until 1998, but I took a few years away to be the pastry chef at Bruce Cost's Monsoon restaurant and to consult. I was there for a total of 13 years.
A: Alice employed me for many years and as a cook, I could not ask for a better place to do that than Chez Panisse. Alice made sure the ingredients we used were the best available, and unlike many other well-known chef's today, she isn't interested in endorsing products or capitalizing on her name, except to promote sustainable agriculture and her various causes through the Chez Panisse Foundation. It's difficult running a restaurant and café with over a hundred employees, and I give Alice immense great credit for being able to keep up the restaurant's high standards and for putting her philosophy on the plate day-after-day. You can read more I wrote about Alice here.
Q: I want to move to Paris. Can you give me any advice? A: The process is complicated and time-consuming, much more so than you can possibly imagine. The first step is to visit the web site for the French Consulate which is nearest to you. Follow the instructions, but be prepared for things not to go quite as you might expect. It's a long process, but basically, the first step is applying in the United States if you're an American. You can find some information here (in French). Once that's approved, when you come to France, you have to re-apply using the same paperwork. Photocopy everything at least five times and always carry along everything you might need for all your appointments; photos, bank statements, lease, electricity and phone bills, proof of health insurance and finances, birth certificate, etc...all translated. I never hand over everything at once, but instead hand over each document as requested since they will invariably ask you for something you don't have. (And never, ever throw anything away, no matter how trivial you think it is. Someone is certain to ask you for it later.) You'll need to make an appointment at the Préfecture de Police after your arrival in Paris, which can take months, and will certainly be an eye-opening experience. Plan on things not going quite as anticipated, and remember there's a reason the French have so much red wine at their disposal. Once you get your Carte de Sejour you'll need to re-apply each year; the rules and qualifications changing each time depending on who's behind the counter when you show up. There are no exact answers and the process changes frequently. If I had more definite answers, I'd probably have a bit more hair instead of having pulled it all out. Recommended Reading: For moving your goods overseas, Schumacher Cargo comes highly-recommended by Why Travel To France.
A: There are lots of private agencies that will assist in your search, although I have no experience with them. To search for a long-term apartment in Paris yourself, you may wish to start at the following sites:
A: First off, high-end restaurants are tough places to work and if you do a stage (internship) in one, you're likely to be doing menial work no matter how skilled you are. Don't expect to be standing on the line with Alain Ducasse dishing up dinner. A knowledge of French is very helpful as is the ability to stand on your feet for 12-14 hours. Some places have become so popular they're now charging people for the 'experience' of training in their kitchen. I can't offer any assistance but you can find lots of advice here, on eGullet.
Q: I want to be a pastry chef. Should I go to culinary school? A: Read my post Should You Go To Cooking School?
A: I attended two cooking schools in Europe after I'd worked in restaurants for many years. One was Ecole Lenôtre near Paris, and the other was Callebaut Academy to study chocolate in Belgium. Both programs are intended for professionals and I highly-recommend them. For home cooks, you'll find a list of cooking classes in Paris here and a discussion of professional programs in Paris here.
Q: I'm looking for a certain product that you mentioned on the site in America. How can I find out where to get it? A: When I mention a product, I try to put a link to where it can be obtained it in the states, since that's where a majority of my readers are, I presume. But you can also use Google to locate it, or Amazon, or ebay to find availability as well, which are the same search methods that I use. I list several companies that distribute European chocolate in America on my chocolate Links page.
A: In general, I only try products that are related to what I do, which share a similar philosophy to mine. (If you take a moment to read through various blog entries, you'll get some idea of that.) I love trying new things, especially from small companies with artisianal products, and I love trying new chocolates, but I never commit to writing about them. I appreciate your not insisting that I do. My philosophy, in general, is to only recommend products that I like and use personally. I don't often write negative reviews since I think most people are trying their best and it's hard to criticize them. (Although there are exceptions.) I'm not paid to recommend anything by anyone, so things I write about on the site and blog are products I know from my personal experience. Please note that I live in Paris, which is in France, which should be evident, but evidently isn't to some public relations firms out there. (Also, I don't respond to mass-mailings. If you'd like to get my attention, I do have a name, which is pretty easy to find by looking at the top of my web site.) I strongly urge marketers to read Elise Bauer's article, Do's and Don'ts of Marketing to Bloggers which gives guidance on how to pitch products to food bloggers.
A: Most of the ads are for my books, which I hope readers will buy (and use!); that's how I make a living. There are also Amazon ads for products, as well as GoogleAds, and Blogherads. All are clearly marked and I try to keep them as unobtrusive as possible. The modest amount of revenue from them pay for site hosting and storage fees, web design, and updates to the site. I also have an Amazon Store, filled with products that I use and recommend. Similarly, revenues from that are used for site upgrades and to offset costs.
Q: How come I can't leave a comment? A: Because of spam, I turn off the comment feature for older posts. Sorry.
A: I subscribe to the comment policy espoused here. And reserve the right to delete or edit comments. Please remember this isn't a democracy—it's my dictatorship!
A: Check out my post: My Food Photography Gear.
A: Because the blog is protected by a copyright, you shouldn't use anything from the blog without my permission. Same with images from my Flickr page. In general, I've often let others use an image provided they're not for commercial, profitable purposes, along with appropriate credit and a link. Please ask first. If I do give permission to use an image for a profit-making venture (magazine, newspaper, etc), I normally expect some kind of compensation and/or credit, although there are exceptions. In any event—please ask before using any pictures, images, or text from my blog or Flickr page.
A: I write for a living, and when I do an assignment or a book, for which I get paid, I have the luxury of taking the time to proof and re-check my copy before it's submitted for publication. The blog is intended to be light-hearted and a place for me to share my stories about life in Paris. Since I do this for fun, I can't give it the same attention that I do for my paid work. In addition, I use Movable Type, which means I have to code much of my words in HTML. Lighten up...it's a blog! If you're interested in error-free text, buy one of my books.
A: As you can see, there's lots of links already there. It started out mostly being friends, but it's blossomed into a long list of food blogs that I want to share as well. So if you're not on the links page, it doesn't mean I don't like you, nor does it mean I don't like your blog. There's plenty of blogs I read and enjoy, but I'm unable to add them all to the links.
A: A blog of any sort is a personal diary so what works for me may not work for you. A few things you may wish to concentrate on are: design of the site, good content, and expressing your voice. You can some helpful tips at these links:
A: Sure...click here to read my tips.
A: It's preferable to leave a comment rather than send me an email, since often the subject is of interest to others and I do respond to comments. If you'd like to email me for another reason, my address is in the left-hand sidebar.
A: For some reason, emails don't always reach me, and emails I send out don't always reach their destinations. I think this might have something to do with my using a foreign server and you may have a firewall is the only explanation I can think of. It's very frustrating. If you've contacted me and haven't heard back in a week or so, you may wish to try again.
A: While I wish that everyone agreed with me all the time, unfortunately that doesn't always happen. These are just my opinions and ramblings and I welcome constructively-written, friendly counter-opinions in the comments area. I will delete any personal attacks or insane remarks...unless they're pretty funny. Remember, I'm just a cookie baker and what I say isn't worth getting anyone's knickers in a knot.
A: Not unless you're Toni Collette or Justin Timberlake.
Q: What blogging platform do you use? A: I use Movable Type, which is more challenging than other platforms, but more versatile and can handle the heavy traffic the site frequently generates.
A: It's grown in blackdirt.
February 1, 2007 |
Comments (12)
Free Bikes In Paris Over 20,000 bicycles are on their way to Paris as part of the mayor's plan to make the residents of the city less-dependent on cars. (Many citizens of the city are absolutely irate about the new bike lanes.) The bikes will be free to use and can be picked up at one of 1451 stations, then dropped off at any one of them as well. The system is set to be in place early this summer, just in time for tourist season. Pack a helmet!
Today marks the beginning of the ban on smoking in public places in France. It's believed that 12 million people smoke in France, and nearly 66,000 smokers die each year due to smoking-related illnesses. 25-30% of all adults smoke in France (which is below the European average), and half of all young adults under 35 light up too. (Tip: If you're smoke-sensitive, don't sit next to a table of teenage girls. Trust me.) The air in 42% of all places that allowed smoking was considered "dangerous". Smoking is now prohibited in public buildings like hospitals, stores, offices, and schools, and there are stiff fines for smokers (68€) and business owners. The total ban on smoking in bars, caf&eagrave;s, and restaurants, will begin in 11 months, starting January 1, 2008, and the EU Health Commissioner has proposed a total ban in all 27 EU countries. Currently it's illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving, considered a public danger. But curiously, smoking indoors has been tolerated and vigorously defended. Today I expect to see a lot of people grousing in the street (les râleurs).
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