A review of Bougie Macaron & Tea by Claire Rubinstein

Bastille Day has just passed, and here at The Steeple Times we are still marveling at the excitement and euphoria caused by one man at our recent Blakes launch party. Jean-Hervé Nedelec created a ‘Lynx Effect’ as he worked the room with his tray of Parisian Bougie macarons with female guests falling over themselves and out of their clothes to get their hands on his exquisite macarons. The undisputed Bernard-Henri Lévy of the confectionery world, Nedelec has got the snack that gets the girls.

Jean-Hervé Nedelec tempts Alexandra Abrahams, Claire Rubinstein and Alexandra Naylor with his macarons at the launch of The Steeple Times at Blakes Hotel, London, SW7
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Not to be confused with the English coconut macaroon, this sweet meringue-based confection is made with egg whites, sugar and ground almonds, filled with a ganache and comes in a wide variety of delicate hues and subtle flavours. Some say the French macaron is the embodiment of Parisian chic (something  the French have built their national identity around), if so then the gulf between it and its British counterpart (an ill-formed heavy dollop of coconut) speaks volumes of the gulf between our cultures and cuisine.

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There has been much debate over the history of the macaron with different regions of France boasting different varieties with similarly diverse histories dating back as far as 1791.

Now popular the world over, this front-row worthy snack has become a crowd-pleaser with the fashionistas – Lady GaGa is a fan and macarons have multiple mentions on shows such as Gossip Girl and can be found as far afield as Japan, Korea (often with the Asian flavour of green tea), USA, Canada and Australia. In France, McDonalds even sells macarons in their McCafes sometimes using advertising that likens the shape of the macaron to that of a hamburger!

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Bougie Macaron & Tea unites French gastronomy with the distinctive seasonal flavours and the inventiveness of British cuisine. This summer sees British strawberry and cream, rhubarb & pistachio, hedgerow red fruit, and toffee apple amongst others. Autumn highlights will include Earl Grey, matcha and passion fruit as well as the ever popular salted caramel, chocolate, lemon and vanilla.

Perfect for parties and the ideal gift, we say: “Let them eat macarons!”

For more information on Bougie Macaron & Tea, go to: http://www.bougie.co.uk or telephone: +44 (0) 20 7836 4980.