At the 20, Rue de Douai, Paris 9th

September 17, 2015 fabLeave a comment

Walking on the Rue de Douai, heading down to a shop we heard of, I passed the numerous guitars shops lining up on the street, then I see this place: the Retoucherie Cité.
I looked inside and saw two men sawing clothes, the TV was on on the right, the shiny jackets on the left.
I didn’t dare disturbing them at first and went on by. But I went back , asked if I could photograph them. We chatted for a while. It was a wonderful encounter.
The two men are cousins, Yilmaz Ibrahim, the boss, has been living in France since 30 years. He’s been working at the atelier for 6 years. They make clothes for the theaters and cabarets of the area. Their customers are artists but also inhabitants of the area.

Obviously, the thought of the place closing down for the rent is too high exists.
This would be a real shame, as these small places at the heart of Paris are what makes the city so interesting and alive: it brings together a mix of people, of cultures, of various social backgrounds and craftsmanship.
I wish them all the best.

Snapshots – Paris

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 fabParis, shops, Street photographyLeave a comment

Paris 9th – Dinner at Ito Chan, Japanese restaurant

August 4, 2015 fabbudget food, Japanese restaurant, Paris, young chefsLeave a comment

Wandering the streets in Paris is one of my favorite passtimes. Walking around without goal and discovering places, meeting people.
We discovered the little japanese restaurant Ito Chan, in the Saint-George area down Pigalle.
We loved the interior, the small size of the place and the reduced menu which is very affordable. There are a few options, the plate with either meat/fish/vegetarian and 3 sides for 12€ or a delicious Ramen soup also with toppings for 11€.

The service is very friendly and Chef Take brings out the food himself, which he prepares in his tiny kitchen. The food, the dedication and the enthusiasm of Take and his team made me want to write about them.

Ito Chan exists since December 2014. After a great year Take and his partner bought the shop next door and turned it into a Japanese Tapas bar, only open in the evening.
Take was born in Paris from a Japanese mother and a mixed Asian father. His parents have a restaurant in the 9th where Take used to work. This was a great training since he is Chef of his place at only 27 and creates the recipes of the Tapas bar Ito Izakaya.

We had a wonderful time and I’ll make sure to pop in again on my next trip.

_{This is part of a series I am working on – portraits of people who move me through their initiative, their creativity and craftsmanship. I’d like to support their work by presenting some of them.}

Ito Chan
2, Rue Pierre Fontaine
75009 Paris
http://www.itoeats.fr/#!itochan/c161c
No reservation

L’Amour Food documentary

April 23, 2015 fab2 Comments

Great documentary about “fooding” (food and feeling), its meaning, its development, its actors, its chefs.
I watched it already and am going to watch it again.

Dinner at KOPPS in Berlin

April 6, 2015 fabBerlin, vegan restaurant, vegetarian restaurantLeave a comment

KOPPS, in Berlin, is a vegetarian restaurant on Linienstrasse in Mitte. My friend David tried it a while ago already with a friend, a big meat fan, who liked it and as I don’t enjoy meat much, I gave it a shot.

Many Berlin’s restaurants offer at least one vegetarian dish on their menu. One could think it might be difficult to meet the wishes of the customers in search of vegetarian or vegan food only. Apparently, it is not. As a good example is Cookies Cream, it’s been around for years.

Anyways, KOPPS was packed on that evening. The service was friendly, the place was nice, cosy and comfortable.
The food was simple but good. I must say that the choice on the à la carte menu was somewhat a bit thin for my taste considering that I didn’t want the Easter Menu, as David was ordering it.
The 2 critics I could make about my food though, is that there was barely any dressing on my salad, which made it taste fade and no or not enough cheese on my risotto. That said, here are some impressions of the dinner..

As a starter, I had the apple salad with herbs from the area:

David had the mushrooms terrine with salad:

Beetroot risotto

Beetroot medaillons

Chocolate lava cake

Chocolate and strawberry cream

For our dinner, including a bottle of red wine and a bottle of water, we paid 102€, which is fair, but if you consider that you only have vegetables on your plate and you could pay the same bill at das Lokal a bit further, we found it a bit pricy.
But hey! I did enjoy the place and I am glad I got to know it.
I can recommend this restaurant:

KOPPS Bar & Restaurant
Linienstraße 94
10115 Berlin

Tel 030 432 097 75
Fax 030 253 295 49
kontakt@kopps-berlin.de

“Pop Gastronomy” and the burger

March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 fabLeave a comment

This is a funny idea and brings “funkyness” before driving to work:
Find out more about Fat & Furious Burger from the “Furious” studio here:

Have a nice day!

Choux of the Day

February 24, 2015February 25, 2015 fabLeave a comment

Chocolate crust, Cream and mango confit Choux

In Berlin, again….

February 21, 2015February 25, 2015 fabchoux, choux in berlin, dessert, french dessert, in berlinLeave a comment

Yes, I know, I have not been writing for a very long time….

I spent the last year working at Le Môle in Marseille, which was a great experience but also a tough one. It was my first time working in the gastronomy business in France. The kitchen team is young, nice and very proficient.

But even though Marseille was amazing, gorgeous weather, friendly people, mind blowing landscape, the best aperos ever…..I decided to come back to Berlin for a while.

I first worked in a pastry shop, which didn’t work out as I had hoped, but I actually found a better place, a compromise between kitchen and social life: the Catering business at Kofler Company. It is a very different way of working than à la carte, first because of the quantities you have to produce for, the desserts have to hold for a few hours, have to be easy to plate and produceable for hundreds, thousands of guests. Then there is the organisation, the logistic etc…..a great opportunity to learn. And personally, that’s what the job is also all about.

Les Restos du Coeur at Le Mole Passédat, Marseille

May 5, 2014 fabLeave a comment

Le Mole Passédat hosted the charity event Les Restos du Coeur a couple of sundays ago. Chefs Passédat, Troisgros, Portos and Charial and their teams cooked for the event.
We assisted the Valrhona team to plate the desserts. It was a great opportunity to look at other Chefs working and try some very fine food. What a great evening!

For the ones who are not familiar with the MUCEM, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, openend its doors last year for the Cultural Year as Marseille was elected one of the capital of Culture. The MUCEM hosts also the restaurants La Table, La Cuisine and the Cafe Saint Jean.

I joined the pastry team last January. We produce pastries and desserts for the whole place, which means a lot of work, which means I learn a lot. I also do the service for the restaurant and the lunch buffet. The kitchen team, led by Chef Moreno, is young and very professional. Working in France is proving to be a great learning experience from the pace and quality of work point of view, but also it is interesting and enriching to see my home country after so many years spent abroad!!

I had the chance to photograph the evening, backstage……

The three Chefs: Chefs Passédat, Moreno (Le Môle) and Maillet (Le Petit Nice)

food Chefs Portos, Troisgros and Passédat waiting to send the food at the pass.

Chef charial

La Nuit Magazine launch at the WAAW bar, Marseille

April 25, 2014April 25, 2014 fabLa Nuit Magazine, La Nuit Magazine launch party, Marseille, WAAW BarLeave a comment

La Nuit Magazine launched their new website last wednesday. The party and presentation took place yesterday at the WAAW bar in Cours Julien. La Nuit Magazine is an online platform for all news and events regarding the marseille night life. As it was said in the presentation of the team, they are a young team and want to move marseille. That project deserves to be supported!

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