After one too many twelve-course lunches, an American bon vivant in Paris turns his attention to simpler pleasures—and signs up for the early-morning shift in a busy bakery kitchen.
Not long ago I found myself sitting in a neon lit bus shelter at 3:30 a.m. The sidewalks of Paris were black and shiny after a hard rain on a winter’s night. I passed the time waiting for the bus, half reading a magazine and eavesdropping on a pretty African woman with intricate black-cherry-soda colored braids who was chatting in a beautiful, lilting creole with a friend in faraway Mayotte, a French island near Madagascar.
After she ended her phone call, I could feel the lady staring at me. When I looked up, she smiled and asked, “Why are you here?”
“My job,” I answered brightly. “I’m going to work as a baker.”
She chuckled and arched her eyebrows. “Now that is some good honest work,” she said.
Once on the bus, I wondered at my new friend’s amusement: Did I really look so implausible as a baker? After all, I had once worked in a bakery—though that was a long time ago, in a New York kitchen where a messy mishmash of English, Spanish, Haitian French, and Yiddish was spoken and we drank beer and smoked joints all night while producing improbably decent scones and muffins.
Denne historien er fra May 2016-utgaven av Saveur.
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Denne historien er fra May 2016-utgaven av Saveur.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Raising a Better Bird
Blue Apron founder Matt Wadiak has moved onto greener pastures, where happy chickens roam free.
One Good Bottle
Tamara Irish is a natural winemaker. Way natural.
My Not-So-Secret Garden
Good (vegetable-laden) fences make good neighbors in one tiny town.
Pralines: How They Cook 'Em in New Orleans
Pralines: How They Cook ’Em in New Orleans
My Father's French Onion Soup
Postwar Paris had a lifelong influence on James Edisto Mitchell—both as an artist and a cook BY Shane Mitchell
Our All-Time Best Recipes
If anyone should know if a recipe’s a keeper, it’s the person tasked with making sense of the original instructions—from the far reaches of Sri Lanka, say, or a famous chef who measures nothing. This might explain why many test kitchen staffers named favorites that their predecessors had tested and recommended. (Though a couple put forth recipes they developed themselves.) And while Saveur never shies away from the oddball authentic ingredient, the fare on the following pages is the stuff we cook at home, over and over again. Consider it global comfort food.
Genever Is the Original Juniper Spirit
Don’t call it a comeback. Or gin
Tending The Bines
Overshadowed by high-end viticulture, the art of growing hops for beer might not always get the recognition it deserves.
Field Of Dreams
The son of an innovative pea farmer is carrying on his father’s legacy.
Jamaican Jerk Marinade - Fire And Spice
Jamaican jerk is more than a marinade—it’s a smoky, flame-grilled cooking style that uses the best ingredients of its home island.