Ooh la la. Seconds? Mais oui, s'il vous plaît.
Who could deny themselves the temptation of the delicacy that's the French macaron — not to be confused with the coconut macaroon. The round, melt-in-your-mouth (not in your hands) petite sweet is the new cupcake, in some circles, and was the pièce de résistance at the elegant Sherwood Forest residence of Caroline and Jean-Louis Guirette.
The "Grand Concours Macaron" event that supported Texan-French Alliance for the Arts' Open The Door public art project pit home cooks against professionals chefs in a gourmand feud that could've ruined anyone's pre-summer slimming regimes.
But as they say, calories consumed at philanthropic events just don't count.
Chairs Mickey Henry, board president, and Karine Parker-Lemoyne, executive director, gathered a team of media pros that included PaperCity's Catherine Anspon, My Table's Teresa Byrne-Dodge and CultureMap contributor Davon Hatchettfor the difficult task of eating and identifying the crème de la crème and most inventive creations.
The Pastry of Dreams' spicy dark chocolate and tempered white chocolate filled with a maraschino cherry confit earned best in show.
Although the 10 entrants put forth magnifique samples, it was The Pastry of Dreams' spicy dark chocolate and tempered white chocolate filled with a maraschino cherry confit that earned best in show while Dolce Delights' pink peppercorn pastry with chocolate ganache rose as most creative.
Guests had something else in mind, though. The People's Choice Award was given to Henry for his macaron suffused with local flavors, a melange of Texas roasted pecans, oranges and chocolate crème au beurre.
French-inspired tunes kissed the airwaves, encouraging guests to spill onto the covered veranda that overlooked the infinity pool. There, they sampled the potions of 13 Celsius' Mike Sammons, who seduced with watermelon spritzers and the cocktail du jour, the Rose Lillet Spritz garnished with lemon, which was mixed with Simonnet-Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc Brut.
Adding to the fete were orchids courtesy of Houston Landscape and Plant Lease crowning almost every table, alongside nibbles by chef Olivier Ciesielski of L'Olivier Restaurant & Bar.
Food may have been the center of attention, but the cause was surely in plain view. Sculptures up for grabs through an auction enticed Meredith and Fielding Cocke and Linda Fair and Miles Redfield to claim two for their own collections.
Amid the 100 guests were Lynn Wyatt, Divya and Chris Brown, Peter Brown, Noël Bezette-Flores and Bill Flores, Judy Nyquist, Francoise Henry, Frederic Bontems, Sylvie Christophe, Marie-Laure Reed, Sharon Brier and Jessica Potts.
Poire Belle-Helene macarons.
