David Lebovitz podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

When Phil Rosenthal, star of Somebody Feed Phil, comes to town, we did what we do best: Eat.

Phil was in Paris recently on tour celebrating his book, Somebody Feed Phil, the companion to his Netflix series. The cookbook is a compilation of the most requested recipes from the show, which has become wildly popular, and we had a lot of fun catching up since we first met in Paris, back in 2014, when it all began for him.

We dined well in a few great restaurants in Paris, but took a break from the savory side to enjoy some classic French pastries (from Maison Landemaine), which included Chouquettes and a Croissant aux amandes* (above), the latter of which I call the “slippery slope” of French pastries, because once you start eating one, you can’t stop. This particular one also had chocolate in it, which made it extra irresistible. (While we were recording, Phil liked it so much, he almost ate the whole thing himself!)

We also shared a classic Chocolate éclair as well as one of the lesser-known French pastries (outside of France, that is): Flan Parisien. Check out our chat, and our tasting of these sublime French pastries.

Enjoy the podcast!

-David

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*There’s a recipe for making these in my book, L’Appart.

For my first podcast, I am thrilled to sit down with baker Renato Poliafito, owner of Ciao, Gloria in Brooklyn, New York.

I first met Renato when he was the co-owner and co-founder of Baked, and now he has his own delicious venue, with pastries and baked goods that reflect his Italian and Italian-American heritage, which include everything from breakfast sandwiches with eggs, crisp prosciutto and Calabrian aïoli on housemade brioche buns (they’re so good!), to Tricolor Bars (aka: Rainbow cookies), Bombolini, Amaretti, Coffee-Coffee Cake, Chocolate & Nutella-filled coissants, as well as the best-ever, deep-dark Cocoa Chip Brownies.

Ciao, Gloria is a must-stop in Brooklyn and we had a great time tasting his treats!

Buon appetito!

Ciao, Gloria550 Vanderbilt AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11238

Follow Ciao, Gloria and Renato Poliafito on Instagram

I hope you enjoy my first podcast - if there are any guests you’d like me to have on in the future, let me know in the comments!

Since 2015, Lauren Collins, staff writer for the New Yorker, has called Paris home. The author of When in French: Love in a Second Language, Lauren moved from Switzerland to France with her French husband and continues to write for the New Yorker, following in their tradition (which includes writers such as A. J. Liebling, Anthony Bourdain, Calvin Trillin, John McPhee, and Adam Gopnick) of outstanding food writing and reporting on food-related topics.

Her articles have ranged from subjects such as the controversial French tacos, spelled with an “s,” even though it’s just one; Les Grands Buffets, the all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant that’s the hardest reservation in France (in my experience trying, it’s the hardest in the world); and the elusive El Mordjene Algerian hazelnut spread, a cult favorite that’s nicknamed “beige gold,” which was banned in France.

Lauren has also written on the wonders of Japan’s fake foods, as well as “Where should I go?” a service that provides Americans and other visitors with “insider” French experiences, such as fulfilling the request of a client who wanted to be invited to a party in a French person’s home.

Recently Lauren reviewed the just-published memoir of former Président Nicolas Sarkozy’s brief time in prison, titled How Nicolas Sarkozy Survived Twenty Days Behind Bars, a book that received a mixed reception in France. In her newsletter Lettre Recommandée, she titled her story The Rush Job Memoir That’s Topping the French Charts. Oh, and she got to meet Omar Sy!

In the podcast, we discuss how these stories came to be, as well as how things have changed in France since Lauren’s moved here, and what it’s like being a journalist in France. As I do with Paris-based guests on my podcast, I asked Lauren to share some of her favorite addresses in the city for dining, which she was happy to do.

Lauren’s recommendations are Le Récamier, Le Soufflé, Chez Carrie, Enni Udon, Magnolia, La Joie, and Rosario, as well as Finkstuebel in Strasbourg. In the podcast, she explains why they are her favorites.

Enjoy listening in!

-David

* Follow Lauren Collins on Instagram

* Subscribe to Lauren’s newsletter, Lettre Recommandée

* Read Lauren’s articles in The New Yorker

One of my favorite parts about writing my chocolate book was getting to explore, and share, the world of chocolate. Chocolate is a pretty wonderful ingredient all by itself. But I wanted to feature friends in the chocolate world, so I culled recipes from bakers, pastry chefs, chocolatiers, cookbook authors, and even bartenders for the book.

For the revision of The Great Book of Chocolate, I completely rewrote the book (since so much has changed!) and wanted to include a chocolate marshmallow recipe. So I thought about Amanda Bankert of Boneshaker donuts in Paris, who taught me how to make vegan marshmallows, which were game-changers since many people have asked me about substitutions for the gelatin and egg whites that are normally used in marshmallow recipes.

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Amanda is one of the most fun people I know, and is also a graduate of the prestigious Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. So when revising The Great Book of Chocolate, I thought, “Why not veganize chocolate marshmallows?”

With the book coming out in less than a month, I then thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to have Amanda come over and make them with me in my kitchen?”

So we made a video of us preparing them together. We had such a good time whipping them up, and it’s great that anyone - vegan or not - can enjoy these delicious marshmallows. And next time you’re in Paris, stop by Boneshaker for a donut and a cup of coffee. Like Amanda, her shop is one of the most fun things in Paris. And if you see her behind the counter, say hi for me, and enjoy the video!

A few helpful tips to read before making the recipe:

* Be sure to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot while the syrup is cooking to scrape up any agar-agar that’s sticking to the pan.

* The better (and darker) the cocoa powder, the tastier the marshmallows will be. I like Valrhona cocoa powder and Guittard cocoa rouge. King Arthur sells a double dark cocoa blend that I haven’t tried, but any Dutch-process cocoa powder will do. Hershey’s Special Dark is a sleeper in this category, and affordable.

* You may have to do a bit of shopping to get the xanthan gum and agar-agar, a natural gelatin substitute, which, interestingly, is sold in French grocery stores. Natural food stores or online shops are good places to look where you live. In Paris, G. Detou sells them, as well as cream of tartar. The good thing is, you’ll have them on hand for next time : )

* Aquafaba is the chickpea cooking liquid found in canned chickpeas, not jarred, nor is it the liquid from dried chickpeas that you cook at home. (Interestingly, aquafaba was “discovered” by a French opera singer.) In the U.S., generally one 15-ounce/425g can yields 3/4 cup (180ml) liquid, but you may want to get an extra can just to be sure. (You can use the chickpeas to make my really good hummus.)

* It’s nice to have a helper in the kitchen to steady the bowl while you fold in the cocoa powder, as I did with Amanda. If you’re by yourself, resting the mixing bowl on a silicone baking mat will help keep the bowl in place.

* And don’t forget to pre-order The Great Book of Chocolate - it’s out May 5th and you’ll be the first to get a copy!

When I told Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen that I was doing a complete revision of The Great Book of Chocolate, which included adding new recipes, she insisted that I include her Chocolate-Olive Oil Spread. For those who follow Deb know that when she says something is delicious and worth making, you not only listen, but in my case, you spread the word. No pun intended.

As luck would have it, Deb was recently in Paris so I invited her into my kitchen to make her Chocolate-Olive Oil Spread. As you can see in the video, not only is the recipe fun to make, but its very easy as well. And unlike store-bought spreads, you know exactly what’s in it. The only thing that’s a bit tricky is to get it to just the right consistency for spreading. But if I can do it, so can you.

Deb finishes the dark chocolate spread by leaving it on the counter at room temperature for a few hours, whereas in The Great Book of Chocolate, I’m a bit more impatient so I place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the right consistency, then transfer it to a jar. Because it has no dairy, it can be stored at room temperature.

After you make this spread, if you find that it’s too firm, a few seconds in the microwave will soften it just enough to make it spreadable. If you don’t have a microwave, you can warm the jar in a small saucepan of warm water. The temperature of your room can be a factor, and I did find that using a high-percentage chocolate — one that’s 70% or more cacao solids — will firm up more solidly than one that’s 50-55% cacao solids, which is what we used in the video.

[Thanks to Irene Wong for shooting the video, Michael Sellers for editing.]

As someone who is passionate about cookbooks, I’m always up for talking about them with other cookbook collectors. I know there are lots of cookbook collectors out there, but one who really stands out is Jenna Helwig, who writes the Cookbookery Collective newsletter, which she describes as:

…a hub for the cookbook community—authors, eaters, cooks, editors, publicists, publishers, agents, and aspiring authors alike. It’s a place to celebrate all cookbooks, new and old, blockbuster and under-the-radar. It’s a place to hear from your favorite authors and talk amongst ourselves in the comments section. It’s a place where everyone is welcome, whether you have just a handful of beloved books or a collection in the hundreds.

I couldn’t have said it better, except to add what a wonderful resource Jenna, and her newsletter, have become to the cookbook community, which features interviews with cookbook authors, including me…

…plus seasonal round-ups of the latest cookbooks to hit the shelves, previews of cookbooks that are about to be released, as well as recipes from her favorite cookbooks.

Not only does Jenna write a newsletter, she’s also the food director at Real Simple magazine, the author of five cookbooks, and runs a personal chef business. Whew!

In addition to her other activities, Jenna is now a novelist, having penned her first novel, coming out this Fall, The Foreign Correspondent’s Wife, a mystery set in Paris.

I was thrilled to get a chance to sit down for this podcast episode with Jenna to talk about our favorite subject: Cookbooks! We talked about everything, from what makes a good cookbook (and what drives her crazy in a cookbook) to how she decides which cookbooks that cross her desk she holds on to, and which ones she lets go. We also discussed what she thinks of influencer cookbooks, and talked about one of the big questions of our time - how will AI affect cookbooks, and will it (or can it) replace them.

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I hope you enjoy my chat with Jenna as much as I did…and let us know in the comments what are some of your favorite cookbooks, and why.

- David

* Follow Cookbookery Collective and Jenna Helwig on Instagram

* Visit Jenna Helwig’s website

* Subscribe to the Cookbookery Collective newsletter

It’s no secret that one of my favorite places in Paris is G. Detou. In fact, I depend on it so much, for everything from chocolate to vanilla—and lots, lots more. I’ve been quoted as saying that if G. Detou didn’t exist, I couldn’t live in Paris. It’s got everything I need.

Owner Benoît Bourloton is a busy man, spending his days keeping the shop well-stocked with a wide variety of French chocolates, as well as other delicacies. Since we’ve become friends (and what a friend to have!), I asked Benoît if I could stop by and discuss French chocolates, and he gladly invited me into the shop to talk about some of them.

I hope you enjoy the video!

-David

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I’ve known Lindsey Tramuta almost as long as I’ve been in Paris. We live in the same arrondissement (go 11th!) and I occasionally see her out and about, when she’s not busy writing books, or magazines and newspaper articles, which are featured in such publications as The New York Times, Bon Appétit, and Condé Nast Traveler.

I arrived in Paris quite unprepared, not speaking French not knowing what to expect. Lindsey moved to France the opposite way (and in my opinion, the right way), with a background in French literature, studying in France, and having a boyfriend, who is now her husband. Even so, the move still presented some challenges.

I thought it would be fun to talk to Lindsey about her journey—what motivated her to make the move (and how she answers the eternal question from visitors: Is it permanent?), what she loves about the city and living in France, as well as some of the downsides of living one’s life abroad.

In Lindsey’s first book, The New Paris, she chronicled the last decade in Paris, during while time the city’s food scene had lost some of its some of its luster, and showcased a new generation of young, engaged Parisians who changed the landscape, rebooting Paris’ reputation as a thriving, world-class gastronomic destination, that continues to evolve.

In The New Parisienne, Lindsey tackles the perception of the Parisian woman, profiling pastry chefs, creators, artists, activists, and even the mayor of city, who have changed the image of the French woman (rather than adhering to the stereotype), and who continue to shape the city today.

Lindsey also just finished The Eater Guide to Paris, focusing on the bistros, wine bars, pastry shops, cafés, and cocktail bars in the city, which will be released in the spring of 2025. In addition to writing books and articles, Lindsey is the host of her own podcast, The New Paris podcast, and writes the newsletter, The New Paris Dispatch.

We had a great time talking about our lives in Paris, including what’s changed in the city since we arrived, if Paris really is a good place to live, what are some of the difficulties of living here (#paperwork), what are some of the cultural differences one must navigate, our thoughts on the French healthcare system, and why we’ve both ultimately chose to call Paris our home.

I hope you enjoy our chat!

-David

Lindsey Tramuta

* Lindsey’s website: Lindseytramuta.com

* Instagram

* The New Paris Podcast

* Lindsey’s Books

* Paris Tours (customized Paris tours)

* Subscribe and read The New Paris Dispatch newsletter

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A few years ago, I visited several Pineau des Charentes producers in a region of France known as the Charente, where Cognac is made. Legend has it that it was originally made by accident when a Cognac producer centuries ago added fresh grape to a barrel of eau-de-vie (a clear distillation of grapes), intended to be aged for Cognac. He let it rest, and age, anyways, and thus, Pineau des Charentes was made.

Nowadays Pineau des Charentes comes in white, red, and rosé varieties, with the rosé version aging the shortest, to some of the reds and whites being aged a decade or more, although most Pineau des Charentes is aged for about 12-18 months before it’s bottled.

It’s one of my favorite French apéritifs, which I wrote about in my book Drinking French. During my travels for the book, doing research, and diving deeper into the world of French spirits, I was fortunate to meet various producers, and it was gratifying to see what care they took

Amy married into a Cognac-making family and I met her on a visit to the region when I was visiting

I sort of made a gaffe when I was in the region prior to visiting Amy and her husband Jean, by slipping a cube of ice into my glass of Pineau des Charentes, which shocked a few of the people around me. Amy later showed me an ad from years ago that said “Osez!” (“Dare!”) and pictured a glass of Pineau des Charentes with ice is in.

Nowadays, they’re upping the “cool” factor of Pineau des Charentes by showing bartenders putting ice into Pineau des Charentes, which is a great way to enjoy it, but well-chilled, without glaçons is good fine, too.

I love Pineau des Charentes and am particularly fond of the apéritif made by Jean-Luc Pasquet, which has a unique freshness that makes it brighter than other Pineaus, and their apéritif infused with raspberries from their garden, is wonderful sipped in the summer, with or without ice. Although I always put a cube or two in mine : )

They are also making a rosé Pineau des Charentes which is giving other rosé-based French apéritifs a run for their money.

Amy was recently elected to be the president of the Comité National du Pineau des Charentes

We talked about what is Pineau des Charentes, how it relates to the Cognac-making region of France, how to drink it, and what makes it so special. While not as well-known as other French apéritifs (98% of the Cognac production is exported from France, whereas only 20% of the Pineau des Charentes is exported) and we agree that it deserves to be better-known.

I hope you enjoy my chat wtih Amy about this uniquely French apéritif!

-David

You can find Jean-Luc Pasquet Pineau des Charentes on Wine Searcher.

Follow Jean-Luc Pasquet on Instagram.

Visit the Jean-Luc Pasquet website.

Try this Fall-friendly Harvest Spritz Cocktail, made with Pineau des Charentes.

If anyone knows the cuisine of Nice, it’s Rosa Jackson, owner of Les Petits Farcis for over twenty years. Located in the sunny south of France, Niçoise cooking is known for its freshness and Mediterranean flavors, using ingredients that range from local olive oil and anchovies to vibrant vegetables, such as tomatoes, Swiss chard, and zucchini (and zucchini flowers), as well as fresh goat cheeses and fragrant basil.

Rosa is the author of Niçoise: Market-Inspired Cooking from France's Sunniest City, with recipes that’ll entice you: Pan bagnat sandwiches packed with fresh, crisp vegetables; soupe au pistou, a lively vegetable soup for summer swirled with basil pistou; caramelized orange cake; a foolproof lemon soufflé; and a lemon tart accented with olive oil.

During our chat in my kitchen in Paris, Rosa and I discussed the cuisine of the sunny city she lives in, including the controversies surrounding the salade Niçoise (and the, um…less-than-enthusiastic local reaction to the Larousse version) and how to make a proper Pan bagnat, a sandwich that’s so esteemed in the region that there are official guidelines about what can, and can’t, go into the sandwich.

Enjoy the chat!

- David

* Visit Rosa at her website Rosajackson.com

* Follow Rosa on Instagram

* Subscribe to Rosa Jackson’s newsletter

* Visit Rosa’s cooking school in Nice, Les Petits Farcis

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