Arnaud Larher :: Paradis
By Paris Patisseries in Arnaud Larher
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Arnaud Larher’s shop is set in an aesthetic wonderland. Tucked away from the throngs of tourists in a neighborhood north of Sacré Couer, you just marvel at the sun dancing through the leaves of the enormous trees that line the streets, the bounty of steep neverending staircases, and quiet cafes you always envision dappled about Paris. Topping it off is when you actually reach Larher’s shop. The pastries are all on display in the window, complete with little nametags and enticing descriptions. Almost every one of them is picture perfect or perfectly wild in its design. The first time I stopped by, it was tough to whittle-down my options, but there wasn’t even a second thought about taking the Paradis home. Neverminding the questionable design philosophy employed, it just pops. And when you eat it . . .
It also bombs. Lifeless might be the best descriptor. In my original notes from that day, I have, “This pastry was indeed ‘paradis’, if paradise is a rubbery strip of cherry* goo on top of a bland marshmallow**.” And that strip of goo might not even be cherry – it could be strawberry, raspberry, banana, eggplant, salmon, etc.. Why can’t I tell you? Because it basically tasted like nothing. I could forgive the absence of flavor in the marshmallow as an exercise in achieving perfect texture, but that then must play against flavors, whether subtle or pronounced, in the rest of the piece. At least there was that glowing red cube flecked with gold leaf . . . the one saving grace for flavor. Just kidding; it was dead, too. Why on earth is any garnish flavorless, much less one that large and deliberate? And what are you thinking when you cover something so boring in gold leaf? It seems the focus is more on creating a “food sculpture” someone would want to buy than it is on crafting an excellent patisserie.
There was actually some good flavor in the sablé base and rose macaron atop the pastry. Granted, the macaron was way too dense, but who cares . . . at least it tasted like something. It was after I ate it that it also struck me how random the garnish design was. Aside from the fact that a 4-year-old could tell you they’re all generally in the “red group”, what do a raspberry, a pink rose macaron, and a flavorless red gelatinized cube have in common? Nothing. Oh, I forgot, there’s the gold leaf . . . now it makes perfect sense.
It actually upsets me that some people come to Paris and wind up with this as the only, or one of the only, pastries they experience. Then they return to Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, America, or wherever they’re from, and walk around for years going, “What’s the big deal about French pastry?” They never know they simply got gypped by an inept pastry chef. Punishment for arrogantly peddling this waste under the name Paradis should be for Larher to instead sell it for a week as the Enfer***, before he retires it from the pastry case forever.
*The Arnaud Larher Spring/Summer catalog claims it is raspberry with balsamic vinegar from Modena.
**The Arnaud Larher Spring/Summer catalog claims it is an almond panna cotta mousse. While they share some ingredients, there is a very real difference between marshmallow and panna cotta; this was a marshmallow.
***Enfer (noun) m – Hell. antonym: paradise
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