Am I too critical of the patisseries and the chefs behind them? No . . . but yes. When I started writing about all these goodies last year, I intentionally kept my name and image off the blog. I was always afraid I’d write something offensive and be called-out on it at one of the shops. Since I left Paris in July, I’ve obviously stuck my image and name right up front and have had the good fortune to be emailed, Facebook friended or otherwise contacted by a number of illustrious names in the luxe pastry world – from Paris and beyond. I’ve also found out that chefs I love, like Hugues Pouget and Claire Damon, have had my criticisms related to them. Yikes! And as invites to photograph patissiers across France and Europe have started to come in, I realize it would just be bad form to slap them in the face, after they so graciously open their doors. I have to stop being a ***** . . . most of the time

While I plan to tone down my criticism of those shops with “mixed” efforts, I still plan to mercilessly dig into the likes of Arnaud Larher and others. It’s no fun if I’m always pleasant, is it? And that brings me to Arnaud Delmontel. While he shares the same first name as my least favorite patissier, he also redeems it by offering-up work of a much higher caliber than Arnaud L. can ever seem to muster. With that said, let’s discuss his Framboisine.

Monsieur Delmontel’s site refers to this piece as a “classique”. Indeed, if only in flavor – not form. It’s quite the fresh, yet mild, blend of raspberry mousse, a raspberry “palet” (French for “puck”) and some light biscuit. The sweetness of the mousse has been kept to very sane levels, as well as the overall raspberry tones . . . at least until the center is reached, and the palet explodes with its brash deliciousness. As for the biscuit – it provided a nice textural foil, but it wasn’t particularly pronounced in flavor versus the various framboise elements. Oh, and the little golden orange blobs atop it all – I could not quite make them out, but I believe they were mango. Nice to see something so small and subtle still be flavored – a Marletti’esque touch, if ever there was one.

Per my opening to this review, I’m taking a new path in my critiques, so regular readers will just have to imagine what else I might have thought of the overall piece. Just read my ********* mind.

I’m very interested to sample more of Monsieur Delmontel’s work, as I only got the chance to have perhaps half his pieces. My penchant for visiting him on Tuesdays, his random day to be closed, hindered a deeper involvement with his patisseries. Just imagine me slogging up the hills of the general Montmartre area, looking forward to getting some of his goodies, and then realizing the lights were out. Why Tuesdays?!

Extra cool will be getting to sample his breads – for which he’s even more famous. In fact, he won baguette of the year in 2007. A year before, in 2006, he was named best patisserie by Guide Pudlo. Aside from Des Gateaux et du Pain, his might be the only shop as recognized for its bread as its pastries – yet Des Gateaux has a chef for each, while Monsieur Delmontel is a one man operation. Not to downplay how awesome Des Gateuax is at all . . . because I do still love their work.

So, yes, if you’re looking for a nice raspberry treat in a decidedly vibrant coat, this is a solid purchase. His equally colorful Mara des Bois is also a nice little strawberry snack. But, again, I’ll soon be sampling a much wider range of his creations – so I’m sure to have plenty more recommendations for you.

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