Hot Chef in Paris

Meet Michael D. Poole - Paris-trained Artisan Chocolatier &

Owner of Hot Chocolate, Artisan Firehouse Chocolates.

Cooking and culinary classes are all the rage in Paris these days. But for serious chefs, Paris has been the ultimate kitchen for centuries. 

Did you know that Sally Hemings' brother, James, trained and became chef de cuisine in Paris? He was part of Thomas Jefferson's entourage and his fine culinary skills guaranteed that when diplomat Jefferson returned to Monticello, the family would continue eating in the style they had become accustomed to à la française.

 

I'd like to introduce you another African-American chef who is putting his Cordon Bleu training to delicious use. 

Credit: Tom Reeves

I met Michael D. Poole in 2008 in Paris. He was sharing out a box of chocolates. Not just your run-of-the-mill gourmet delectables. These were imprinted with colorful, fantastic designs as I'd never seen. Based in Seattle, today Michael continues to make his annual trip to the City of Lights to perfect his creative repertoire. This year's goal was to work on the French macaron.

What sparked your interest in becoming a chef?

Becoming a cook at the firehouse was the beginning of my passion for cooking. I was 21 years old and it was early in my fire department career. I started off as the firehouse cook. I was assigned to a busy downtown fire station in Seattle. I was cooking for twelve hungry firefighters who liked good food and lots of it. During that time I became very passionate about my food and cooking.

Was there a turning point or key event that propelled you to undertake this professionally?

I started a food concession business, selling Jamaican cuisine at street fairs and festivals in Seattle and California. I catered lunches for fashion photo shoots which deepened my desire to one day attend a culinary school. On the photo shoots, the crew — the models, photographers, and art directors — would eat out at fine restaurants all the time. 

They were always talking about food, where they were going for dinner, restaurants they had already visited, and how the food compared at the various places they had dined. Therefore, I wanted my food not only to be delicious, but also to be as memorable as some of the dishes that they had at the fine restaurants where they dined.

What role does Paris play in your career?

Paris has been a big part of my life and who I am as a chef! Every year I go to Paris, I learn something new, and improve on my culinary skills.

How many times have you been to Paris or France on 'chef business'?

I have been going to Paris for the last thirteen years   

What did you gain from each trip?

Between 2000-2003, I attended Le Cordon Bleu, taking one class every year.  I originally went  for Cuisine, cooking for my catering. While there, I discovered I had an interest in pastry. Once I went back the second year I learned how to make chocolates. (When I added) those to my catering, people were amazed and persistently told me I needed to box them and sell them.

 I graduated in 2003 with le grand diplome for cuisine and pastry. I was also class valedictorian.

I would bring back one or two really good recipes to add to my catering repertoire. Over the years, I have accumulated a nice French recipe book.

Credit: Sally Blake

Any downsides?

Let me think about this. Coming to Paris every year and do something I love…. NO! 

  

What's the most surprising thing you've learned?

I found my passion. My passion for making Chocolates.

 

What was the goal of this trip? Any a-ha moments?

The goal of this trip was to work on my French Macaron. My goal is to make Seattle’s best macarons!! The a-ha moment was when I learned that I needed to change my techniques for macaroons!

 

Can your fans expect any changes or new in what you'll be offering?

I will be working on a few new chocolate flavors. This will be my Paris 2013 inspired chocolates, as well as developing new flavors for my macaroons.

Where and how can people sample your creations?

I have an online store. Six retail outlets in Seattle carry my chocolates. 

I just participated in the Northwest Chocolate Festival at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.

I will be at the L.A. Chocolate Salon October 6^th, 2013, at the Pasadena Center. http://www.LAChocolateSalon.com

Future events include chocolate-making classes, corporate and Christmas gifts, and attending the New York Salon du Chocolat.

Mmmmm...

 

My Top 30 Books on Black Paris & Beyond

A section of my bookcase. 

The largest private collection of books on the African American experience in France I ever saw was on the shelves upon shelves at the home of the late Professor Michel Fabre.
Bookish people like me tend to be a little particular about lending out their precious books but Professor Fabre opened the door and said 'Have a look around. Then, find anything?" I found the stories that I tell on the tours today.

And, in the spirit of those who dedicate their time and passions to teaching or learning about the Black experience, I'd like to share a few of my books with you. Go ahead, pick one or two and prepare yourself for a trip through exceptional lives and experiences.

I've added a few on this list about Paris and France, too, because one theme is a rich source for the other.

  Books We Use on the Tour

Deep Are The Roots - Memoirs of a Black Expatriate
Gordon Heath
Actor in New York and London, turned folk club nightclub owner of Cabaret de l'Abbaye from 1948 in Saint-Germain-des-Pres amid the rage of jazz clubs.

Henry Ossawa Tanner - A Spiritual Journey
Marcus C. Bruce
In the Lives and Legacies series by Crossroads Publishing Company.

Tanner’s story is one where you cheer on the little guy who wields a huge amounts of talent.

He was more than an inspired painter - dedicated husband, proud father, mentor, community leader, Red Cross worker.

La reine des pommes
Chester Himes
The 50th anniversary of the Serie Noire by Gallimard.
The novel that opened the doors to the France kingdom for Chester Himes. Turned into the movie 'A Rage In Harlem'.

Black Boy - the restored text established by the Library of America, 1993 edition
Richard Wright
Signed by Wright's daughter, Julia Wright.
I love the way every couple of years the cover of this timeless novel changes, in a style that attracts new readers all over again
 
 
Why I Left America and Other Essays
Oliver W. Harrington. Introduction by M. Thomas Inge.
A close friend of Richard Wright and well-known Pittsburgh cartoonist, Harrington gives indepth perspective on his exile in Europe, his homeland, and the culture he was trying to outrun. I use readings from this in my presentations.

Three Lives
Gertrude Stein
This was Stein's first published book, and one of the three lives is that of Melanctha, a worldly-wise and sensitive Black girl. When Richard Wright read this story, he said he could hear his grandmother's voice in the character, and he struck up a lifelong friendship with Stein.
 
From Harlem to Paris - Black American Writers in France, 1840-1980
Michel Fabre
My bible.

A Street Guide to African Americans in Paris
Michel Fabre
Bible #2

Notes of a Native Son, 1984 edition.

James Baldwin

Baldwin’s first nonfiction book. To get inside Baldwin’s mind via these searing essays is an unforgettable trip. Includes life in Harlem, protest novels and his first, turbulent insights on living in Paris.

 
For Ongoing Research and Enlightenment

Negrophilia - Avant-Garde Paris and Black Culture in the 1920s
Petrine Archer-Straw
 Explores the ambiguities and racial complexities of the 1920s Paris through every artistic and cultural expression possible. Absolutely fascinating.

The ABC of Color
W.E.B. DuBois. Introduction by John Oliver Killens
Sixty years of brilliant insights from this social scientist, historian and pioneer in black liberation. While trying to find myself in the European culture during my first years in Paris, this book got me reflecting on what it meant to be black.

Black Paris - The African Writers' Landscape
Bennetta Jules-Rosette, Forward by Simon Njami
This professor of sociology at U. California at San Diego explores African writing and identity in France from early negritude, founding of the Presence Africaine publishing house to the mid-1990s.

Black France / France Noire - The History and Politics of Blackness
Trica Danielle Keaton, T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting, Tyler Stovall, Editors.
In a country that doesn't recognize race as a meaningful category, how to understand and explain the realities of race and racism in this supposedly race-blind society. Brilliant essays that address some deeply challenging questions on how prejudice manifests itself. You don't get a better picture than through these three experts.


The Harlem Renaissance - Hub of African American Culture, 1920-1930.
Steven Watson.
Amazing achival photos and page-turning storytelling. This book helped me gain foundation and bridge between the Harlem Renaissance and the brilliance that continued in Roaring Twenties Paris.

Talking at the Gates - A Life of James Baldwin
James Baldwin
Say it again, James.
 

Paris Then and Now

Writers in Paris - Literary Lives in the City of Light
David Burke
Love the way David tells a story - Includes Wright, Baldwin, Alexandre Dumas
www.writersinparis.com
 

Le Paris des Etrangers, (The Paris of Foreigners)
Edited by Andre Kaspi and Antoine Mares
Paris as a refuge for the self-exiled, poets, writers, photographers, musicians, architects, sculptors, as well as students, workers, the persecuted and dilettantes  from all nationalities... Interesting reflection on how French attitudes were changing.

De l'indigene à l'immigre  (From Native to Immigrant)
Pascale Blanchard, Nicolas Bancel
In the series Decouvertes Gallimard
The French colonial model ‘bringing their colonies gently into the light of civilization’, as the authors put it. From colonialization to immigration to integration of France's colonies. Excellent archival images of advertising depicting Black, Arabic and South East Asian stereotypes.

Les Juifs à Paris a la Belle Epoque
Beatrice Philippe
Because I also have a keen interest in Jewish culture. 

Gourmet Paris - an A to Z of the best dishes - Restaurant guide
Emmanuel Rubin
More than just a handy guide, it describes the traditional French dishes and gives historical context to the dishes. Mini history of France by mouth.

Guide to Impressionist Paris
Patty Lurie
A brilliant then-and-now guide book of street scenes as painted by Degas, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh et al juxtaposed with photographs of the exact same location today. Because Paris is always a dance between the past and the present.

Chic et jolie à petits prix a Paris - the best addresses for fashion and beauty for smart Parisians.
Charlotte Roudaut, from the series Les Guides qui changent la ville.
I'm not much of a shopper and this little guide book makes it easy for me to cut through the shash.

The Road from the Past - Traveling through History in France
Ina Caro
More than just facts, an opinionated guide that takes history buffs like me right into the heart of Provence, Loire Valley and all point in between. How can you live in this country and not succomb to the pull of history.

Boris Vian - Manuel de Saint-Germain-des-Pres

Boris Vian (aka The White Negro)

Vian was the pope of post WWII Saint-Germain-des-Pres, he opened jazz clubs where the best musicians (Miles, Sidney, Bud P…) came to play but he was also a fabulous, irreverent raconteur of his favorite neighborhood. This edition includes a booklet of photos plus a CD. This, plus Alain Souchon’s “Rive Gauche à Paris” brings back the best days of this part of the  6^th arrondissement.

L'Afrique de la colonisation a l'independance
Anne Stamm, from the series Que sais-je?
My primer on African colonization to Independence.
 

Paris Put a Pen in their Hands

(click on the book title for link)

The Ghosts of Saint Michel

Jake Lamar

Is it possible that we have a reincarnation of Richard Wright and Chester Himes in our midst? Mais, oui! From Jake's first - the autobiographical 'Bourgeois Blues' to political thrillers to Paris based who mystery-thrillers, Jake is the master.

Tanner Blue - a novel
Valerie Haynes Perry
A story born on the Left Bank of the Seine when the author learned that the French named a color after Henry Ossawa Tanner. Valerie penned this after taking our tours.

Project Girl
Janet McDonald
A powerful account of a young girl from the Projects struggle to realize her dreams. Janet, a lawyer turned successful author, who realized her dream of living in Paris and becoming a writer. A segment of her divided life and battle to reconcile opposing worlds.

Passing Love - a novel
Jacqueline E. Luckett
This romantic yet realistic novel shifts between Paris of today lived by a young questing woman and the jazzy expat city of the 1950s.

Half-Blood Blues
Esi Edugyan
Written by an Afro-Canadian, this award-winning novel of WWII jazz era Paris and Nazi Germany stands out with its musical diction - it reads like a jazz piece.
 

Annandale Blues
Guy Ducornet
The memoir of a young French jazz lover whose encounter with Ralph Ellison changed his life. He wrote this book after meeting me on a flight from Paris and I told him the significance of his living on Rue Fontaine, formerly the heart of 1920s Black Paris.

My French Life#2: clothing blues, hippest park, bar hopping

THIS IS MY FRANCE

 Ma vie à la Française

#2
Voila! New compelling & entertaining posts from our France-based African American, American and African-French contributors. Welcome to their world. This week: clothing dilemma,  the hippest, funnest (!) park in Paris, bar hopping.

You'll find each full bio at the end of this post.



   
Luna Vincent White  - Student

What To Wear

I quickly realized that my light load of clothing here would not be enough.   My backpack broke, and I don’t have a travel bag.  All of these things have lead me into many boutiques (primarily in the Marais).  I have to say; I have been either under or over whelmed.  In L.A., I have lived there for so long, and the sun is always shining; I know my favorite stores, and am always down to go to them.  Here I don’t know where to look, and there is so much!

But along with the fear of shopping in Paris (hah!) I have come to understand how important each choice is.  Everything semi-decent quality is pretty expensive (unless I am visiting a flea market) so I want classic items, which I will get a lot of wear out of (practical and long lasting).  Having said this, practicality is something different in Paris than it is in LA. There is a much stronger need for versatility.

I walk outside to what seems like a sunny day then in two minutes it is bitterly cold and pouring.  But five minutes into the rain it brightens up.  This kind of weather sums up my experience in Paris thus far, and also explains some of the difficulty in finding items.  

This city for me is named, “Be Ready”.  Every corner I turn is something different!  The weird cheap-y crap-selling stalls across from the Louvre turn into really expensive clothing and décor stores in the blink of an eye.  The metro is hot as hell, but the air outside is so biting.  I freeze and melt, freeze and melt, freeze and melt daily.  A city of extremes, of quick reactions, of confusing necessities for preparedness, and I am standing in front of what seems like boutique 1,000 not being able to face it all.  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BUY A DANG JACKET?

I want something that will keep me warm in Paris’ coldest temperatures, but that will be comfortable during the fall cools as well, or that won’t be difficult to peel off on the metro, that won’t smell weird when it rains.  I just want something that can adapt.

In truth, I want to adapt.  I want that jacket but I also want that me.  Paris requires a versatility that I thought I had.  I want to look nice in all occasion as the Parisians do, even though the occasion can change up to 6 times a day!  This city is beautiful and very busy; strangely, I think I will always equate it with my sweat drying too fast in the cold air when I step out of the metro.

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                                        

 Epee Hervé Dingong – Journalist  

Parc de la Villette 

When it’s time to have fun or thinking about relaxing, Parc de la Villette in the 19^th district of Paris is sometimes one of the best places. Summer or winter, you can see exhibits, shows, concerts of national and international artists of different genre of music. Zenith, Cabaret Sauvage or Trabendo are the popular places for parties and shows.

People love to hang in the park. It’s also a perfect place for kids who can play around. It’s at the same time a family place. A friend of mine from New York with her son visited the park for the first time in September. They loved the place and especially her son who played, danced and smiled for hours.

 
I found in La Villette “Le Café de la Musique”, it was a quiet place where I can brainstorm and work on my writing. As there are many activities and many spots around, I went there to see famous singers perform. I remember years ago when I saw the first Kanye West show in Paris at Trabendo or Wu Tang Clan at the Zenith. It’s a great place for inspiration.

Click for more info

This is the Dragon Slide - your kids will love it!

This angle of La Villette is a teaser - so much more to enjoy.

A music program like you'll find nowhere else.

              

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                                 

Anna-Karina Caudevilla, Associate of The Shackles of Memory                   


 
From Bar to Bar
     
   

Festival “Bar-Bars” was celebrated on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of November.  A wonderful festival made up of bars and cafés all over France (Nantes having the most members/participants) supporting live music and other arts in small venues.  For three days there are shows of all kinds everywhere.  The vibe is great, everyone goes out on the town and the city is alive all over.  Because Nantes is a relatively small city, checking out several gigs in one night is easy.  There is something very homey about this festival.  

Out of the hundreds of choices available, my girlfriends and I opted for a night of “Queen” revival – the singer/pianist imbued with the Freddy Mercury spirit right down to the outfits.  Such a liberating evening of singing along and dancing!  As a matter of fact, every time I have gone out during this festival, I always have a serious dance moment.  Perhaps it's due to the fact that there are no pretensions behind this festival.  Simple yet real.     

http://bar-bars.com/

  

  ------------------

BIO  

Luna Vincent White was born in Chicago and when she was eight she moved to Los Angeles so that her mom could pursue her dreams of writing for television.

  

 Luna goes to the University of Southern California, studying a combination of history and sociology to look at racism (hopefully) with a minor in cinematic arts as well as French. She is also studying film because eventually she wants to become a director, whose films encourage empathy and cultural understanding.

    Luna has always loved traveling, and because she moved so much through out her life, she has grown used to the feeling of changing locations a lot. She was so excited to travel to Paris and has taken French since high school. Her hope is to become fluent and perhaps understand a bit of how racial prejudice and xenophobia play a part in Parisian life.

Epée Hervé Dingong is a freelance writer from Paris, of Cameroonian origin. He graduated from the prestigious C.F.P.J.journalism school in Paris.     During his time as a staff writer and freelancer he interviewed a lot of Hip Hop and R&B artists from US, France, Holland, UK and Germany.

     His work appeared in different print publications such as Radikal magazine, Tracklist, The Source France, Musique Info Hebdo, Lady Caprice magazine, Juice Magazine,  to name a few. He has collaborated with American print magazines and online publications such as The Source magazine, The Ave Magazine, Mugshot Magazine, www.daveyd.com, www.euromight.com and www.thestarklife.com. He writes about music, politics and social issues.

Anna-Karina Caudevilla is a native from Washington DC currently living in Nantes, France (north-west coast).  A long time traveler, insatiable  learner, Jane-of-all-trades and militant believer in living life creatively, she has set up roots in the United States, Spain and France.  

     Anna-Karina is currently finishing a Masters in Art and Cultural Management in Nantes which led her to discover The Shackles of Memory Association – Resource & Study Centre for the Study of the Slave Trade, for whom she is now an active member.

A Painting of Richard Wright Hangs in Normandy Town Hall

 Taking You Outside Black Paris

How do we keep alive the vitality and relevance of Richard Wright and his time in France - outside the classroom? We follow his footsteps back to where he wrote, we meet the people he enjoyed, we walk the ground he did. Then we give back something to keep the flame alive.

In celebrating his birthday September 4 (1908), I’d like to share with you a trip that sought to do just that.  

In April 2012, I expanded the annual African Americans in Paris study trip of University of Lausanne to include Richard Wright's Normandy. The international students of Professor Agnieszka Soltysik had pored over Wright's work, now they could physically revisit the farmhouse grounds he once owned, and drink in the calm setting at the nearby writers colony where many of his haiku were penned. 

University of Lausanne students at the Town Hall of Ailly with our hosts on the left.

Our 1-day visit had several other goals. First, to present to the town hall of Ailly a painting that would remind all who passed there of the great American writer who lived among them in the late 1950s.  The painting, made by a young Paris-born artist, Shannon Figuereo, portrays Wright as well as an interpretation of his family’s home.    

Julia Browne presenting painting of Wright to Ailly Municipal Councillor Evelyne JUHEL

It was an emotional ceremony on all sides. Mme Juhel was very touched to receive our gift and promised the painting would be displayed in the new wing of the town hall under renovation. The town administration gave to us a beautiful book on the history of their town, along with a written presentation by its author, local historian Eric Portier. 

"You are welcomed and in fact we are proud to meet you, who came in a kind of literary pilgrimage. I hope that the visit will engrave in your heart the gratitude to that man who fought for a better respect of human beings."  Eric Portier

We, in turn, were really delighted by the unexpected reception they so kindly prepared for us. There was not a drop of the local cider nor a crumb of the regional sablé biscuits (butter biscuits)  left!   

Next, we visited the grounds of La Folie Muse, the farmhouse where Wright enjoyed playing ‘gentleman farmer’ with his family. It was wonderful to revisit this residence after having seen it first when working as a production assistant on Madison Lacy’s PBS documentary Black Boy in 1993. 

At Wright's farmhouse - our guide and  Mr. Hesloin (r) who knew Wright.

Back on the bus, we followed Wright’s next move -  about 15 minutes down the road to the Moulin D’Andé. At the time, this 12th century mill turned artists retreat allowed writers, artists and musicians to develop their craft in a bucolic, friendly atmosphere. Today, the cultural centre still carries that mission. And it is still run by the woman who invited Richard Wright after the Sorbonne’s 1956 Negro Writers Conference. 

Moulin d'Andé Cultural Centre

After a sumptuous buffet lunch, the students, professors and I hung onto every word of Maurice Pons, a French writer also residing at the Moulin d’Andé and friend of Wright. Oh, the stories he told, the pictures he showed!

Author Maurice Pons opening the Moulin d'Andé Book of Memories

Wright relaxing at the Moulin d'Andé

View from a writers cottage

Put This On Your Itinerary

Ailly lies about an hour east of Paris. It's a community of 1052 souls - about the same number at Richard Wright's time. The Aillytiens, as they're called, take great effort to maintain their 'home sweet home' feel of old time French country living. But visitors are warmly welcome! There's even a soft spot for Americans. On the 24th August 1944, American troops liberated the village, as they did many others in Normandy.

A trip down Richard Wright's lane can be arranged for individual travelers and for groups. And, if you've got a novel you'd love to write in this peace and calm, or a musical score to finish, it doesn't get much more idyllic than here (and the food's great).