CHEZ CHLOE

Chez Chloe Cafe says au revoir mais á bientôt.

Thanks again to all who consumed and enjoyed our short stay in Eastsound Square. It was a very meaningful year but just not quite the right time to expand and explore.
I'm looking forward to spending more time in the store and giving cooking classes. Oh and maybe a little more time for me and my own kitchen. And how about this blog!
Please come by the store and say hello.
Thank you!
Wendy

Hello from NYC

No, we haven't moved to NYC. And no Chez Chloé NYC isn't opening anytime soon...I'm here for the retail adventures of Chez Chloé- the New York International Gift Fair. I've been to shows in Paris that were exceptional but I'm excited about this one because it's new to me and it will be easier working with companies already represented in the US. Look for new merchandise in the store this spring!
Rolling in this afternoon with a sunny welcome, I headed to my hotel in the Chelsea district. I felt a bit estranged at first as it's quite a transition from Orcas Island to NYC. But after a brisk walk downtown the feeling was replaced with acceptance and inspiration. I may feel a little overwhelmed after 6 days but the purchase of my new red boots on winter clearance from Shooz, on 7th Ave will help me glide through the week on happy feet! I've only been to NYC a handful of times but I always enjoy the Village with it's quiet neighborhoods and small shops and cafes. I'm sure there are other great areas too but this part always attracts me. (I'm probably not the only one). Tonight I enjoyed eating (comfortably alone I might add) at Tartine at 153 W. 11th......

Happy New Year and Thanks

I just wanted to give a Big Thank You to all our staff at Chez Chloé and our customers from 2007. It was a great year. We served about 10,000 meals from our cafe! The retail store continues to be a pleasure and a lot of fun and we've enjoyed seeing repeated visits from locals and island visitors.
We're looking forward to a great 2008!

Fresh start

So here I am again- going to make a fresh start and make a go of regular entries!
I'd like to share our first dinner at the café. Last Sat. night we hosted a fundraiser dinner that was a lot of fun!
It was a sit down for only 12 guests, making for a very intimate gathering with friends who helped serve.

Café is open

The café is open and already in our 2nd month. And yes this is why there have been no posts! Business is picking up and we are starting to feel some rhythm in the kitchen and in the front of the house. It's taken up all my time and then some. Loving to cook and owning a restaurant, as I was told more than once, are two different beasts! But when I feel overwhelmed and stressed out and I get in the kitchen, it is all ok!
I will post some new pics of the café very soon. And until there is a sub division of Chez Chloé only writing blog entries, there is only me. So they won't materialize a whole lot but keep checking in every now and again or sign up and you will be notified of new posts.
More soon.

P.S. Tidbit......Try cooking up some kumquats in a little sugar and water and reduce. Wrap a piece of pork with the kumquats up with bacon and fry in a pan. Yum.

cooking class

We did a trial cooking class for Chez Chloé with 2 of my best friends, Loren and Jen. I felt almost guilty spending 5 hours cooking during the day on a Tuesday and having so much fun!
We donned our aprons about 9:30 and looked over the menu for the day....savory goat cheese tarte, chicken breast stuffed with asparagus and topped with wild mushrooms and for dessert , profiteroles w/cinnamon ice cream and spiced caramel sauce. We set off and began first with the dessert.......

pastry & chocolate

So how about a monthly entry? The summer is racing by here and blog posts don't seem to be materializing as much as I think about what to write. But enough with the excuses already......
Here's a few shots from our opening weekend at Chez Chloé, which was almost 2 months ago. I did some salted caramel truffles from the book 'Chocolate' and inverse puff pastry from P. Hermé's chocolate book.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the finished product in the store but that was because we were so darn busy!!! And they were ate up!

And by the way, is it really wrong to start the morning off with a spoon full of chocolate?

Product

Hi everybody -
Sorry for long delay...... We are back in the U.S.A. on lovely Orcas Island. The weather has been beautiful and the air clean. We are missing Paris but life is sweet here.
I can't say I have been visiting any reknowned restaurants in the last month although Orcas does boast quite a few and as time permits I will revisit them and keep you posted ( really no pun intended!)
My time has been spent setting up "Chez Chloe" kitchen and specialty food store - if you want to check it out- www.chezchloe.com. This has consumed 99% of my energy in the last few weeks with another 50% going to our house and potager garden. Wait a minute that doesn't add up you say.....Just sleep less. Kidding aside - I am also gun ho on getting our garden going again. That's something Paris just can't provide. We do have a great farmer's market going again now - tons of fresh veggies, flowers, organic meats , crafts and ready to eat treats.
No, I can't find fresh rabbit , fois gras, lobsters, cheeses but did I mention how clean the air is........

The River Café - London

Tonight Willie, Chloe and I had the pleasure to dine at the River Café in London. Well, it was a bit of a cab ride from central London – but well worth it. This was the 2nd of my birthday dinners this long weekend. Two big splurges for my 38th year. I rationalized the expenditures by telling myself I probably won’t be in Europe next year on my birthday and we are going back to Orcas next month and when am I going to be in London again, and I won’t have to see the credit card till the end of the month and I can deduct it..etc. etc. Those things are all true and the fact is, we had the chance to eat some really fresh, really fabulous food. And it was fun to eat and enjoy in the company of two of my favorite people in the world!
I didn’t have much of a preconceived idea of the River Café. It was light and airy with a blue theme and on the river Thames. I liked the wood burning stove exposed to the dining room and the layout of the kitchen- one long streamline space that paralleled the dining area. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive – loved the dark curly haired sommelier. If only I had more nerve and was only 28!
But he even offered to take a picture of us – I graciously accepted much to the embarrassment of the younger generation. One standard at both restaurants was the notion of yes you have a res at 7- for 2 hours- Fortunately, both evenings we had the chance to extend, as our table didn’t have another reservation. But it very much made me appreciate the luxery of time. It would not be enjoyable to rush through a meal and even with Chloé, 7 years old, at the table, we easily spent 2 1/2 hours eating. .
So on to our meals....

The Boxwood Café-London

We are in London today on my birthday and I was lucky enough to get a reservation at Gordon Ramsay’s “casual” Boxwood Café this afternoon. We are having dinner at the River Café Monday and hadn’t planned on the Boxwood- it was just fate. His two main restaurants aren’t even open on the weekends. Don’t you love it. We had to take an early res at 6pm, which suited me and the kids perfectly. I can only say “the kids” for three more weeks because Willie will be 18, May 1.Boo hoo. But what the hell, I guess no matter how old you are your parents call you “the kids”!
Anyway, it was a surprise treat for us all. Casual they may call it, but it was plenty fancy for us. Willie really liked the décor and Chloé felt like a grown up. There were actually quite a few children there. They say in their publicity “cater to children”. So it was a really nice atmosphere but not too stuffy. I think it’s a comfortable start for exposing kids to nice restaurants.
Looking over the menu, we decided to go for it by ordering the tasting menu for both Chloé and I.........(this is kinda long...)