A charitable Jour du Macaron

March 20th is the day of the Macaron. Strangely enough it has been poorly advertised. Considering what a big flagship this little confection has become for Paris, I am surprised they are not trying to make more business out of it.

Some top pastry chefs, however, have decided to join forces for a noble action. Today, the pâtissiers of “Relais Desserts” welcomed their clients to indulge in the tasty treat while supporting a worthy cause. The principle? "A macaron for a donation." In exchange of tasting a macaroon,  we were invited to make a donation to the association “Overcoming cystic fibrosis”. If ever I needed an excuse to go on another Macaron tour, this was it. So I decided to get mobilized for this generous and delicious day.

Armed with a map of participating stores I set off in the 15th arrondissment. Sadaharu Aoki, a Japanese patissier, is one of my favourite in town. I love the combination of the delicate Japanese presentation with French patisserie. Yazu and Framboise were the elected flavours to start off with.

Moving on swiftly, I got slighty sidetracked by the whiff of jamon and entered L'épicerie du Pere Claude, a meat-lover’s paradise in the 15th – a beau monde address that’s a favorite of former French president Jacques Chirac as I am told – for good traditional French cooking. 20 mintues later I walked out with a big shopping bag filled with goodies... and they weren't macarons!

Next stop is the couture chocolate of Jean-Paul Hévin. The staff seemed generally happy to see us. I am wondering at this point if we are the only dedicated macaron lovers? Our choice fell upon Mango Coriander and Jardin Secret (vanille, rose, and clou de girofle). I discovered that the masterpiece of this chocolate expert is Cinderella’s right slipper! A 9,9 cm stilleto size 35 cm from a model by Rodolphe Menudier, to bite into for a mere 58 €. This is man to my liking!!! Chocolate and shoes in one ... I could not imagine anything better!

Christophe Roussel's boutique in the 7th arrondissment sadly had not been informed about the campaign for "Overcoming cystic fibrosis" eventough their address was on the list. Next please!

After a quick sushi lunch - just to keep those tastebuds flexible - we headed to the king of macarons and organizer of the charity campaign Pierre Hermé. We were not disappointed. Another hearty welcome followed by 15 minutes of deciding which macaron to choose. What a tough life?! Crème Brûlée and Mogador (Milk chocolate and Passion fruit) was the verdict!

I am now sitting at my desk feeling quite contempt having endulged in a delicacy I rarely treat myself to while supporting a charity, notably one that helps children afflicted by a rare diseases.

Have a sweet day!