Paris, CT

I'm originally from Paris, France. And although I've spent more years living abroad, I'm very attached to its culture and customs. My desire to keep that link to France was increased tenfold when I had kids. One of the fun parts is sharing with them my favorite French treats and holidays.

When I was very young and living in Paris one of my favorite memories was going to a boulangerie and getting a warm pain au chocolat before or after school. Living in NYC made it easy to pass on that tradition. The kids and I had a couple of bakeries to go to after school to grab a pain au chocolat. We did it almost everyday.

Another tradition close to my heart is sharing a Galette des Rois in early January. You get to eat this yummy cake called a Galette des Rois and who ever finds the figurine inside the cake, gets to be king or queen (see below for a longer explanation of this holiday). Living in NYC, made it easy to pass on this tradition. There are two great places for this cake in NYC, Financier and Bouley Bakery, both downtown.

Of course when we moved to CT, my challenge was to find a decent French bakery. Well let me tell you, it's been really hard. I kind of though French baked goods were mainstream by now. But the truth is that I've been desperately searching for a decent pain au chocolat and a real baguette, let alone a galette des rois, ever since I got here!

Just when I was feeling terribly guilty about the fact that my youngest would never know what a real croissant looks like, I found a little bit of Paris in CT.

Last week, I stopped at this place called Isabelle and Vincent, in Fairfield, just to see. I wasn't holding out much hope. I thought it would be another sorry excuse for a French bakery. It turns out the owners are actually French and their names are actually Isabelle and Vincent! They used to have a boulangerie in Strasbourg, France and moved here 3 years ago on a whim. This place is heavenly! Not only do they have amazing baguette and pain au chocolat, the day I walked in they were making an extra batch of Galette des Rois!

Although it was a month behind schedule the kids and I celebrated La Fete des Rois with the most amazing galette I've ever tasted. Hubby couldn't believe how delicious this cake was. And thanks to Isabelle and Vincent, I'll be able to keep the traditions going. Just today Bella and I stopped in for a pain au chocolat after her gym class.

Here's their address in case you're in the neighborhood: Isabelle et Vincent, 1903 Post Road, Fairfield, CT.

“La galette des Rois” (the cake or "wafer" of the Kings) is a cake celebrating the Epiphany and traditionally sold and consumed a few days before and after this date. In modern France, the cakes can be found in most bakeries during the month of January. The cake consists of flaky puff pastry layers with a dense center of frangipane.

Tradition holds that the cake is “to draw the kings” to the Epiphany. A figurine, which can represent anything from a car to a cartoon character, is hidden in the wafer and the person who obtains this trinket “la fève” (literally the broad bean) becomes king for the day and will have to offer the next cake. A paper crown is included with the cake to crown the "king" who finds the fève in their piece of cake. To ensure a random distribution of the cake shares, it is traditional for the youngest person to place themselves under the table and name the recipient of the share which is indicated by the person in charge of the service.

Formerly, one divided the cake in as many shares as guests, plus one. The latter, called "the share of God," "share of the Virgin Mary," or "share of the poor" was intended for the first poor person to arrive at the home.