Living on the French island of Saint-Martin and working as a computer engineer, Jean-Marc Mons thought ahead to retirement. He and his Belgian-born wife Elisabeth Gourdange — a dentist — wanted a retirement project totally different from their Caribbean lives. Their son happened to be working in Calgary’s oil and gas sector so a few visits to Cowtown sparked an idea. Perhaps they could enter the food scene here with high-quality macarons and other French and Belgian confections.
So Monplaisir Delicacies was born. The entrepreneurial couple searched out a warehouse space in the northeast that could be converted into a kitchen and warehouse, brought in high-tech mixers and ovens, hired a fine French pastry chef in Theophile Midez and leased a retail space on the 4th floor of The Core Shopping Centre near Holt Renfrew (587-538-0690). They sourced ingredients locally and globally, hewing to the naturally produced and organic side of things and avoiding gluten and animal-based gelatins.
Jean-Marc Mons, right, president and CEO of Monplasisir Delicacies and Theophile Midez, pastry chef.
The Monplaisir team developed its own mix of almond powder, egg whites and sugars and rolled out a menu of 20 macarons — 12 standard flavours and eight that change monthly — plus four premium flavours named “La Collection.” The regular flavours include classics such as pistachio and caramel, while western newcomers such as red velvet and strawberry-rhubarb were added to the mix.
“We hope to be the Laduree of Canada,” says Mons, referring to the classic Parisian patisserie that cranks out thousands of macarons each day. They hope to spread macaron goodness throughout the country soon. But for now, Monplaisir macarons are available at The Core or by contacting the bakery at 403-520-5464. In addition to the macarons, they make macaron cakes and have Belgian Neuhaus chocolates and French Chabert-Guillot nougat.
A personal note: Monplaisir’s macarons are superb, among the best in the city. My other two favourites are from Yann Haute Patisserie in Mission and Ohh La La Patisserie in West Springs.
Nice Cream — ice cream of the future
For sweetness of an entirely different temperature, Calgary’s first nitrogen-chilled ice cream parlour — Nice Cream — has opened at 4604 -37 Street S.W. (403-454-8868) in Sarcee Plaza.
So what’s the deal with ice cream mixed with -200 C liquid nitrogen? The basic principal of creamy ice cream is to keep the ice crystals as small as possible. The way to do that — aside from emulsifying the ingredients — is to freeze the cream as quickly as possible so the ice crystals don’t have a chance to build. And what better way to do that than with -200 C nitrogen.
At Nice Cream each dish is made to order. You choose your ice cream — seven flavours are available — and a worker sets about the task. Cream, milk and flavours are added to an industrial mixer and liquid nitrogen is slowly poured in from an insulated carafe as the mixture churns. In a minute or so the nitrogen evaporates, leaving a super-creamy ice cream behind. You can then top it with syrups or additions such as gummy bears or walnuts. Nice Cream also does a sorbet (it’s pineapple right now) that defies your tastebuds. It’s so creamy it’s almost impossible to believe it doesn’t have dairy in it.
Nice Cream partners David Jung and Brian Ock see their product as the ice cream of the future. It first popped up in modernist cuisine (molecular gastronomy) a few years ago (Teatro made and served it) and has since made its way into the high-end ice cream market. It’s more expensive than regular ice cream because of the cost of the nitrogen and the machinery needed to work with it but it’s well worth the price. Bowls or cones range from $4 to $7.45 with a fresh-made waffle cone adding $. 75. Syrups are free but toppings are $. 75 each.
Nice Cream also does a range of Belgian waffles and cold-dripped 49th Parallel coffee for afogatos and for sipping.
And it can be tricky to find. It’s in the northwest corner of the plaza in a breezeway behind Pho Express. There is signage but it is not illuminated, so beware.
One other note: Nice Cream’s logo features an “N” with three scoops of ice cream on top and the numbers 7 and 14 floating overhead. For those who didn’t take Chemistry, nitrogen’s atomic number on the Periodic Table is 7; it’s mass is 14.
Nice Cream is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with some weekday closures in the mid-afternoon.
Sweet Lollapalooza — chocolates with a twist
And how about a little chocolate for Christmas. Sweet Lollapalooza, an Edmonton-based chocolatier, has opened a chocolate-coffee-tea-wine shop in Calgary at 1126 — 17 Ave. S.W. (403-367-1301) in the same building that houses Gravity Pope. Award-winning chocolatier Brett Roy has been sweetening our capital city for over 12 years and has finally brought his Valrhona-based chocolates to Calgary.
Sweet Lolapalooza’s menu includes a couple dozen flavours of chocolates ranging from burnt butter caramel to mojito mint as well as drinking chocolate, Fika coffee from Sweden, premium teas and wine by the glass to pair with your chocolates. Sounds like a Christmas gift in the making.
John Gilchrist can be reached at escurial@telus.net or at 403-235-7532 or follow him on Twitter @GilchristJohn
