I have to admit, I didn’t mind going to school when I was younger. I even loved taking notes, which I still do.  But I doubt I was asking for homework, like I recently did here in Zürich. What kind of class was this, you wonder… Chocolate, but of course. It was actually a class on chocolate and wine, even if my focus was certainly on the former. Our instructors taught us all about the cacao bean and the grape, what they consider two of the most fascinating products on earth.

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It’s not that I’ve been keeping it a secret from you.  I simply never mentioned one of my all-time favorite restaurants in Zürich.  It’s where I have a monthly lunch date with a friend.  It’s where my mom asks to go for lunch as soon as she arrives at the airport here.  It’s where I take friends who are visiting, as well as my carnivorous husband.  It’s Hiltl, Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, since 1898.

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Autumn is here.  The leaves on the trees are starting to change colors – gorgeous shades of red, bright orange and yellow.  Mövenpick ice cream stands have been replaced by Brezel König (large, soft, salted pretzels).  And the little green huts selling heissi Marroni (roasted chestnuts) are soon to be showing up all over town.  At the markets, plums, apples, pears and all sorts of root vegetables have taken center stage.  And the most exciting displays of all are the pumpkins and gourds in all sizes, shapes and colors.

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You may have guessed that you’d be seeing pumpkins on the blog this week, with Halloween real soon and my affinity for markets, which are just overflowing with gorgeous pumpkins this month. Around this time last year, I was baking my pumpkin chocolate chip cake, a recipe I make all year long, thanks to my trusty cans of Libby purée from the States.  But from now on, I’m going can-free. Jack McNulty (gastronomic encyclopedia) and his wife Silvia Gautschi McNulty of Laughing Lemon Food & Wine, give fun, educational and delicious cooking classes here in Zürich (Oerlikon).  I signed up as soon as I could for the October pumpkin class (recipes below).  One of the few occasions Jack and Silvia color-coordinate their outfits!

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It was during the spring of 2001.  I was planning a backpacking trip around Europe with a friend, to follow our college graduation.  Seemed like a common thing to do at the time, but our trip leaned heavily toward the culinary end of things, whereas many other graduating students may have chosen to concentrate more on what to drink.  We signed up for a weeklong culinary class in Italy’s untouched hill town of Casperia, highlighted gelato shops in Rome and Florence to hit (several times a day mind you), restaurants to try in Prague, dishes to taste in Corsica, and of course, planned a stop in my favorite city, Paris.  A cooking class would be necessary there as well.  I had just read about a Frenchwoman organizing a class where you shop at a local market and cook lunch from all the ingredients just purchased.  I called Paule Caillat, and a friendship was formed.  She’ll always remember that call, and that it was a rainy day in Paris, for it was I who informed her she had been in Gourmet Magazine!  

My friend Joey and I ended up spending a fabulous day at Paule’s class, Promenades Gourmandes, starting at Paris’ oldest market, Marché des Enfants Rouges (on rue de Bretagne in the 3rd arrondissement) in the morning, cooking lunch at Paule’s apartment in Paris’ Marais neighborhood, and getting a royal tour of her favorite food shops that afternoon (with a clothing shop here or there, fashion being both Paule and Joey’s other passion).  Paule is a sprightly petite woman with more energy than a 15 year old, with so much to say and share – and no worries, all in perfect English.  Just be sure to have had breakfast before meeting her, you’ll need the energy to keep up.

Fast forward 7 years to this summer in Paris. Read the rest of this story >>