The baking world is a big, bountiful place, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. And French breads and pastries, of course, take up a lot of that space. I met Bryan Ford, the author of New World Sourdough, back in 2019. At the time, I didn’t realize (and likely neither did he!) that he’d be one of the bright spots of a global pandemic, teaching people the art of sourdough baking during worldwide lockdowns and confinements.

Now Bryan is the host of his own television show, The Artisan’s Kitchen on Discovery+, and is working on a new book on Latin baking. Bryan raised some interesting points in an interview about how (and why) the world is captivated by European baking and croissants, and shared some observations about his Honduran heritage, that is worth reading.

Since he was in town, I invited him into my Paris kitchen to talk about some breads that I gathered from my favorite local bakeries for a tasting during our podcast.

Give it a listen!

French breads from top: Grainy baguette from The French B******s, sourdough loaf from Ten Belles, gluten-free Five Grain bread from Chambelland, an all-butter (mostly-eaten) croissant from Boulangerie Utopie. Not shown: A sesame-curry baguette, which Bryan is holding, also from Boulangerie Utopie.

For this special podcast - my second! - I’m thrilled to have as my guest Quentin Chapuis, co-founder of the Fédération Française de l’Apéritif, otherwise known as the FFA. Founded by Quentin and two friends as a lark, the idea has grown into several excellent épiceries (food shops) and apéritif bars with several locations in Paris, and others in Lille and Lyon. I loved the idea so much that I featured the Fédération Française de l’Apéritif, and a drink from Quentin, in Drinking French.

The FFA features only items made in France, all guaranteed to create the perfect apéro hour, including pickled Basque chiles, crispy buckwheat crisps, rosemary-flecked socca (chickpea) chips, and a well-edited selection of French charcuterie and cheeses, as well as a few “only in France” curiosities. The wine and liquor selection is also fun to browse, making it the perfect place to stop by to do some shopping or to have a glass of wine or beer, so you can enjoy the best of France with whatever you’re drinking. They also carry a great selection of French wines, apéritifs, beers, and spirits, which we discuss in this podcast. I hope you enjoy meeting Quentin as much as I did having him as a guest! - David

The Fédération Française de l’Apéritif has three shops in Paris. The one at 2, rue de Paradis has a sit-down wine bar. They also have places in Lille and Lyon. The épiceries and wine bars, as well as their hours, are listed here. (Note: Some locations don’t have wine bars.)

Follow the FFA on Instagram.

For my first podcast, I am thrilled to sit down with baker Renato Poliafito, owner of Ciao, Gloria in Brooklyn, New York.

I first met Renato when he was the co-owner and co-founder of Baked, and now he has his own delicious venue, with pastries and baked goods that reflect his Italian and Italian-American heritage, which include everything from breakfast sandwiches with eggs, crisp prosciutto and Calabrian aïoli on housemade brioche buns (they’re so good!), to Tricolor Bars (aka: Rainbow cookies), Bombolini, Amaretti, Coffee-Coffee Cake, Chocolate & Nutella-filled coissants, as well as the best-ever, deep-dark Cocoa Chip Brownies.

Ciao, Gloria is a must-stop in Brooklyn and we had a great time tasting his treats!

Buon appetito!

Ciao, Gloria550 Vanderbilt AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11238

Follow Ciao, Gloria and Renato Poliafito on Instagram

I hope you enjoy my first podcast - if there are any guests you’d like me to have on in the future, let me know in the comments!