With Valentine’s just passed,
L’Epicerie Gourmande’s owner Chef David Izquierdo has turned his creativity to celebrating the next major holiday – Chinese (or Lunar) New Year.
February 18th marks the beginning of the
Year of the Sheep (or Goat) in the Chinese calendar. It is a time when family and friends get together to celebrate with food – many dishes carrying
symbolic meanings for ‘prosperity,’ ‘good luck,’ ‘health,’ and ‘fertility.’It is a time of visitations and gift giving. With this in mind, Chef David has brought his French culinary art to the traditions of Chinese New Year. The result?
Good Luck Macarons. Each macaron is loaded in symbolic wishes appropriate to the holiday. Red is the colour of ‘good luck’ in Chinese tradition. Each macaron also bears the Chinese character for ‘good fortune.’ The colour and flavour are the result of fresh blackberry coulis incorporated into the meringue – blackberries, with their multitude of seeds represents ‘many children’ while the meringue that forms the base of the macarons also plays on the fertility symbolism. All this wrapped in a pretty, bite-sized confection.
Good Luck Macarons will be available at the Granville Island store from Chinese New Year’s Eve,
February 18 through the end of the Spring Festival on
March 2nd. Individual cookies are $2.50 and you can get a dozen in a presentation box for $30. A box makes the perfect hostess gift, or way to acknowledge friends, neighbours and co-workers.
Wishes for a lucky year to come don’t come any sweeter than this!
