Cuisine And Art · Desserts · Toulouse-Lautrec · chestnuts · chocolate
About sweet chestnuts, chocolate and a birthday party for Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
A chocolate chestnut tart cooked for Toulouse-Lautrec’s birthday — Cuisine And Art, zero waste, and a museum neighbour in the Tarn.
I spent a lot of time in France, 6 kilometres from Château du Bosc, where Henri Toulouse-Lautrec used to live. When I discovered Henri’s and his friend Momo’s cookbook The Art of Cuisine I decided to cook dishes based on their recipes. In 2014, the 150th anniversary of Henri’s birthday, Cuisine And Art began.
This tart is one of those birthday tables: sweet chestnuts, chocolate, and the excuse of a painter who also knew how to eat. I do not follow the recipes as written. I use them as a starting point and cook from what I find — in the pantry, in the garden, or on a walk.
The aims stay the same. Zero waste. Local and seasonal, as much as possible when living in a few places. Organic and sustainable. Plastic-free. Trying to achieve the aims is the best way to do it. Never give up and try once again. And again.
From the Cuisine And Art archive. The full bilingual essays live in the original project; this site keeps a selection beside the bySerafin photographs.