Photo Credit: @welcome_home

While this may seem like a lame excuse to have a margarita in December, let’s just remember that 2020 is not over yet! Sure, margaritas are usually reserved for hot summer days but there are no rules as to when you can have one. Enter the White Christmas Margarita. With the addition of white cranberry juice and coconut milk, Santa Claus himself will wish you left this out instead of milk. You can keep your garnish simple by using rosemary sprigs and lime or you can rack up some bonus points and skewer a row of sugar coated cranberries (you got this!) So even if it doesn’t snow on December 25th, I know I’ll be having a White Christmas. Cheers!

Recipe courtesy of The Spruce Eats

White Christmas Margarita


Ingredients:

• Cinnamon sugar (for rim)
• 1 lime wedge
• 1 1/2 ounces silver tequila
• 1 ounce coconut milk
• 1/2 ounce orange liqueur (triple sec or Grand Marnier)
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce white cranberry juice
• Garnish: lime slice
• Garnish: cranberries
• Garnish: rosemary sprig

Directions:

1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Rim an old-fashioned glass with cinnamon sugar: Begin by wiping a lime wedge around the edge of the glass to wet the rim, then roll it in a shallow dish of cinnamon sugar.
3. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour the tequila, coconut milk, orange liqueur, lime juice, and white cranberry juice. Shake well.
4. Strain into the prepared glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime slice, a few cranberries, and a sprig of rosemary.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Earlier this month, our chef technician Calogero Romano created a gingerbread house version of the 4 Privet Drive house that Harry Potter grew up in from the movies.

Paris Gourmet donated the gingerbread house to Saint Barnabas Medical Hospital in Livingston, New Jersey to bring holiday cheer to the children at the hospital and also donated lots and lots of delicious pastries for the doctors, nurses, and staff of the hospital as well.

The whole process of making the gingerbread house was featured on Paris Gourmet's daily Instagram stories.

In case you missed seeing chef Calogero in action, you can still see it in Paris Gourmet's Instagram profile or in Chef Calogero's Instagram account as well.

From drawings of the house to spraying the sorting hat. Every single detail of this intense process was captured.

We hope that we can continue this tradition every year, where a member of our very talented chef technicians will produce a kid friendly gingerbread house to donate each holiday season.

Any ideas or suggestions for which house to make next year? Do you have a favorite chef technician you would like to see? Let us know so we can start planning for next holiday season!

Again, another huge thank you to the staff at Saint Barnabas Medical Hospital and all the doctors and nurses risking their lives to help others everyday and of course a big round of applause for chef Calogero Romano for sharing his talent and skills and creating a wonderful gingerbread house... we think J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter would be very proud!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Photo Credit: finance.yahoo.com

David Chang, known as the chef/ founder of Momofuku 🍑 and host of "Ugly Delicious" ( the show is featured on Netflix) made history recently on another tv show called "Who wants to be a millionaire".

Photo Credit: Eater.com

Chef David Chang was the first celebrity to win the grand prize which is a million dollars to a charity of his choice. Host Jimmy Kimmel said "No (celebrity) has ever gone for it... they've all walked away."

Photo Credit: www.weareresonate.com

It was a victorious win on so many levels. For the food industry, it was a big win. David Chang donated all his winnings to Southern Smoke Foundation which helps assist those who work in the restaurant industry and effected by Covid.

Photo Credit: www.pastemagazine.com

Every year in November, family members gather around the table and give thanks while enjoying the traditional turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes etc.

In honor of Thanksgiving, Paris Gourmet has listed 17 random facts about this holiday. So make your plate and enjoy your meal and these random facts.

🦃 In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday due to honoring Sarah Josepha Hale's ( she is known for writing the song "Mary had a little lamb") on going letters, requesting for 17 years that it should be a national holiday.

🦃 It has a rough history, but some U.S. Presidents pardon their turkey from being their dinner.

🦃 The average American eats around 16lbs of turkey per year.

🦃 In 1953 Swanson company had 260 tons of leftover frozen turkeys, so a salesman came up with the idea to make tv/ frozen dinners out of the leftovers

🦃 Cranberries are also known as "bounce berries" due to the method of tossing the cranberry in order to determine if it is ripe. So if your cranberry has a bounce, its ready to eat!

🦃 60 million boxes of Stovetop's instant stuffing is sold each Thanksgiving

Photo Credit: www.goodhousekeeping.com

🦃 The USDA states not to rinse your turkey in order to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading. As long as you cook the turkey to 165 degrees F, it will eliminate bacteria.

🦃 Minnesota produces the most turkeys in the U.S.

🦃 Only male turkeys can produce the "gobble" sound and it ca be heard from a mile away.

🦃 The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. In 1920 the NFL played their first game on the holiday.

🦃 Butterball answers over 100,000 questions about turkey and its cooking techniques every November and December. These questions can be answered via their Butterball Turkey Hotline

🦃 Apple pie is considered the most popular pie in the States.

Photo Credit: www.abc7newyork.com

🦃 The average American consumes 3,000 - 5,000 calories at Thanksgiving dinner.

🦃 There are 4 towns in the U.S. named " Turkey". They are located in North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana.

🦃 There is a National Turkey Federation... it does exist!

🦃 In WW2, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was cancelled due to the war and the rubber from the balloons was used to supply the army.

🦃 The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade didn't even have balloons. Instead they featured animals from the Central Park Zoo.

🦃🦃🦃 For more fun facts about Thanksgiving 🦃🦃🦃

🦃 Mental Floss - 25 Little Known Facts About Thanksgiving

🦃 Mental Floss - 23 Thanksgiving Food Facts

🦃 Mental Floss - Debunking 18 Thanksgiving Myths

🦃🤣🦃 For A Good Laugh🦃🤣🦃

🦃🤣Addams Family Values (1993)- Wednesday's Revolt

🦃🤣Addams Family Thanksgiving Turkey Day Song

Friday's are usually considered the day to kick off the weekend. For those in the restaurant industry, we consider Friday's to be our "Monday's". Either way, today's Feel Good Friday ends/starts with a funny note!

Comedian Bec Hill has a unique way of show casing her talent. For this blog, let us introduce you to Bec Hill's "When you're in the club and hungry..." misheard lyric serious. This video is crafty with expressing the misheard lyrics to food and very entertaining to watch!

A common but misheard lyric is Ariana Grande's "Thank you, next" where many people have interpreted the lyrics as "bacon, eggs" and it has gone viral!

Songs like Britney Spears' "You want a piece of me" is shown as " you wanna pizza me". Lyrics in the song " now she's too thin and she's too big" can be misinterpreted as " now cheese to thin and cheese to big".

So when you are "hangry", bored, or pretending to know the lyrics when singing to a song... enjoy yourself and PG's Feel Good Friday's featured youtube video.

Guilty as is, you know you have misheard lyrics and sang it with full confidence! Feel free to share in the comments below

When you're in the club and you're hungry... - Bec Hill

Trending on Tik Tok to Instagram, these so called "Chocolate Bombs" and/or "Cocoa Bombs" have gained a huge following and trend for 2020.

Chocolate Bomb/ Cocoa Bomb is basically a hollow chocolate shell filled with hot chocolate mix which usually consists of cocoa powder, some sugar (optional), and marshmallows.

The reason why it is gaining so much attention is because the experience is both delicious for the mouth and entertaining for the eyes to see.

Each "bomb" is slightly different depending on where you purchase it or make it yourself. The chocolate bomb can be experienced by either pouring hot milk over the chocolate bomb and watch it melt from the top view or place the "bomb" into a a cup already filled with hot milk and watch it disperse from below.

The item has gotten so popular that even Costco is selling a 16 pack of chocolate bombs with different flavors and the product is flying off its shelves. Some people are even taking advantage of the popularity and using the profits towards donations such as a local baker from North Idaho who sells it to raise money for Autism Speaks.

This tasty trend is going viral and hope it is a trend that will stay mainstream just a little bit longer and return every year. So cheers to those who are drinking the chocolate bombs!

My question is... who will be making the "Irish" Chocolate Bomb version?!? 😁

Photo Credit:bloomberg.com

New York has made it clear that outdoor dining is here to stay, but with the temperature slowly dropping and of course "Winter is Coming" outdoor dining can be a bit discouraging.

Photo Credit: @danielboulud

Do not fear fellow dinners! New York has seen it all and been through it all. From hurricanes, snow storms, heat waves, to 9/11. New York restaurants have adapted and created the latest trend to dine... heated outdoor seating!

Photo Credit: @osteriamorini

Restaurants such as Daniel have set the bar to heated lamps and more intimate dining. Time Out New York, did a featured article and a Google Document that updated frequently of where to eat with heated outdoor dining. Listing all restaurants in all the five boroughs. So be hungry and excited... you will be toasty while toasting to a delicious dinner!

Photo Credit: crystalinks.com

As of last week, the COVID 19 surcharge went into effect. Restaurants in New York City can charge up to 10% for this. The percentage can vary in each restaurant, but the maximum percentage is 10%. This will be before sales tax on your bill when you are dining in or ordering take out.

All restaurants participating must state the COVID 19 surcharge on their menu, app, and verbally by their staff. The reasoning for this surcharge is to have extra revenue for the restaurant and bars that are struggling to operate during this pandemic.

Photo Credit: seriouseats.com

Some restaurants and bars are a little hesitant to participate in the COVID 19 surcharge. It is not mandatory, but optional. The businesses fear the downside of the surcharge. Examples like customers not wanting to dine at their business when they can go down the block and not be charged the COVID 19 surcharge. Servers and front of house staff are discouraged knowing that this surcharge will mess up their tips and the lack of it to begin with.

Good news is that any business establishment that ends up abusing COVID 19 surcharge will be fined up $330 for each violation.

Mixed feelings are being discussed due to the COVID 19 surcharge. We just hope that everyone who plans to eat in New York City has brushed up on their math skills.

CNN.com -NYC Covid Restaurant Surcharge

NY1.com - NYC Restaurant and Bar Coronavirus Surcharge Takes Effect

NY.Eater.com - NYC Restaurant Surcharge Covid-19

Photo Credit: newmediarockstars.com

With Halloween just weeks away and more holidays around the corner, chocolate has been a huge staple to celebrate the holidays. To the majority, chocolate is apart of our daily lives so why not learn some fun facts of chocolate!

Photo Credit: foodnavigator.com

🍫 Chocolate was first consumed by drinking not eating. 90% of chocolate consumption history was drinking "hot chocolate".

🍫 September 13th is International Chocolate Day and Milton Hershey, founder of Hershey's chocolates birthday.

🍫 The chocolate industry is worth $110 billion per year.

🍫German chocolate cake is not from Germany. The cake is named after an American named Sam German who developed a sweet baking chocolate in 1952.

🍫100 pounds of chocolate are eaten each second in the United States.

🍫 The average person from Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, and Great Britain consumes 24 pounds of chocolate each year and China 99 grams of chocolate each year.

🍫Ghirardelli brand is the U.S. portion of swiss confectioner Lindt.

Photo Credit: americanhistory.si.edu

🍫The United Kingdom sells 200 million Cadbury Creme Eggs each year and produces 1.5 million a day.

🍫A week before Easter🐰 , Americans purchase 71 million pounds of chocolate candy, 48 million pounds for Valentine's Day💟 , and 90 million pounds for Halloween 🎃.

🍫Harry Barnett Reese, the founder of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups was a former Hershey employee and created the famous candy in the 1920's.

🍫The scientific name for the cacao tree is "Theobroma Cacao" which literally translates to "Cacao, food of the Gods".

🍫It takes the whole years crop from one cacao tree to produce a half kilo of cocoa.

🍫Milton Hershey, founder of Hershey's Chocolate company expanded so rapidly that Milton built an entire town for his employees to live in.

🍫Napoleon always had chocolate with him. He ate it as whenever he needed an energy boost.

🍫 Chocolate producers worldwide use an estimated 20% of the world's peanut crops and 40% of their almond crops.

Photo Credit: lindt-home-of-chocolate.com

🍫 In 2020, Lindt Chocolate introduced the world's largest chocolate fountain that pours from 30 feet high with 1,500 liters of real chocolate pouring into a giant Lindor truffle at their latest Lindt shop, museum and factory.

🍫 Rodolphe Lindt, founder of Lindt Chocolate invented the conche press

🍫It takes about 400 beans to produce a single pound of chocolate.

🍫Each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans

🍫Nutella was invented during World War Two, when an Italian pastry chef mixed hazelnuts into chocolate to extend his cocoa supply.

🍫The French celebrate April Fool's Day with a chocolate shaped fish also known as "Poisson d'Avril"

Saving the best fun fact for last!

🍫CaCao Noel is named after the founders of Paris Gourmet, Xavier and Dominique Noel!

More Fun Facts About Chocolate:

Mental Floss - Food History of Chocolate

EatThis.com - Chocolate Facts

Mental Floss- 30 Facts About Chocolate

Insider.com -Worlds Largest Chocolate Fountain Opens At Lindt Chocolate

Mental Floss - 38 Sweet Facts About Candy

CandyUSA.com - Story of Chocolate

Photo Credit: @floydcardoz

In March we lost Chef Floyd Cardoz to Covid- 19. The food industry was at a loss for such a talented chef that also pioneered Indian cuisine to the mouths of many who dined at his restaurant Tabla.

Photo Credit: @sogadesigncollective

Prior to his death, chef Floyd was working on a collaboration project with a Queens based spice company Burlap & Barrel.

The concept is to create a line of masala blends and thanks to his wife, Barkha Cardoz the product is now available. With each purchase a $1 of the proceeds is donated to Cookies for Kids Cancer.

It is honestly a winning purchase for all parties. We can't wait to hear, taste, see, and of course try all the delicious creations that will come out with this spice line. What an amazing way to honor chef Floyd Cardoz!

NY Times - Floyd Cardoz Masalas Spices

Food and Wine -Floyd Cardoz Burlap Barrel Spices