People & Places

Los Angeles is a vast and diverse city and the surrounding communities are what give the LA area the cache that the world admires and envies.

While the downtown area proper offers such fantastic locales as the Grand Central Market with the delectable food islands set amid luscious produce and grocery, it is not to be outdone by the historic Farmer’s Market adjacent to the CBS Television Studios and The Grove. Imagine the stars of the past, and see the celebrities of today, as you shop for gorgeous California citrus and more. Stay a bit and grab a large stack at Dupar’s…home of the best pancakes on the planet (the secret is beaucoup butter), and a setting for many movies and television shows that you will recognize.

Need a gift of a gem or two? The downtown area is famous for the Jewelry Centers. It is not just St. Vincent’s, though you will soon develop your favorite stalls there. Most of the office buildings are beehives of wholesale jewelry vendors and designers. Take the stairs to make it a bit of a work out and you will certainly reach your 10,000 steps for fitness that day.

Also downtown are the floral and produce markets, which require a very early morning start but are a sight to behold. Seventy percent of the fashion downtown is wholesale as well. Fabric houses abound. Noteworthy is B. Black and Sons that sells fabulous imported wool to the finest tailors in the south land. The legendary Michael Levine stores are adjacent. Nearby Mood, made more famous by Project Runway, and International Silks & Woolens are filled with amazing fabric for custom designs for both celebrities and the fashion forward crowd. You could be shopping beside a costume designer or a theater wardrobe manager at these locales.

Of course Rodeo Drive is the fantastic setting of the film Pretty Woman with the shopping scenes that are impossible to forget, and rather hilarious. Drop by the Polo Lounge at the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel for afternoon tea or an elegant lunch. The bungalows there often house celebrities in for work in the area, but the hotel will treat you like the celebrity that you are. And the Beverly Wilshire now belongs to the lofty Four Seasons group and is closer to Neiman Marcus and Sak’s Fifth Avenue for one-stop shopping and people watching.

Foaming waves and sandy beaches are not far away in Santa Monica and the pier is a fun zone, literally. Venice Beach and her inhabitants run the gamut from movie mogul to movie lovers, architects to musicians, and from street performers to trend setters. Hills Views & Valleys will introduce you to the movers and shakers that you need to know; to the people who create the magic of the area through their businesses, philanthropy, and personal interests.

A bit farther up the coast rests the Malibu Colony. A day spent in Malibu is like not being in LA. The mountains meet the sea and quaint dining spots and local stores enchant. It’s a getaway that seems a world away.

Back in Hollywood you can hike the trail to the Hollywood sign for an amazing view of the whole city and the valley which encircles the entire area- from the rolling hills to the blue Pacific. Hills Views & Valleys is the publication that will get you around the massive, yet magnificent, area so that you can make the most of every wonderful experience that the city and her highly respected outskirts have to offer.

People & Places

Jordi Rocha

How Sweet It Is!

Four of the World’s Top Dessert Magicians Transform Life’s Greatest Pleasure

Sweet is the universal language of culinary delights. Around the world, there is not a soul who does not ogle a dessert tray, a spectacular pastry display, or a magnificent cake. But in recent times the art of delicious desserts has been elevated visually, technologically, and in terms of inventive designs and flavors.

From Spain hails the award-winning Chef Xavi Donnay who has served as supervisor of patisserie at the Monument Hotel, and presided over the sweet kingdom at Barcelona’s 3-star Michelin restaurant, Lasarte. His high-flying career has touched down in Paris, London, Spain, and Hong Kong, and his desserts are notably influenced by the Asian experiences discovered along the way. A trailblazer in the field, he was awarded the title of Best Pastry Chef in the World at the Best Chef Awards in 2020.
His desserts take taste and design to the limit as he pushes the envelope with dishes that include sculptures reminiscent of perfectly placed glowing planets, or a tantalizing sculpted dessert that combines peanut, tamarind, banana, and toasted butter into a stylized form evocative of a Renzo Piano architectural accomplishment. His sweet and savory Black Sesame Gianduja is artistically flecked with edible gold and is truly memorable. His interpretation of petit fours delivering the fresh flavors of fruit and delectable chocolates are the new frontier in taste and presentation.

In Paris, Pierre Hermé hits new heights with his classic pastries and macarons. In fact, in 2017, his raspberry macarons soared beyond the clouds on a journey to the International Space Station.

Here on earth, and employing the Italian meringue method to create his delicate macarons, among the selections Hermé offers at Maison Pierre Hermé Paris is the glorious Ispahan, a macaron biscuit with rose petal cream, raspberries, and litchis.

Of course, his work isn’t all macarons. Known for subtle flavoring and his consideration of sugar as a seasoning rather than as a primary ingredient, Hermé is heir to a fourth-generation Alsatian pastry-making tradition. He apprenticed with Gaston Lenôtre and served as Head Pastry Chef at Fauchon before opening Maison Pierre Hermé Paris with Charles Znaty.

In 2016, the World’s 50 Best Restaurants named him the World’s Best Pastry Chef. He was also named the 4th most influential French person by Vanity Fair in the same year.

Inspired by global essences, among his recent creations are Tarte Infiniment Vanille, a perfect sphere skillfully made with shortbread pastry, and cake soaked with a heavenly trio of vanillas; vanilla, vanilla ganache, and mascarpone cream sourced from Tahiti, Mexico, and Madagascar. Chocolate lovers are indulged with delightful confections such as his Carrément Chocolat. Consisting of velvety soft chocolate cake, smooth chocolate cream, chocolate mousse, and dark chocolate crisp, this elegant square of dessert harmony is perfectly encased in a thin layer of dark chocolate.

For those who really like chocolate, there is Ultime, a purely divine creation of Infiniment Chocolat shortbread biscuits, Madagascar vanilla ganache, smooth Pure Origin Belizean dark chocolate cream from the Cayo District, Xibun Plantation, and delicate thin layers of dark chocolate. For those who enjoy a nuttier taste with chocolate, there’s 2000 Feuilles, an inverted puff pastry delicacy. The rectangular pastry looks so light it appears as though it could float, yet the airy confection holds caramelized puff pastry, flaky hazelnut praline, and hazelnut praline mousseline cream.

Also based in Paris, Christophe Michalak, along with his wife Delphine, launched their Michalak Paris brand in 2013, and now operate three patisserie boutiques.

Self-described as advocates of “modern pastry,” Michalak presents beautiful desserts created with seasonal ingredients. Ever innovative, the former Hôtel Plaza Athénée pastry chef focuses on the use of natural dyes created from fruits or vegetables, and spins his sweet creations from raw sugars ranging from simple sugar cane to cherished Muscovado sugar. Creating chocolates and cakes is Christophe’s focus, while Delphine handles the photography and communications, and the pair chooses packaging, names, and shop décor as partners.

Michalak’s new artisanal chocolate collection won hearts on Valentine’s Day with a gorgeous, textured collection. Shaped like a soft, pale pink heart cushion, the Coeur Fleur de Cassis included a crispy gianduja, fluffy almond cake, and a mix of black currant and lychee cream and compote.

Michalak’s Saint Valentin chocolate double hearts praline box featured an unforgettable selection that included pecans in milk chocolate and hazelnuts enrobed in dark chocolate. Adorable puffy marshmallow bears were coated in praline or rich chocolate, along with the must-have tres chic and Chanel inspired, black currant, lychee hearts.

Not to be missed are the signature cakes available at his shops, such as the fresh-from- the-garden-tasting Cheesecake Fraise Rhubarbe, velvety Chou Vanille Fraise, lemon or almond cake confections, and the decadent flourless Hazelnut Gianduja Cake with caramelized hazelnuts and fondant milk chocolate icing.

Returning to Spain, Jordi Roca is the master of sweets at El Celler de Can Roca, the Gerona restaurant owned and operated by Jordi and his older brothers, Joan and Josep Roca, who handle cuisine and wine, respectively.

Jordi received the coveted World’s Best Pastry Chef Award at The World’s 50 Best Awards in 2016. The same year, he was named Prix au Chef Pâtissier by the International Academy of Gastronomy. He describes his role in the restaurant as making, “…desserts, postres in Spanish, not cake.” While training with Welsh pastry chef Damián Allsop, in charge of the desserts section at El Celler de Can Roca in the late 90s, Jordi gained his passionate appreciation for the intricate and exquisite task of shaping distinctive and irresistible desserts.

In his work there is the exceptional beauty of a Macadamia rose, with pink grapefruit and lychees artfully positioned in a simple white bowl, and the minute artisanal perfection of his Orange Colourology. Vibrant with flower petals, a nearly ephemeral blown sugar sphere holds passion fruit, orange, sweet carrot, and granita.

For a cooler delight, A Trip to Havana is a mystical ice cream creation contained in dark chocolate, designed to represent a fine cigar. Having learned that ice cream absorbs scents, Jordi, along with his father, created a type of water pump that infused cigar smoke into his ice cream maker for nuanced flavor. Creating edible aromas is a process that’s vitally important to Jordi, who created his dessert Eternity based on the Calvin Klein perfume of the same name. As was Klein’s inspiration, Jordi began with notes of bergamot, tangerine, vanilla, basil, and orange. The dessert features vanilla cream, basil sauce, orange blossom gelée, maple syrup jelly, tangerine slush, and bergamot ice cream.

Creating desserts as sensuous as they sound, this quartet of exceptional pastry chefs are profoundly innovative and artistic. Their dessert creations are nearly as beautiful to see as they are to taste. To sum it up the inimitable Charles Shultz perhaps said it best. “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

#hillsviewsandvalleys #pastrychef #pastry #cake #patisserie #dessert #foodporn #pastrylove #food #chocolate #instafood #pastrylife #chef #bakery #luxurylifestyleblogs

–Advertisement–