By Elena del Valle
Photos by Gary Cox
The eye catching Prunier facade
For caviar and salmon newbies Boutique Prunier Madeleine (15 place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris, France, +33(0)1 47 42 98 98, www.prunier.com/boutique, info@prunier.com), a Paris, France seller of farmed caviar and salmon among other gourmet delicacies, offered a low risk tasting. On our most recent visit to the City of Lights we went to the shop’s Place de la Madeleine location to try it. The first thing I noticed before even entering the 40 square meter shop established in 2006 was its eye catching bright blue tile facade. Although there were several gourmet shops in a row on the same street it was the Prunier window where I saw pedestrians browsing.
The window displayed vodka, salmon, caviar and champagne products
On the day of our appointment, Douchka Papierski, manager, Boutique Prunier, welcomed us with a sunny smile to match the spring weather. She led us to the Maturation Room, a refrigerated space with three glass walls facing the shop entrance. It was in that room where the caviar used to be stored in the past, she explained as we glanced around at the dozens of empty caviar tins that decorated the back wall. In front of us Douchka had set up two mother of pearl caviar spoons atop ice, two single morsels of the house salmon, and two shot glasses with a splash of clear liquid, one for each of us.
Douchka Papierski greeted us at the shop
We each had a single serving of 5 grams of Caviar Prunier Tradition, which she had prepared in advance of our arrival. She chose mother of pearl spoons because, she explained, metal spoons affect the delicate flavor of the caviar. For those who don’t own mother of pearl spoons 22 karat gold and plastic, neither of which alters the delicate flavor of the fish eggs, spoons will work just as nicely, according to her.
Our tasting was in the chilled room where they used to age the caviar
We began with the caviar. As soon as I placed the minuscule fish eggs, from a farm in the Dordogne region of France, in my mouth they melted. The flavor was mild and the texture buttery. It didn’t linger long.
The display case shows the varieties of caviar available
Moments later we each tasted the Balik Tsar Filet salmon cube, farmed in Norway and smoked in the Swiss Alps. It too had a mild almost sweet taste and even more buttery texture than the caviar. As with the caviar it seemed easy to eat and we liked it.
One of the shop’s refrigerators had Balik Salmon in several sizes
Next, Douchka described the single serving in the glasses as she introduced us to Lactalium, an artisan vodka made from milk from the Auvergne region of France. The nose was unlike any vodka I had sampled before. We each tasted the transparent liquid in our glasses. Perhaps because the smell was so distinctive I was it tasted like vodka. As we walked out of the refrigerated tasting area I wondered if the vodka would taste different with the caviar or the salmon or if the delicacies would have been enhanced by the vodka.
Another display case at the shop
Caviar House and Prunier recipes
The price of the tasting we had, a single serving each of caviar (5 grams) and a similar amount of salmon, was 20 euros per person. The vodka was optional and complimentary “depending on the people, time they have, where they from and what’s new at the shop to discover and introduce to clients just like this special vodka of milk,” our host explained. As we left she gifted us a copy of Caviar House & Prunier Winter 2015/2016, an intriguing 63-page hardcover color cookbook with caviar, salmon and foie gras photos and recipes from chefs Mauro Elli and Chery Rohner.
