Poilâne's butter cookies (aka "Punitions") are Turf's favorite. Back in the day you could catch him munching on them whether in trouble or double trouble. I went to their shoppe the other day to see what the man behind the gasmask was talking about.
The bakers at Poilâne make no more than 10 items, which include: regal loaves of bread, all marked with a calligraphic "P" (the kind the three musketeers would have eaten); butter cookies; and, apple tarts. So while they don't make many things, they make everything to perfection, using simple, few and well-married ingredients. I'd like to think of them as one of Paris' seven baking wonders.
As for Turf...well, he's one of the few living artists carrying on the tradition of the Flemish masters. I'm even beginning to think he's Van Eyck in disguise. To enter the world of Turfizm...
He and his partner in crime, Lela, also made a documentary about the catacombs of Paris called "Dead Space", which will hopefully be coming to a theatre or video store near you, soon.
And yes, the butter cookies do live up to the legend.
