European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 08, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                ,. F., ". A s p 1 Jet stuffed. On eve from caviar to chocolate by Suzy Patterson the associated press Christmas is sacred in France a mainly roman Catholic country but everybody s a Sputh Waters As a/oe7 approaches. Because after Christmas eve s Midnight mass the feasting begins and no matter How tight the budget the French manage to eat Well. Blowout gastronomy continues right through the week up to and including St. Sylvester or new year s eve. The French Don t so much get drunk As get stuffed on everything from dozens of oysters to caviar seasonal game smoked Salmon assorted sweets with plenty of chocolate. We spend a lot on our Holiday season and enjoy it says Noelle Aulsay adding that the French go in somewhat less for lavish gift giving and a lot less for cards than americans do especially since Christmas cards Are costly running $2 or More each. Our Christmas is traditional starting with fresh live oysters perhaps some smoked Salmon then the Chestnut stuffed Turkey and All the trimmings and a Christmas pudding from Marks & Spencer says d Aulsay. Fax ? i for the re Veillon it literally Means Wake up party Christmas dinner she will be treating her husband their 29-year-old daughter Noelle s 96-year-old Mother a discerning palate who nevertheless likes to debut with a stiffen Martini and perhaps other relatives or friends. New year s eve is when she and her husband Jean Louis usually go in for a quiet gastronomic Celebration a Deus involving to Egras fresh shrimp or lobster maybe even a dab of caviar and of course Champagne. I m nearly outsold after All that and usually Don t make it through to Midnight laughed d Aulsay named Noelle because she was born in the Christmas season. She and Many of her friends also like to give special foods and Paris is full of shops Large and Small Angling for their business. Fauchon offers impressive displays of just about everything you can eat and drink and has particular Success with fresh foie gras from Perigord or Alsace priced at about $85 a Pound. Truffles versions Cost about $180a Pound. And of course Don t forget our various Christmas log desserts touches de Noel very popular says spokeswoman Claudie be Souder. They come in several flavors from chocolate with old rum to red fruit  Daunay especially likes Lediard for her Christmas gifts. Everything is wrapped in red and it looks so festive the famous Fauchon rival whose main store is just across the Madeleine Square has recently expanded. For the season it devotes 1,320 Square feet of decorated space featuring a spectacular atrium and Booths a Small mall for grocery shopping the world according to its Catalon. _ _ fruit pastes Are our big specialities and Best Sellers _ says Jean Philippe Chavane de Dalmasso the general manager. Flavoured with Domestic and exotic fruits the High class Jelly babies jellybeans or gumdrops Are specially made in Lediard artisans workshops near names in Southern France. For other tastes there s everything from soup truffle Cream to nuts macadamia Sas Well As a fully stocked cellar of wines. A special food wine Basket from Lediard Carr be had for about $40 on up Way up if you indu Dethe foie gras caviar truffles and great wine sky s about the limit,".says Chavane cheerfully glancing up the Day lighted atrium. A chocolate nativity scene is the Centrepiece of a display in the window of a Paris bakery. Caviar houses like Kaspina and Petrossian also do Bie business during holidays. Housed in an old left Bank shop decorated with ceramics Petrossian specializes in gifts like Silver Salver caviar present irs for $200 or a Crystal Vodka Glass for less than $20. And if you can t afford the Seruga caviar at just under $100 for 125 Grams try the Little boxes of Vodka filled chocolate caviar in Blue Petrossian tins a fun gift for under $20. Petrossian s new York Branch also does a thriving Holiday business in everything from smoked Salmon to truffles foie gras. A the same upscale neighbourhood near then Vanides Chocolatier Michel Cha Dun offers Mouth watering gifts in chocolate selections tailored to each client s tastes prices Range from about $4 up to $400. I do about two thirds of my business during the holidays says Chaujun adding that some lebanese clients often spend nearly $1,000 on something like an 7- enormous amphora stuffed with 20 pounds of chocolate not necessary at Christmas of course since they re generally muslims but during the  of the hand painted mahogany tapestry covered or Ceramic boxes Are Worth giving even without the Mouth watering selection of dark Mil or White chocolates chosen by the customer. Cha Dun does amazing sculptures in chocolate and is especially proud of his 30-year-old life sized and is tutankhamen head on display in the shop. Then there Arth Seaonal deities like the Little Black Vav theor milk chocolates shaped like cockers or Yors a to Appeal to dog loves leers or Yorkes designed is Katby Platt 12 stripes Magazine december 8, 1994 of Aderkas Lediard Paris food specialist holds a and wine Basket assembled for the holidays. To food