Last Saturday I met Mélaine in Paris for lunch. We went to La Soummam, a Moroccan place near Notre Dame and got couscous. It was served deconstructed, which I guess is the traditional way. It was good though, because I could put what I wanted on. I got the special, which was roast chicken, a lamb skewer, beef meatballs, and merguez. Then we went to get macarons from Pierre Marcolini, which were, of course, stellar. We walked along to the Rue du Bac where there was an event called the Bac Sucré, where all the patisseries and chocolatiers had organized tastings, with the theme "pepper." The first place we went to, Hugo et Victor had organized a blind tasting, which we both did. The first thing was an almond praline, the second was a strawberry macaron (which I incorrectly guessed was raspberry), and the third was a vegan cake with orange peel, pralines, and nutmeg. There was also a tasting of a black pepper chocolate ganache on a bed of chocolate cookies with lime zest on top. The ganache was rich and delicious, and the pepper and lime added to it without overpowering it. We went to Angelina, which had a spiced hot chocolate as well as a strawberry cake and an orange cake. Then we went to the Pâtisserie des Rêves, which had chocolates made with Timut pepper. When I first ate the chocolate, I thought it was with bergamot and grapefruit, but it was actually just a pepper with citrusy notes. Definitely worth trying again.