If you're looking for a romantic place to take your honey for brunch or lunch on Valentine’s Day, Maman, the lovely French-inspired cafe and bakery, is the perfect spot.
Shop for delectable delights and sweet treats, packaged in blue flower-patterned and heart-shaped boxes, that your loved one will adore. Dine on sinfully delicious French pastries served on blue-and-white plates, and sip lavender hot chocolate from delicate blue-and-white cups. Savor a scrumptious slice of quiche, a croque maman, or a smashed avocado tartine. Finish on a sweet note with Maman's signature chocolate chip cookie or citrus and grapefruit olive oil cake drizzled with a luscious strawberry glaze.
Maman – which means "mother" in French – was created by married couple Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte. They opened their first Maman in Manhattan in 2014, and it was quickly embraced by New York locals and international visitors. From there, Maman opened in several cities, including Washington, D.C., Toronto and now Miami; Marshall and Sormonte recently made the move from New York to South Florida. Miami's Maman locations are in Coral Gables (305-603-9206 ) 136 Miracle Mile; South Miami (305-397-8158) 5801 Sunset Dr., Miami; two South Beach locations: (305-397-8349) 100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, and Sunset Harbour (305-397-8598) 1874 Bay Rd.; and Wynwood (786-312-1192) 69 NW 26th St., Miami.
The story behind Maman is that Marshall, a busy mother of two, was working on several projects, including public relations, marketing, wedding planning, and interior decorating, before she and Sormonte co-founded Mamam. Originally from France, the couple often reminisced about their mothers' recipes from their childhoods – and voila! – the inspiration for Maman was born. In co-creating Maman, Marshall happily combined everything she was passionate about: food, baking, interior design, branding, and event planning into one exciting dream job. As the CEO, Sormonte manages operations and business development.
ROMANCING THE FRENCH CAFE
For their first cafe, Marshall and Sormonte combed antique markets in the south of France for unique furniture. They hand-picked, sanded and painted every vintage chair and cabinet. The cafe's mix-and-match blue-and-white china was inspired by their searches through vintage markets and their grandmothers' precious collections, cached away in antique cabinets.
Today, the couple designs the interiors of all Maman locations together. In every café, they adapt Maman's original charming, romantic standards, creating cohesiveness with imported French antique furniture and mix-and-match patterns of blue-and-white china. The color blue is cherished universally – from Picasso's moody blue to French blue on the coat of arms of French kings. Shades of blue mix beautifully with white, a result that the greatest interior designers never tire of using. At Maman, the signature dynamic duo of blue and white is beloved by customers. Custom French toile-printed espresso machines, blue and white tiles on counter tops, and hand-stenciled blue floors and walls add even more touches of romantic whimsy”
Marshall said she lives by this quote from legendary interior designer Elsie de Wolfe: "I am going to make everything around me beautiful, and that will be my life."
Maman: The Cookbook
Marshall and Sormonte’s first cookbook, “Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart,” was named as best cookbook of the year by Taste of Home magazine. Delightful to flip through, it features gorgeous photography and a collection of 100 recipes of their best-selling dishes, such as banana-lavender cornmeal waffles with vanilla mascarpone, and of course, the revered nutty chocolate chip cookies made famous by Oprah, which received a coveted mention in the 2017 edition of “Oprah’s Favorite Things." Available at Mamam cafes and on Amazon, the cookbook is the perfect Valentine's Day gift for a home cook or hostess gift for a dinner party.
Recipe from Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart
Quiche Lorraine with Parisian Ham and Comté
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
• 1 disk classic pastry dough or store-bought pie dough
• 6 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 7 oz. Parisian ham (jambon de Paris) or slow-cooked deli ham, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 8 1/2 oz. Comté or Gruyère cheese
Preparation:
• Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9-1/2 inch round plain or scalloped tart pan. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.
• Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, salt, and pepper until fully combined.
• Remove the tart shell from the freezer and set the pan on the prepared sheet pan. Scatter the ham and Comté across the bottom of the pastry shell. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the top.
• Carefully transfer the sheet pan to the oven and bake until browned around the edges and set in the center, about 1 hour 5 minutes. To test, give the sheet pan a gentle shake – the quiche shouldn't wobble at all.
• Let cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan, slice, and serve.
• TIP: Store the quiche wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 400ºF oven for 7 to 10 minutes.
Irene Moore is a Miami-based writer and certified sommelier whose vivid descriptions take readers through culinary cultures around the world.