Yet another reason to envy the French: their holidays are WAY cooler than ours. Case in point: today is Jour du Macaron (Macaron Day) in Paris! Originated by renowned pastry chef Pierre Hermes, this year the holiday will raise money and awareness for Autistes sans Frontieres, by giving away free macarons at various patisserie in Paris.

Luckily, NYC has jumped on the bandwagon, thanks to Francois Payard (big thanks to Francois, because it’s not really convenient for me to hop on a plan to Paris today). You can score a free macaron at participating locations in the city today by telling the shopkeepers that you’re there for Macaron Day NYC. Here, proceeds are going to City Harvest (check out Grub Street for more details).  

Even though my favorite location isn’t participating, I might just have to throw on a striped shirt and ballet flats today and head out for a macaron hunt! Maybe I’ll discover a new favorite along the way.

Happy Jour du Macaron!