Just over two weeks
ago I was with 6 other ladies in a Suburban on my way to Paris. That's
right, I was in Paris for one purpose... a Traditional French Cuisine
class at Le Cordon Bleu ~ Academie D'Art Culinaire de Paris. Oh la, la.
Just like Julia. Now all I have to do is move to Paris, join a
gastronomy group, and start having fabulous dinner parties for my good
friends. lol! Baby steps T, baby steps. lol!!
Taking a class at
Le Cordon Bleu was so cool. I mean how often do you get to take a
cooking class at one of the most prestigious cooking schools in the
world & cook in the same kitchen where Julia Child cooked. Can you
tell how excited I am about this experience. Chef R organized the event
with a few other students from her cooking classes. There were a total
of 9 of us.
Our class was conducted in French by Chef Patrick
Terrien. No worries though we had an English translator who was great.
She was an American sculptor from Chicago who is now living in Paris
pursuing her passion. Chef Terrien's resume is quite impressive.
Throughout his career he's worked in Strasbourg, Paris, and Japan where
he worked under the world renowned chef, Joel Robuchon. Chef Terrien
co-authored "La Cuisine de Tourangelle" which is based on the
cuisine of his native region, La Touraine. He also owned a one star
Michelin rated restaurant in Tours, France & he's been teaching at
Le Cordon Bleu since 1989.
I wasn't sure what our Chef would be
like... would he be arrogant & fussy or someone who would admire our
passion for cooking? Lucky for us, it was the latter. Chef Terrien was
delightful.. sweet, funny, and extremely talented. It was also very
interesting to see the genuine respect Le Cordon Bleu students have for
their instructors. These "Chefs to be" helped immensely by preparing the
kitchen, cleaning up, and making sure we had all the tools necessary
throughout our course.
Our menu for the day was:
- Magret de Canard Roti Au Miel et Citron (Honey & Lemon Roasted
Duck Breast)
- Mousseline de Pommes de Terre (Potato Mousseline)
- Tomates Confites (Confit Tomatoes)
This cooking class was a lot different from others I've taken in the
past. It was high speed. I wonder if their normal classes are fast paced
as well. Finding the opportunity to take a photo was tough. But I was
able to get some shots here & there.
We started the class by
boiling, peeling, and cutting our tomatoes. Afterward, we cut them in
quarters and seasoned them with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme and
garlic. These came out wonderful in the end. Definitely something I'd
make in my own home. It was easy, simple and delicious. A perfect
combination in my eyes.
Next step: Peeling potatoes which I have
to say was embarrassing & comical at the same time. I COULD NOT PEEL
my potatoes. I barely managed to get a few tiny little slivers of skin
off. I'm going to blame my peeler. I mean I peel potatoes at home with
no problem. But not at the Cordon Bleu! lol! I passed my potatoes to
Chef R so she could peel them for me. Because again, our class was fast
paced. There was no time to wait on a Ms. Can't Peel Potatoes! lol!
Once
our potatoes were boiling, Chef Terrien demonstrated how to create the
Honey & Lemon sauce that would later be drizzled on the duck. Once
he finished, everyone attempted to make their own sauce.
I have to say cooking in
a professional kitchen was amazing. The oven worked brilliantly. Food
was simmering and boiling within a minute or two. Now in my kitchen it
takes a good 10 mins to boil water. I'm looking forward to the day I
have my own kitchen with a professional stove top. The difference is
night & day. Even with the air conditioning running on high, you
could feel the intense heat coming from the stove. My cheeks were
blazing hot.
As our
Honey & Lemon sauces were cooking Chef Terrien walked around making
sure everything looked good. Once my honey was simmering to the proper
consistency he came around and added veal stock to the pan. I then added
my lemon zest which was another thing I could not get right. Zesting
with a regular knife is a little challenging...I need my zester! lol! Or
at least give me a smaller knife. Each student had three different
knives and they were all huge. I'm sure it was just me...I'm accustomed
to working with smaller knives. I feel more in control using a smaller
knife plus it feels better in my hands.
Once my sauce was
ready, it was time to season, cut & score the fat on my duck. Being
this was my first time cooking duck, I was quite surprised how greasy my
hands were as I trimmed the excess fat.
I mean I knew duck had a
higher fat content but I had no idea how much fat would be released
during the cooking process. As the meat cooked, I walked away for a
minute or two to wash my hands & when I returned there was a good
amount of oil in my pan. I turned to Canadian Grrrl and said, "Did
the chef come by and put olive oil in our pans?" She said, "No,
that's the grease from your duck!" I was blown away by the amount of
fat.
While the duck cooked Chef Terrien showed us how to make
Mousseline de Pommes de Terre or commonly known as Mashed Potatoes. lol!
Leave it to the French to develop a very labor intensive method for
creating mashed potatoes. Chef Terrien showed us two ways to cook
Mousseline de Pommes de Terre. The first method used a food mill to mash
the potatoes to a beautiful fluffy consistency.
Now the second technique
Chef Terrien demonstrated was the method he uses at home. He used a
tamis (also known as a drum sieve) to scrape the potato in a horizontal
motion.
I'm not sure how the Chef
was able to strain the hot potatoes without even flinching one bit. Once
all the potatoes were strained we whipped them with butter and seasoned
them with a bit of salt & pepper. Don't get me wrong the potatoes
were absolutely fantastic... light & fluffy but for the amount of
work that went into making them I think I'll stick to my hand mixer.
The ducks were coming along quite
nicely. Mine had turned a beautiful golden brown color.
One by one Chef Terrien
effortlessly sliced each duck while they were steaming hot. I'd be
surprised if the man has any ridge impressions on his fingertips. I have
a feeling he's burned them all off. lol!
Once everything was set we
sat down and ate our lunch. Eating the duck & potatoes we'd
actually cooked was very gratifying. Everything was simply amazing.
As we finished our
meals, we were presented with a Cordon Bleu class certificate. We also
got to keep our aprons and a dish towel with the name & location of
the school which I was really happy about.
Walking
to the main floor, you'll see several photos of Julia Child at the
Cordon Bleu. There was a great vibe to the school as students rushed
around carrying elaborate desserts down the staircase. I saw others
carrying plastic food containers... little doggie bags with delicious
take home treats. As I watched the students go by all I could think
about was how intense the program must be. But also how amazing it must
be to have friends that are in the same industry & share your
passion for cooking.
After we left Le Cordon Bleu, we stopped by
E. Dehillerin. I would have preferred to try out some of the cookware
shops David Lebovitz recently wrote about but most of the girls
had never been so we had to make a stop.
I love how E.
Dehillerin looks like the backroom of a warehouse... dark & musty
with pans still wrapped in plastic and old wooden bins with various
kitchen gadgets. It's as if they could care less about presentation it's
more about the quality of the items they sell.
The staff
is an interesting bunch. Sometimes they're friendly and other times they
could care less about helping you. I'm always on my best behavior when I
go and I research prices by myself. Why bother them?
As I was
looking at graters, Mr. Split Personality walked by talking &
cursing to himself about how some people recognized him from a review on
TripAdvisor. It was as if he were behaving like an irritated &
spoiled movie star who had just been spotted by a couple of fans. The
man was not happy! I just kept looking at the selection of graters
trying to avoid him but once he noticed me he completely changed &
was super sweet to me making small talk about my camera. Later I found
out the people who recognized him were two girls from my group.
Now
besides Mr. Split Personality most of the employees working at E.
Dehillerin are old, cranky men but they seem to have hired two young and
may I add very flirty men to their staff. After paying for my things
(small Eiffel tower cookie cutter and a dough
scraper) Mr. Green Eyes wrapped by things and with some serious eye
contact said, "Ciao" to me. He must have thought I was Italian.
So I gave him my best "Ciao" in return and left. The shop was
crowded & hot so I decided to wait for the girls outside. Suddenly I
turned around and who's there... Mr. Green Eyes. He introduced himself
and started asking the normal questions where are you from, how long
will you be in Paris, blah, blah, blah. He was being quite charming
& saying funny things like "I prefer only to go out with girls
from Southern California." As I was getting ready to join the other
girls, he asked me if I was married and I said, "Yes" to which he
replied with a big smile, "Well.. I don't mind sharing." I
walked away laughing... Ah.. the French men. lol!
Later in the day we stopped at
another cookware shop where I picked up a really nice silicone muffin
pan. Right next to the kitchen shop was a boutique selling the most
wonderful soaps from Marseilles, France. I picked up a few bars for
myself and as gift. As I walked pass the table my purse hit a metal
caddy with four glass containers... Crash!! Everything fell on the floor
and broke! My first thought was... "Oh my god, she's going to make
me pay for that. How much will I have to pay?" I'm not sure if the
woman behind the counter was the salesperson or the owner but she was
completely irritated & kicked the glass under the table and
continued to help my friend. I felt horrible! So I picked up a few more
bars of soap praying she wouldn't ask me to pay for the damage. I
remember when we were in Chamonix, C was trying to decide which lollipop
he wanted when he suddenly let one fall on the floor... Guess which one
we had to buy? That's right, the broken lollipop. We walked out of that
shop with Lil' C crying and 10 Euros less in our pockets. But I got
real lucky and she didn't make me pay. S thinks that she probably let me
go considering all the soap the girls & I purchased.
We ended
the day near a little café where we talked, laughed, and shared a
bottle of wine.
The drive home was long.
Poor Chef R had to endure the Friday night Paris traffic but she handled
it like a pro. Driving a Suburban in Paris is like driving a big rig in
the city. When she wanted to move into another lane there wasn't anyone
stopping her. lol! It was quite comical. I got home after midnight
exhausted but excited about the incredible experience I'd just had.
