Paris in the Springtime: Le Cordon Bleu

Well, here I am at the Kalahari in the Dells - talk about culture shock. This ain't Paris!

I have a few minutes so I thought I'd post some photos and thoughts on Le Cordon Bleu - the world famous cooking school where Julia Child became passionate about French cooking. We had signed up for "An Evening in Honor of Julia Child, " a three hour demonstration held on our last night in Paris.

Getting there was half the battle. The Metro was not a problem, but after that the small map from the school which only had intermittent streets listed was not so helpful. I knew we were only blocks from the school, and *no one* knew what we were talking about. I guess it's not *that* famous.

We found it, got registered, and looked around.

We received folders with the recipes for the three dishes: a rice ring with vegetables, Boeuf Bourguignon (BB), and flan. I was *so excited* that BB was one of the demonstrations as this seems to me to be her signature dish, and was a big part of the movie. We bought matching aprons in the gift shop and then were shown to a garden room to wait.

Students were walking through, and this young man had finished a multi day chocolate sculpting class and was proudly taking pics of his creation. Wow!

When we were finally ushered into the classroom, along with about 45 others, we saw the huge counter and stove, under the demonstration mirror. And all the supplies ready and waiting.

So, basically, this French cooking stuff is a breeze if you have a huge counter, six burners, 100 pots and pans and two assistants. Pas de probleme.

As they cooked I took notes. Five pages of tiny writing notes. I learned a ton about good cooking. I also learned that BB takes a day. Really. By the time you had all that prep work done, that's what it would take.

We learned how to brown flour, similar to nuts. Who knew?

At the end of two hours we got to taste, and MY OH MY it was as good as it smelled. The aromas were unbelievable.

The photo above appears upside down due to the mirror... These pots are all ingredients being pre cooked to add to the rice or the BB.

Sliced day old bread brushed with melted butter for crouton-crackers with the BB. (The translator told us that chefs now use baguettes, but they were following Julia's methods)

And yes, there was a lot of butter flowing. But not great quantities at any one time. A little bit used often.

The raspberry flans were done first. YUM. And yes, I do believe we will make flan. Soon. It appeared totally do-able. So, invite us for dinner and we'll bring flan.

When the rice was done, to be served as an appetizer, the chef showed us how to plate it. Mais oui. A mold in the center of the plate was filled with rice, and then the veggies placed around it. And, by the way, this rice was a creamy dreamy dish - the *best* I have ever tasted. He sauteed it gradually in chicken broth. Yes, the rice dish is do-able. We'll try it soon.

Chef said that good quality ingredients are key.

The finished appetizer. We clapped. He bowed. This is serious stuff. How can I get my kids to clap when I serve dinner? Maybe I'll try bowing first...

He added a bit of grated fresh parmesan to the rice to allow it to be creamier. We all got a wee dish to savor.

The plated Boeuf Bourguignon with heart shaped crouton crackers, of course. Clap. Bow.

Chef assisted with the portioning of his beloved boeuf. By the way, before we ever started, the boeuf (shoulder roast - a cheaper cut) had been marinating for 24 hours.

Brie was served between the rice and the boeuf. Creamy and amazing. Red wine too. I must have been so excited about the wine that I forgot to take a photo...

At last. My own to try. Chef did not mix all the ingredients together, by the way. He plated the beef, then added the veggies, each simmering in their own concoctions. And some fresh bacon bits which he had painstakingly boiled and then skimmed away the excess fat and salt. Bacos will simply not do.

A petite portion of raspberry flan finished the evening. Mmm Mmm Mmm.

If I get really ambitious I will type up my notes - I wrote down everything that man said. And my neighbor wants us to make the meal - a kind of team effort. I'm up for that.

We quickly exited and headed to the Metro. Surely we had to see the twinkling lights one last time.