The French Chef

I had my first cooking class in Divonne, France and it was fantastic. I had had a meeting with the chef privately and he asked what I wanted to learn during my year here. He has incorporated my needs into his course offerings! We will work on technique using seasonal or traditional ingredients and events.

The chef was a good instructor; he demonstrated well, with good explanations in both words and technique. We made quenelles, a mousse of any kind of meat or fish, seasoned and poached in broth and served over rice or in the soup. They are light and delicate, like eating a protein dumpling.

The tradition here is to eat what you have prepared, but not standing over the sink. There is a dining room which had been set for us with beautiful linens, several wine glasses, several types of spoons, fork and knives, baskets of bread and gorgeous china. We plated our dishes and as we sat, a variety of wine was poured. Unbeknownst to us, the chef had prepared a dessert, which was served with more wine and coffee. It was so wonderful - a treat in every sense.