Atelier des Chefs

When we visited the Cordon Bleu, there was a woman that was traveling Europe, writing a blog about cooking classes (http://culinaryhopscotch.blogspot.com/). She recommended that I try Atelier Des Chef (atelierchefs.com) for a 30 minute lunch cooking course in French. On a day off from work, I signed up for Tartare de boeuf au basilic et crumble de parmesan at BHV, a department store near Hotel de Ville.


When I arrived, it was me, the chef, and 4 other native French cuisinieres. We washed our hands, put on aprons (le tablier), and set to work. He corrected my knife skills as we chopped oignons, tomates, and pickles/capers. Then we went to work on the beef, slicing it thinly and then into small cubes. We made a fresh mayonnaise dressing with eggs, oil, salt. Also, we made the parmesan crumble with butter, flour, cheese, almond powder, and pepper and stuck it in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. We then mixed (mélange) the ingredients and made a “forme”, mine looked like a smushed grapefruit, and plated it. My plate looked quite stunning by the end! Ensuite, Bon Appétit!

It was quick and I probably only understood 50% of what he was saying, but the chef was so much fun and now I can say that I’ve eaten beef tartar! I have noticed though, that the French really take their time preparing, cooking, and plating food. It’s supposed to be beautiful, as well as delicious.