Le Cordon Bleu

I took my lovely birthday girls for a surprise visit in Paris, to the Cordon Bleu. They were completely unaware until we got off the metro that I had signed us up for a 3 hour demonstration of “An Evening in Honor of Julia Child”, Une Soiree en L’Honneur de Julia Child. It was a full menu inspired by Julia: Scallops St. Jacques, Chicken fricassee with tarragon sauce, and chocolate soufflé. Chef Bruno Stril, spoke exclusively in French while another woman translated to English. He started by melting the chocolate and making the base for the chocolate soufflé. He then showed us how to cut up a whole chicken- now I’m tempted to try it with one from the markets, and got the chicken dish simmering. The tarragon sauce filled the room with an amazing aroma! He continued by cleaning and preparing the scallops and making potato cakes. The potato cakes were literally heavy cream and whole milk smothered baked potatoes. Finally he went back to the soufflé, which I had to hold myself back from asking the lick the bowl. He filled ramekins of all sizes and we all watched in suspense as he removed them from the oven. His secret- maybe I shouldn’t tell you- but he indents a little channel around the edge of the ramekin so that the entire soufflé rises at the same time. Pam and I are curious to try this technique with a cake batter…
After the meal was finished, Chef Bruno popped open some wine and we enjoyed a tasting of the dishes. The three of us were in heaven; enjoying a meal at the Cordon Bleu! Paris, je t’aime!