French Cooking Class

Before my family came, my two aunts decided that one of the things they wanted to do in Paris was take a cooking class. We found one that we liked, so my dad and I joined in. We liked that the description mentioned that the class takes you to the market then back to a woman's house where the meal is prepared (and eaten, of course).

We left our apartment in the 1st arrondissement around 9:15 to make the long metro journey over to the 16th. We arrived with time to spare, and stood in the rainy weather for about ten minutes before our hostesses arrived. Their names were Marie and Marianne (I think). They explained our menu options based on what's currently in season, and we decided on the cheese soufflé, duck l'orange, and îles flottante (floating islands). We were still interested in the fresh pea soup, though, since peas are very fresh right now, so Marie and Marianne agreed to get some peas to make a tiny bit of soup to taste.

Fromagerie

They took us to the nearby open-air market, where they seemed to know most of the vendors. I guess doing cooking classes five times a week gets you pretty familiar with the people you buy from, huh? They purchased the ingredients while we walked around, looking at all of the fresh food. After that, they took us to a nearby fromagerie to get cheeses for our soufflés. The fromagerie we went to is a Meillure Ouvrier de France (best worker in France), which is an extreme honor to have. There is a culinary competition held once every five years and the winner of the competition gets the title of MOF, which pretty much means they are the absolute best in what they do. We picked out our cheeses, then headed to Marie's apartment.

Pea soup

She lived in a very classy flat on the sixth floor. The 16th is known for being rather chic, and her apartment definitely reflected that. I couldn't believe that she had both a washer and dryer and that her kitchen was so large, compared to most shoeboxes that are found in French homes. We got to work, shelling the peas for the soup and cutting the orange zest for the duck. After that, we scraped fresh vanilla off of beans to use for our floating islands. While we took turns in the kitchen, we also sat around the table eating some of the cheese that was bought earlier and it was the freshest, creamiest cheese ever! The pea soup was done shortly, and I couldn't get over how fantastic it was. I'm not a big fan of peas, but the soup had such a thick texture and really amazing flavor. When I get home, I may have to make a trip to Eastern Market to get some fresh peas and replicate this recipe.

Dad and Aunt Julie zesting the oranges

Shelling the pea pods

After an hour or so, our work in the kitchen was done and it was time to eat! We sat at the dining room table and had a fantastic meal with our hostesses. We talked a lot about their company, listened to client horror stories they've experienced, and discussed the upcoming French elections. I had never had duck before, but I really enjoyed it! The meat was dark and tender and the orange gave it a tangy flavor. The cheese soufflés were out of this world- probably my favorite part of the meal. The only disappointment were the floating islands. Their flavor was rather bland and the only thing I enjoyed about them was the creme anglaise that they were floating in. They finished up the lunch by giving us certificates of course completion and sending us on our way. All in all, it was a great experience- one I'm sure I'll never forget!

Affectueusement,

Katie 

Aunt Jackie and Marianne

Cheese Soufflé

Duck l'Orange

Floating Island