Lesson 18, our second atelier (workshop).

I was looking forward to this workshop. This is the second workshop we had and I was not as nervous as I was for the first one.
This time we have to use sea bream, veal tenderloin, sweetbreads, caul fat, artichoke, spinach, beetroot, cauliflower, pearl onions and asparagus. On top of that, there is a wide selection of vegetables, oil, wine, herbs and spices available.


I'm not that keen on the sweetbreads, I think they're tasteless 'waste' food, but at least I know what to do with the stuff. (soak, membrane off etc - pan fry/deep fry)
Some background on sweetbreads: It's a long-time foodie favorite, many, many people still have not tried them, or even know what they are. To be honest I can’t say I blame them with a name like sweetbreads. I mean, they are neither sweet, nor are they anything resembling bread.

So what are they? Well, as eloquently as I can put it, sweetbreads are the thymus glands of young veal, pork and lamb. That’s right, today we’ll be learning about eating thymus glands! Yuk! Here’s what they look like:

Now we can get these thymus glands from two places, the first is just below the throat of the animal, and the other is near the heart, which are generally more prized and more expensive as many consider them to have a better flavour. Enough about this stuff...

I decided to make a (raw) sea bream carpaccio on top of cold asparagus, a drizzle of (fish) sauce around it and a mixed herb salad and a vinaigrette for a starter.

For mains I did a grenadin. (That's a nice veal steak.) Use the trimmings for the jus, make a pepper crust for the veal, a cauliflower flan, 'packages' of spinach/lemon zest, fried sweetbreads (clarified butter, espelette pepper) and some cooked pearl onions. Easy on the pepper for the crust; It can be very overpowering! I think I did OK with this whole dish. Little chef, la petite, thought it was OK. Not super, not bad.


Not surprisingly, we all make something completely different again. These workshops are a great way to practice for the final exam. Here is an impression of the results. (I have more pictures available for those who want to see more.)

Les chefs de cuisine supérieur /höher / superior / superiore / superieur

Bonjour/Bonsoir mes ami(e)s,
In our superior cuisine class, we generally have two chefs who do all the demos. Chef Philippe Clergue and chef Patrick Terrien. Occasionally, chef Franck Poupard takes over. In the practicals, there's a variety of chefs showing up; Even 'guestchefs' whose names I don't even know.

Let me give you a bit of background on this team; All of them are French, mais bien sûr!
I'll start with chef Patrick Terrien - he works for Le Cordon Bleu since 1989, he owned a * Michelin star restaurant in Tours, but that's a while ago. He also worked quite a bit abroad.
Chef likes to make fun of other chefs.... 'oui, mon chef'..... Dedicated indeed.

Then there is chef Philippe Clergue. He's from the Pyrenees region. His career started in a 2* Michelin restaurant. He also worked in the Elysee Palace (Ze  President), and he worked in numerous * Michelin star restaurants.

He also owned his own restaurant in the Beaunne rgion for 15 years. Here, he also gave cooking lessons. Chef Clergue is with Le Cordon Bleu since 2006.

Great chef, very dedicated, precise, funny and a wine lover. He ALWAYS gives wine tips during a demo. And he loves applause! 

And last but certainly not least, chef Franck Poupard. Chef is from Normandy and is with Le Cordon Bleu since 2007. He worked in a few *Michelin star places. He also was a chef for the French Olympic team in 1992 in Barcelona. In winter he used to work in the ski regions and in the summer in Corsica. He was a 'fusion chef' in Geneva, Switzerland and in 2003/2004 he worked in London at Harrods, 'Le Georgian'. He can 'roll his eyes' like nobody else, and he smiles a lot. You can also call hin 'monsieur foie gras'.

And who's this? Is this a guest chef? He even has his own Facebook page... check him

out quickly!