One of my favorite travel experiences was when Erin + I took a Thai cooking class in Chang Mai, so taking a French cooking class was at the top of my to-do list. Even though I don't cook. Ever. But what better place to learn than in Paris? After all, this is where Julia Child learned to cook.
So in the spirit of Julia, I did some Googling and found classes that were in English at La Cuisine. They offer a variety of classes, including one where you can go to the market and shop for the food then cook it. I looked at crossiant or macaron classes too. But the one that appealed to me the most was the poultry class where you learned how to cook chicken. This is something I'd never do on my own (or attempt to watch YouTube videos to teach me, which is my solution for learning so much these days!) so I went for it. And so I set out to cook my very first chicken.
The class was small with only three of us and a really wonderful teach, Amelie. She was warm, funny, and professional for the three hour class. We started with whole chickens and I learned how to debone that little guy. I had that line from Julie + Julia in my head the whole time - "Do you know how to bone a duck?" in that strong French accent. Like Julia, I decided to be fearless. Even when they gave me the big knives.
In the end we made French onion soup, paupiettes (which are stuffed chicken parcels that we filled with mushrooms, herbs, and pine nuts - so delicious) and salad with vinaigrette. Amelie also showed us how to make a caramel sauce that we put on vanilla ice cream. It was very tasty, if I do say so myself.
I'll admit that being in Paris and spending a lot of time eating my way through Paris has definitely inspired me to get into the kitchen more. I've tasted a lot of dishes that are simple yet incredible, things that I feel like I could try to replicate at home. Who knows - maybe like Julia, French cuisine has changed my life!
I highly recommend taking a class at La Cuisine when you are in Paris: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
