During our time in Paris, Gina and I took two classes at LeFoodist.  Both classes, the Morning Market Visit & Cooking Class and Make your Own Croissants offer a unique experience that you will not be able to find anywhere else.

Delicious Croissants

In three hours, the Make your Own Croissants class gives you all of the necessary skills that you’ll need to return home and make your own.  You even get to keep a box of roughly 6 croissants (you have your choice of making all of them croissants or pain au chocolat). Our class was led by Amanda, a wonderful and patient teacher who walked us through measuring, making dough, and finally, folding butter (a lot of butter) into the dough.  This process normally takes awhile, so you do the “first fold” and the “third fold”, and bake the pastries a little faster than you normally would.  The quality of the final products out of the oven surprised all six of us students.

Another great review on the croissant class can be found here.

A Three Course Meal in Paris

I can’t say this enough, everyone should take The Morning Market Visit & Cooking class.  Aside from the fabulous three course meal you make, Chef Fred walks you through the basics of culinary life in Paris by first taking you to a market. If you are relocating to Paris, even for a short time, this class is a perfect crash course in French culture through cuisine.

While at the market, you’ll learn about the history of food trade and how to find the best produce.  For the cheese fans, you’ll also have the opportunity to stop at one of the finest cheese mongers in Paris and you’ll get to sample some amazing cheese.  The walk to and from the market is also an educational experience as you’ll learn about different historical areas, restaurants, and Picard.

Once back from the market, you’ll quickly get to work peeling and preparing the meal.  Our entrée required peeling of Jerusalem artichokes.  Next, you’ll prepare the main course which was Coq au vin (but with chicken instead of rooster).  Finally, for the dessert, we prepared boiled pears, homemade ice cream, and a chocolate sauce – all with their own technique.

Our dinner started with more stories of the dishes and French culture and ended full stomachs and a full brain.