Top France Cooking Classes - page 5

This is a MUST DO while in Paris! Stephane is an expert crepe chef, and now, so are we!! His enthusiasm for his craft is evident and the entire experience was extremely entertaining and incredibly informative! All three generations in our group (ages 18, 51 and 78) truly LOVED this experience and the delicious crepes that we created! Plan your travel as Montmatre can be tricky to navigate from the heart of Paris. Also, plan to be there all 3 hours(or a bit more). You won't want to leave a minute early! We cannot wait to make crepes for all of our friends now that we are home! If you are going to Paris, put this on your list!!

Rebecca and Laurent were very welcoming in their beautiful home with spectacular views. I enjoyed their story of living in a family home surrounded by other family members. The food we prepared was delicious (onion tart, ravioli in butter sage sauce and lemon tiramisu - YUM!). The conversation with our hosts and fellow students was delightful. If I had time I would do it again.

My husband and I always take a Cooking Class when we travel to different countries. Paulo was our chef who guided our class through out the evening. He was very knowledgeable in the art of cooking and taught us a few different techniques which we did not know in all our years of cooking. Also, the market we were supposed to go to to buy the foods was closed due to a holiday in Paris. He was quick on his feet to find a different market, which was even better than the one we were supposed to go to. We had a very enjoyable evening, Met new friends, and our dinner was delicious. I would highly recommend this tour.

We had time to kill before an evening flight and signed up for the cooking lesson (would have liked to go on the market tour before hand but couldn’t get there in time). Frederic was so much fun and taught me so much even though I consider myself a good cook. We participated in all three courses: sautéed mushrooms; salmon with beurre blanc, scalloped potatoes with lots of nutmeg, and glazed carrots and cucumber balls; and a poached pear with chocolate sauce and home made vanilla ice cream. Rarely have I seen people make cooked cucumbers which I do love. Fredric was not only knowledgeable about the food and wine but also fielded questions that we posed that were all over the board. He imparted a sense of French cooking as well as wine by region. He had a good sense of humor and made the day very entertaining. I learned new techniques in regard to how to use a whisk properly to make an emulsion as well as how to properly layer scalloped potatoes. Because of his personality, the time went too fast, but we left we a full stomach and gratitude for our day with Frederic.

This was the perfect last day activity for our family. Erica was a wonderful instructor. She was very knowledgeable and excited to share her knowledge of French pastry which was not confined to macarons. My 10 year old loved it and was so proud of her macarons she shared them with her friends at school when we returned home. Thank you for providing such a great experience.

Our guide was Agate and she was so kind and funny and knowledgeable. I really enjoyed being able to make both cheese and butter in a group setting, everyone in the group was so kind! We all made one pot of cheese but made different kinds of butter, my group made demi-salty and it was the perfect amount of salty. We got to take home cheese and butter to enjoy on our own!

My mom and I loved this class. We do enjoy baking occasionally but never attempted to make croissants. This class was very particular and specific with instructions that make the whole process easy to follow, helping anyone to make great croissants. The teachers were very knowledgeable and made the class fun. The end results were delicious and we went home with 4 croissants and 4 pain au chocolat EACH. Would recommend this class!

David shared such wonderful history about the Baguette, Financier, and the croissant. He was super patient with letting me ask many questions and he took the time to answer them all. You will get covered with flour, so should wear layers, with a short sleeve shirt underneath. This is a working bakery, which is advertised as a plus, as opposed to taking a class in a school. It is fascinating to learn about the history of this particular bakery and how it operates. The downside, of being in this setting, is that the baking area is quite small. Fortunately, my husband and I were the only two taking the class. I am very thankful that it was not cancelled! Honestly, I cannot imagine how the area can fit 8 people, with each being able to get "hands on" experience. Speaking of hands on. Note that this is a working bakery that turns out 600 baguettes each day. The dough we use has already been mixed and kneaded and proofed. So, you will not learn how to knead dough. You will learn how to shape the baguette and the croissant. We did actually make the financier! And they were delicious! As was the hot baguettes, fresh from the oven. Since it was the two of us, we had the very good fortune of leaving with a bag of financiers and baguettes! Although they almost didn't make it to the metro station lol