French Cooking Class

As I was preparing to go to France last summer, I thought about some of the things I wanted to do. Taking a French cooking class was one of them.

I had the opportunity to register for a 2-hour class in Lyon, just two blocks from where I was staying. (It's amazing to me how many things are available in this neighborhood!)

L'Atelier Gourmand offers classes for 49 euros, which includes instruction, food, facilities, tools, and a little box to bring the food you cook home.

We made filet mignon, goat cheese rosette, mango chutney, glazed carrots, rum cake. Fun to make and delicious to eat!

Goat cheese rosette as our entree

Filet mignon with glazed carrots and a mango/raisin/lime chutney side dish as our plat.

And here are the rum cakes. I shared them with the sisters I was staying with, who enjoyed them very much.

Pierre, a chef of seven years, was our instructor. Here he explains how we will cook the filet mignon.

Among the things he taught us was how to peel an onion without crying (don't cut the root). He showed us how to make a flower out of pastry, which was wrapped around the goat cheese. He also demonstrated how to grill the meat in a hot pan.

Here are my cooking buddies: Pierre and Guillaume. They really helped me get through the class, which was in French. I'd watch what they were doing.


Pierre gloats over the beautiful goat cheese rosettes.

One of the nice things about cooking class is that you get to eat what you make. The filet mignon was topped with a parsley, olive oil, coriander and lime sauce. Delicious!