Mariellen's (a)Musings: Switcheroo at Le Cordon Bleu!

My Le Cordon Bleu afternoon has arrived! I’m always excited to sit in on a 2.5-hour lecture-demonstration class with the fulltime students – I always learn something even if I’ve selected a fairly “basic” class, and of course tasting the results is a big bonus!

As one of my former bosses used to say, “things change, you know.” Although Le Cordon Bleu has powerful strengths when it comes to cuisine and pastry instruction, and although they’ve made considerable progress on the administrative side over the past few years, I’ve come to expect a few little switcheroos and surprises (like being ushered to a different class than the one I thought I had signed-up for or finding some small curriculum changes). But 45€ for a half-day’s world-class instruction and tasting is always a good deal!

This afternoon’s lineup as listed in the term brochure was:

•Marinated mackerel fillets, pickle style cucumber and egg mimosa

•Veal tenderloin with morel mushroom crust, potato purée with caramelized apple, balsamic shallot compote, glazed root vegetables, Port wine sauce

•Figs in spicy strawberry wine, cocoa crisp and yogurt sorbet

The class actually consisted of:

•Deep fried jumbo shrimp, tartar sauce

•Veal Marengo with fondant potatoes

•Cherry or seasonal fruit flan

Um, OK, at least the main course still contained veal! I wasn't happy about the switch and this was clearly a class in the “basic” series, but I did enjoy myself and learn a few new techniques and taste the most wonderfully light batter (on the shrimp) that I think I’ve ever had – let me know if you’d like that recipe!

Photos of the class and the dishes are below. I attend one or two classes every trip, so scroll through my prior posts if you’d like to see more examples!

The view from my seat - in front are Chef Marc Vaca, the
translator, and the student helper getting plates ready for sampling

Students taking photos of the completed dishes

Chef's presentation of the three dishes

Shrimp & tartar sauce. Chef also made a "bonus" cheese
souffle, but it wasn't part of the presentation

My portion of shrimp & tartar sauce

My portion of the veal dish

Veal Marengo (veal is seared, then roasted with tomatoes,
onions, garlic, white wine, veal stock and bouquet garni)
with glazed onions & mushrooms and fondant potatoes