L'atelier des Chefs

For Lionel's birthday present I got us a cooking lesson with L'atelier des Chefs, and last week we went.  I decided to get him the cooking lesson for us to do together because I recently tried it for the first time with a friend and he was really jealous that he couldn't come since we did one of their 30 minute lunch courses during one of my breaks from work.

L'atelier des Chefs provides cooking courses where you learn how to cook 1-3 recipes and receive different cooking tips for all kinds of different things in the kitchen.  The courses consist of about 20 people and you work in small groups of 4-5 to prepare the recipes while listening to the advice of the chef.  After you finish cooking you have the choice to either eat at the atelier or (for some of the courses) to take the food home with you.  They have 6 different ateliers in Paris and can also be found in some other major cities in France.  They offer lessons throughout the entire day, at a lot of different prices and a number of different formulas.  The prices range from 15 euros (for the 30 minute lunch courses) to 72 euros for the 2 hours more intense courses and wine tastings.

The first course I did was a 30 minute lunch course where we learned to prepare massalé d'agneau et riz parfumé à la cardamome.  Since it was only a 30 minute lesson we only learned one dish and afterwards we ate it and it was very good.  We also had the option to pay extra for wine, coffee or for a dessert that the chef had prepared beforehand.

For Lionel's birthday we went to an evening lesson after work at 7:30.  The lesson was an hour and we learned three courses, then sat down and ate there before heading home.  For the lesson I chose there was a theme: La bière s'invite en cuisine.  We learned to make:

Soupe de fraises et framboises, sirop de bière à la cardamome et tuile au gingembre

Croustillant au sésame et poulet mariné au citron vert et à la bière
Carpaccio de bar mi cuit, blinis et sirop de bière

Included in the price was a beer, of course.  Unfortunately, I was too busy eating to think to take any pictures, so sorry!  But everything was really good and Lionel really enjoyed the experience and wants to do some more lessons with l'Atelier des Chefs.  He's very proud to have finally learned how to cut an onion like a professional chef, and he's been practicing his new skill at home!  I'm hoping this means he will cook more!