Travel Week: Paris Cooking School, The Market

J – Shopping for ingredients with a French chef in Paris

in just about the best market district you can find, Les Halles de Montmartre. A chef who works at Michelin-starred restaurants. How cool is that? There was a menu plan. Ambitious. Likely to be tasty. I didn’t want to be anywhere else … how much fun can you have?

This was the French techniques cooking class I just happened to fall into. See, I was late for a complementary wine and cheese tasting that comes with the apartment rental. I was really. really late. So, I called. The gracious Tara Byrne of Cook N With Class suggested I sit in on a techniques class, instead. I offered to photograph and write about it. Accepted. I would be there on Thursday morning.

At 9:10, Chef Constance and I walked down to meet the six students for that day, all waiting at the apex of the district. They were from all over the world: Singapore, Israel, Vancouver. All cooks. Each with varying degrees of skill. No beginners.

Now, for some shopping!

The menu included St. Jacques, pigeon, fois gras, Brussels sprouts, many cheeses, fresh greens, a few herbs, etc. The shopping expedition included a discussion by Chef Constance of each ingredient, methods of cooking, sourcing and history in France. Wow!