Paule’s Kitchen—A Taste of French Culture and Cuisine!

On Friday, I participated with 4 others in a half-day cooking/marketing/cultural experience in the home of Paule Caillat. The experience started with an e-mail questionnaire of likes and dislikes to help her customize a menu for the participants that would be taking part that day.

MENU

Salad aux chevere chaud

Souffle au Roquefort

Cul de Veau a L’Angevine

Carottes carmelisees au cumin

Tarte aux pommes chocolatAt 9:00am three of the 5 participants eagerly awaited our French chef who began our cultural lesson by telling us that she was always surprised to see that most of her out of town students were always early; “in Paris, we NEVER arrive early!” After brief introductions, we walked the short distance to a local market where we proceeded to purchase many of the items we would be using that day. Paule, like many Parisien cooks, prides herself in using products that are in season and seeks out merchants she is confident will provide her with the freshest ingredients at reasonable prices. Our tour through the market was punctuated by more questions then we had time. Along the way, we learned that it’s important to know where produce comes from (would you eat anything grown near Chernobyl?), what to look for when selecting a chevre and the names of some greens (Sorrel) and how they might best be used.

Goods purchased, we went back to Paule’s intimate, but modern, well designed, kitchen to
create our fabulous lunch. Hands washed, and dressed in our white aprons, we immediately
got to work scraping carrots, dicing onions and learning little tricks which make cooking
easier; (e.g. to chop parsley efficiently, put stemmed leaves in a tall glass and use kitchen shears to cut them into small bits inside the glass—it couldn’t be easier and there’s no mess)

The time together went quickly as we got to know Bill from Victoria, B.C., Joey and her mom Elizabeth from New Jersey and Dorty from California. Another American, Domenica from Minneapolis
was Paule’s able kitchen assistant and rounded out our group. We traded our own Paris
stories as we worked and enjoyed picking Paule’s brain about her culinary know-how. By2:00pm, when it was time to sit and enjoy the fruits of our labors we happily raised a glass to toast our host and teacher!

We rounded off the afternoon by visiting a wonderful spice shop where the owner delighted in giving us whiffs of blends he had created and telling us about his family’s long history selling saffron.

Del Balso Paris Journal, October, 2005

RESOURCES:
Cooking Classes & Tours: www.promenadesgourmandes.com
Spice Shop: Goumanyat & son Royamaume: 3, rue Charles-Francois Dupuis. 75003 Paris. www.gourmanyat.com