Culinary workshops / class in Paris - Review by Audren De Valbray

We met Audren De Valbray during his workshop 'The Art of Making Sauces and Jus' at Le Cordon Bleu Paris Institute. He shared his feedback with us!

In which workshop did you take part?

I took part in The Art of Making Sauces and Jus workshop. I had already taken part in another one, The Art of Cooking like a Chef, a few months earlier.

What are your memories of the workshop?

Stepping into a breathtaking new building. The warm welcome. The skilled Chef with a great sense of humour. Top quality equipment. But, above all else, learning so much sauce expertise, in a workshop lasting just 6h.

What did you think of Le Cordon Bleu Paris campus? And of the room in which your lesson took place?

The building is stunning and its location excellent. You immediately sense perfection and quality. The classroom, which is also brand new, is perfect. Having carried out a workshop with a competitor, I could really see the difference. You feel as if you are in a professional kitchen!

Did the participants help one another? What was the atmosphere like?

It is quite hard to concentrate fully for 6 hours… Luckily other participants are there to give a helping hand! The lesson involves a great deal of technique and it is easier to perfectly reproduce what the Chef has asked of you in a group rather than on your own. The atmosphere was very relaxed, despite the fact that the participants needed to concentrate and there was a slightly competitive edge.

What culinary secret(s) did the Chef Instructor share with you?

Whisking butter into a sauce to make it smoother or creamier! It really is magical. I used to make my sauces starting with butter… I was so wrong.

What did you like best about the experience?

Learning and having fun at the same time.

Have you had time yet to practise what you learnt in the workshop?

I haven’t made exactly the same sauces, but I have used the techniques I learnt to make other sauces.

If you could choose another workshop, what would it be?

I would choose a Market Tour and Cooking, to learn how to select fruit and vegetables at the market and then to cook what I have bought.