Ecole Ritz Escoffier

When I decided that I was going to take a sabbatical from my job for 6 months and move to Paris with my cousin, I knew I wanted to make the most of my time abroad. It was important to me that I do some traveling throughout Europe but I also wanted to spend a lot of time in Paris and really get to know the city.  So for months I brainstormed on what my goals were going to be while living in Europe. After much deliberation, I concluded that I wanted to pull an Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and go to cooking school. Growing up around food and having a father who is a wonderful cook, I really wanted to learn the basics of cooking – everything from knife skills to making the perfect stock. So after many hours of research I decided that I wanted to attend the Ecole Ritz Escoffier. They had the perfect course for me – a five-week Introductory to French Cuisine. 

So starting in late August for 5 weeks (200 hours in total), I went to cooking school at the Ritz. There were tears, laughter, cuts, burns, and chefs yelling in French. But I learned a LOT, passed the midterm and final exam, and received my diploma. While I have no intention of moving back to New Orleans and becoming a chef, attending cooking school was one of the highlights of my life and I can at the very least leave Paris and say that I know how to cook.  

Here are some pictures from my experience at the Ritz Escoffier…

At the Ritz Paris

First day of school

Our classroom!

Binder of Recipes

First day of school

Chicken stock

Fresh baguette with bearnaise sauce

Lobster for lobster stock

Classic lobster bisque

Minestrone Soup

Fish soup with rouille sauce on toast

Chef and my fellow classmates enjoying our fish soup

Different types of cuts

Vegetable Tian

Gratin Dauphinois

Gratin Dauphinois

Provencal tomatoes with french fries

Poached eggs in a Meurette wine sauce

Poached eggs with smoked salmon, “vitelotte” purple potato chips, and tangy herbed cream sauce

Homemade pasta

Homemade pasta

Spinach and pecorino stuffed tortellini

Spinach and pecorino stuffed tortellini with crispy prosciutto

Risotto Milanaise with grilled shrimp

Pearl barley risotto with seasonal mushrooms

Artisanal pasta Primavera

St-Germain (fresh pea) soup with sausage and croutons

Glazed pork ribs with lentils and a honey clove sauce

Bresse chicken

Bacon wrapped chicken breast

Bacon wrapped chicken breast with sweet potatoes and pecans

Onion, anchovy, and olive pissaladiere

Potato gnocchi with crispy prosciutto

Vegetable tartare with pistou sauce

Vegetable tartare with pistou sauce

Barigoule style artichokes

Compressed leek and fresh goat cheese terrine

Pearl onions

Greek-style pearl onions and mushrooms

White asparagus with maltese sauce

Monaco-style Barbajuans (fried ravioli)

Burning off the feathers of a chicken

Casserole of Young Cockerel with traditional home-style accompaniment

Duck

Preparing the duck

Duckling a l’orange

Rooster with Riesling

Preparing the Viennese veal cutlet

Viennese veal cutlet

Peppered rump steak of beef, porcini mushrooms and spring onions

Traditional veal blanquette

Beef filets cooked at different levels of doneness

Beef chuck stew with bone marrow slices

It was the beginning of fish week…

Mackerel escabeche

Lobster ravioli, herb salad, and shellfish sauce

Shrimp royal, Dubarry veloute

King prawn and butter lettuce with Ritz Caesar dressing

Brown crab

Brown crab, herb salad

Preparing herb butter for shellfish au gratin

Shellfish au gratin

Shellfish au gratin

Shellfish au gratin

Mussels mariniere

Green asparagus, soft boiled egg, and cockles

Baby squid for rice a la mariniere

Rice a la mariniere

Sea bream

Citrus-marinated sea bream

Sea scallop carpaccio, ‘verge’ sauce, quinoa with alfalfa sprouts

Sea bass and salmon tartare with a slightly sour herbed cream sauce

Sole

Sole filets

Sole meunière

Sole meunière

Braiding fish

Braided fish

Langoustine

Langoustine

Sole a la normande with langoustine

Fennel roasted sea bass, mashed potatoes, and ‘vierge’ sauce

Filet of brill ‘Duglere Style’

Burning the skin off a pepper for ‘basquaise vegetables’

Cod fish fillet and ‘basquaise vegetables’

Red mullet, rock fish reduction, marjoram scented tomato fondue, and artichokes

Tomatoes brunoise

Cod fish Brandade

Burning off the feathers

Tarragon chicken fricassee

Deboned chicken

Grilled, deboned chicken rubbed with mustard and bread crumbs

Preparing rabbit

Saddle of rabbit with savory, glazed carrots

Roasted duckling breast, lightly glazed turnips, and port wine sauce

Double pork chop, charcuterie sauce

Stroganoff beef filet

Braised beef cheek

Preparing the veal and sage Saltimbocca

Veal and sage Saltimbocca

Veal kidney

Veal kidney in a mustard sauce

Caul Fat used for veal filet

Veal filet with fresh aromatic herbs and porcini mushroom sauce

Parsley crusted lamb loin and Dauphinois potato gratin

Roasted lamb saddle with lettuces

Rack of lamb, anchovy and rosemary condiment, Grenaille potatoes, and lamb jus

Hand-cut steak tartar and cumin Grenaille potatoes

30th anniversary of the Ecole Ritz Escoffier party

30th anniversary of the Ecole Ritz Escoffier party

My chefs at the 30th anniversary of the Ecole Ritz Escoffier party

30th anniversary of the Ecole Ritz Escoffier party

30th anniversary of the Ecole Ritz Escoffier party

30th anniversary of the Ecole Ritz Escoffier party

Cooking school graduation

Cooking school graduation

Cooking school graduation

Tina’s pastry school graduation