The artwork of French gastronomy is a feast for the senses, the place the sweetness is simply as necessary because the style.
Selecting a cake at a French pâtisserie is a cultural occasion. There’s pleasure within the cautious resolution to be made as you view the counters stuffed with trays of desserts, cookies and croissants, candy scallop-shaped madeleines, crisp rainbow-coloured macarons sandwiched with luscious velvety cream, delicious sugary chouquettes, and opulent opera desserts. Cabinets heave with scrumptious tarts like fruity tarte tatin and delectable seasonal mirabelle plum, apricot and cherry pies. There are flamboyant fraisiers – recent strawberries stuffed into the wealthy cream, wedged between layers of delicate almond sponge fingers and creamy flan pâtissier, and puff pastry fantasies, fluffy concoctions of choux balls and piped cream – religieuse, Paris-Brest and Saint Honoré desserts, frangipane stuffed pithiviers, galette des rois, and beautiful pear tarts.
Behind the scenes are the pâtissiers, cake and pastry makers, who’ve skilled arduous to discover ways to make these scrumptious artworks. And, it’s not simply cake outlets the place these expertise are evident. A brand new development has emerged, a rising legion of dwelling bakers who additionally wish to study the craft of pâtisserie – for pleasure.
The world’s greatest pastry faculty
I arrived late on the Ducasse Campus within the village of Yssingeaux, not removed from Lyon, within the south of France. It’s a surreal expertise to observe Luc Debove whip the lid off a plastic container, pop it in a microwave for a couple of minutes and want you bon appetit. The act itself is one we’re all accustomed to – however Luc Debove simply occurs to be a world champion pâtissier in addition to director l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie, Ecoles Ducasse (ENSP). He takes my bag as much as my room in a fort on high of a volcano, which aside from being a pastry faculty can be a lodge for college kids and visiting visitor lecturers – a lot of them superstars of the culinary world. “Assist your self to something within the fridge” he says with a smile earlier than he heads dwelling.
And sure in the event you’re questioning about Ecoles Ducasse – it’s that Ducasse, Alain Ducasse, one of many world’s high cooks with 21 Michelin Stars, 31 eating places, umpteen books, a lifetime of French gastronomy, and founding father of Ecoles Ducasse – a collaboration with Sommet Training, the world-leading hospitality administration training group – which in 2023 was named winner of the World Culinary Awards.
For a cake monster like me, the fridge was a cold little heaven. Stuffed with salted cream millefeuille desserts, lemon meringue tarts, and chocolate gateaux, and within the freezer have been marvellous wanting ice cream desserts made by college students in the course of the course of the day. A lot of what they make is delivered to native colleges for the youngsters and lecturers to take pleasure in, however some is saved within the fridge for peckish college students to take pleasure in. And me.
The varsity was once within the fort, previously the bottom of the Confederation of Pastry Makers, however final yr they expanded with a brand-new state-of-the-art campus that took ten years to finish – making this the world’s greatest pastry faculty with a dozen ‘laboratoires’ – kitchens and lodging for college kids. Programs right here final eight months and embrace two internships. College students come from world wide; worldwide lessons are taught in English, the remaining in French. Each pupil is given a ‘toolbox’ – a cupboard that has wheels because it’s so huge, stuffed with important gear wanted to arrange, primp and prettify pâtisserie from ice cream to chocolate and the whole lot in between.
From baguettes to brioche, bonbons and each form of cake and pastry
In a single class I meet college students of all ages making vanilla brioche and caramel-coated sponge fingers, and after simply three weeks coaching, they appear adequate to be in a pâtisserie. One other group are making wholesome desserts with much less sugar and gluten free tarts with chickpea meringue. There are dozens of chef-teachers on the faculty together with one who specialises in gluten free. There are not any {qualifications} wanted to take the course and I ask one of many lecturers if anybody can study to be a terrific pâtissier.
“Method will be taught” says trainer chef Ludovic, “the important thing necessities are motivation, ardour and arduous work. However in the event you don’t have ardour, it is going to be a battle.”
Some college students will go on to be skilled pâtissiers, others are there as a result of they like to cook dinner, love desserts, and wish to be the most effective they will presumably be. Coline from Lyon, a former physiotherapist, informed me she loves dwelling baking and needed to develop her ardour. “I used to be searching for excellence, I needed the most effective” she says, “and right here I discovered it. And sure it’s very arduous work, however very rewarding.” Marc, a mature pupil who based a profitable logistics firm says however needed a profession change enthuses, “I like desserts, and I like making folks pleased with desserts,” and deliberate to work as a pastry chef in a small lodge in Provence after the course.
I occurred to be there on the finish of a coaching course for some college students, and joined an awards ceremony through which they obtained their diplomas, cheered on by proud chef tutors, household and buddies. A incredible unfold of jewel like canapes and desserts, made to perfection by the scholars, was the proper method to pay homage to their expertise. I did them proud.
École Ducasse – Paris Campus
In Meudon, within the Paris suburbs, an enormous campus caters to long run college students with programs geared to show culinary expertise to college students who come from world wide to study from the most effective. There are a number of programs from two months to the three-year Bachelor course, taught in French and in English for the Worldwide college students (80 nationalities). I toured among the kitchens which have been stuffed with scrumptious aromas, college students fileting fish, chopping greens, mixing dough, plating up meals, all wearing meticulously clear white chef jackets and toques. “We’re not coaching them to be Michelin Star cooks, although some could in the past on to realize that,” one of many lecturers tells me “however to be the most effective they are often. And it’s a critical job, it takes time to make folks completely satisfied which is what our job as cooks and cooks is.” As with ENSP, there are not any formal {qualifications}, however an interview course of ensures that college students are ready for arduous work and have the appropriate aptitude.
There’s additionally a superb restaurant onsite – Adour. It’s embellished with copper pots and pans from Alain Ducasse’s personal assortment. It’s massively widespread (I noticed 2-Michelin starred chef Thierry Marx having fun with a bowl of soup!), so reserve upfront if you wish to take pleasure in their excellent menu.
École Ducasse – Paris Studio
Tucked away in a small facet avenue within the coronary heart of Paris, École Ducasse – Paris Studio, within the sixteenth arrondissement, is for individuals who wish to squish in a morning, afternoon or day of creating culinary expertise with a high chef trainer. After I visited, I simply missed a Hollywood legend and his household who’d spent the morning studying to make macarons like professionals!
That is the one cooking faculty in France that’s geared in the direction of amateurs in France who wish to study and observe the culinary arts mixed with savoie faire. There are 800 small-class programs annually – a mixture of cooking and pastry, plus wine tasting and children’ cookery programs. You’ll study to cook dinner dishes with greater than 80 totally different themes and recipes all come from Ducasse eating places – conventional, traditional, bistro and 3-Star, plus you’ll discover ways to costume the plates, an necessary ability in French gastronomy. They use home-style gadgets, not inaccessible restaurant gear that you simply’ll by no means be capable to replicate it at dwelling. As Alain Ducasse says: “Consuming is a citizen act through which cooks have a job to play.” It is a distinctive cooking studio, and what you study here’s a fabulous memento of Paris to take dwelling and share with family and friends. I used to be so impressed, I added this to the itinerary of my Excellent Paris Excursions!
Discover out extra: ecoleducasse.com/en
Janine Marsh is the writer of a number of internationally best-selling books about France. Her newest guide Find out how to be French – a celebration of the French life-style and artwork de vivre, is out now – a take a look at the French lifestyle. Discover all books on her web site janinemarsh.com
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