Knife skills class - La Cuisine Paris

A new year = new resolutions. Mine? Get over my fear of knives 🔪 (aichmophobia) and acquire some knife skills.

No better place to go then La Cuisine Paris is a short walk from my house at 80, quai de l'Hotel de Ville. 

The course included: 

How to choose the correct knife for the right task. How to correctly hold, clean and maintain the knife with a honing steel. How to create classic French knife cuts: 

Batonnet, Chop, Julienne, Dice, Brunoise, Mince and Chiffonnade. How to use specific techniques to make it easier to cut different items from herbs to tough rinds. How to peel produce using a knife. How to combine knife cuts in delicious recipes.

Our instructor Justin, formerly from Texas has lived in Paris 14 years. He is a terrifically experienced teacher. He also teaches at Ecole Ferandi and bakes at Boulangerie au Petit Versailles du Marais.

My calligraphy class with Eleanor Winters gave me the upper hand when it came time to sign our aprons.

First things first. How to hold your knife.

We start out practicing with the easiest veg to cut: champignons.

Move on to cucs, also easy for beginners. I was the only one scribbling copious notes. I was also the only one munching leftover scraps..hmm

We move on to more difficult veg: radis, choux, celeriac, herbs

Les carottes cut 5 ways: batonnet, julienne, dice, brunoise, mince, chiffonade. I need to practice. A lot.

Supreming an orange, chopping herbs the right way. Even garlic did not escape our nimble knives.

The fruits of our labor: salade des fruits en sirop.

More battonets in our Salade Provençal. We made 4 recipes.

Our Potage Cultivateur avec des croutons. You wanna be a French girl? Purée your soup! No one tells you this top secret.

Les croutons. Yes, we cut baguettes 🥖 

Toute ensemble. Our well-deserved lunch after 3 hours of learning to cut, chop and mince.

You say you don't like veg?

Did you know you can get the legume collection at Macarons Gourmand, 62, rue de Seine.

Learning knife 🔪 skills is a great way to start off the new year. I've become addicted to batonnets. More fun to eat than carotte rapé. I'm off to get a soup puree stick. Thanks for reading Paris breakfast. If you like this newsletter, forward to a friend. Gift yourself & others Paris letters, maps and watercolors in your mailbox.

Happy New Year PBers!