Cooking With L’Atelier des Chefs

L’Atelier des Chefs, a unique cooking experience in Paris is certainly something one should add to their to-do list if time allows.  For those of you who love to cook, spending an afternoon in their kitchens is a must.

Started in 2004 by brothers Nicolas and François Bergerault, the school was their reaction to the French as a whole falling out of love with cooking.  A young, urban generation was letting go of traditional cooking methods, actually letting go of cooking at all and these two gentlemen thought it was time to change all that.  They designed a space, course selection and philosophy which spoke to the fact that learning a few quick kitchen techniques, some basic recipe assumptions and wine pairings amongst friends can be a lot of fun.

Classes come in all shapes and sizes starting with a quick 30 minute L’en cas where you create a meal and take it with you and ending with a four hour master class that takes you through an entire meal from start to finish.  My personal favorites are their hour long lunch where you create the meal teamed with 3 or 4 other people whom you may or may not know, have an opportunity to enjoy it at a community table in their sleek dining room adding a glass of wine or dessert, and be back in the office or back out touring the city in no time.

The answer to the obvious, yes the classes are in French but one of two things can happen.  You can ask for an interpreter to help you out at an additional fee.  Or you can play along and nod a lot and smile and chop your onions or dice your carrots because really one doesn’t need to understand French to do that.  Seriously, aside from the chef giving really in depth descriptions of what is taking place while sautéing something, one can follow along quite easily.  My guess is, if you have made the decision to attend the class then you must already like and understand how to cook and the rest will be easy.  Having a talented French chef lead you through a new recipe is icing on the cake.

My experiences have always been fantastic.  People come from all over the world and once it comes time to eat and perhaps enjoy a glass of wine, the language barrier becomes a thing of the past and everyone tries to communicate with one another to enrich the experience.  It is really quite fun.

There are five locations in Paris at the moment, three of which I have been to.  I personally would suggest starting at their rue de Penthièvre location as it is the original kitchen and I think most interesting.  They have a small shop set up with unique kitchen tools and a selection of cookbooks that are practically tiny works of art.  In the lower level is a wine cellar where classes/tastings are conducted; just another way to enjoy the joie de vivre of French cuisine.

One can only go through so many museums when they come to Paris.  And one does have to eat.  At L’Atelier des Chefs, a unique experience awaits that certainly attests to having one’s cake and eating it too.

Additional information:

L’Atelier des Chefs

Photo credit:  Niamheen