Classic French Cuisine: The Roux Way Part 1

Course outline

• The Roux Philosophy

  In your first lesson you’ll be welcomed to this intimate course, introduced to the curriculum and given full access to the kitchen of the legendary Le Gavroche. 

  Michel will give you an insight into his history, career and culinary philosophy and talk about the important role education plays in becoming a top chef - as well as explaining his excitement about interacting with all the students on this course and the journey he will take you on.

  The master chef will reveal one of the first challenges he sets chefs who want to work with him - preparing a basic omelette. He will demonstrate how you can prepare an omelette Roux style and then how to prepare the truly Michelin starred omelette – an Omelette soufflé.

  By the end of this lesson and assignment you will be immersed in the Roux philosophy, ready to develop the skills and values taught in the following lessons.

  Lesson length: 26 minutes

  Assignment: Create your own omelette soufflé

• Stocks & Sauces

  In this lesson you will be given a solid understanding of basic stocks, how to use these to make some iconic sauces and how to bring this knowledge together to make the perfect steak with a pan-cooked sauce.

  Taking you through the stock preparation step by step, Roux will give you an understanding of just how fundamental stocks are to French cuisine - but also how versatile they are.

  You will then be shown how to make three very different classic sauces: red wine sauce, truffle and madeira sauce and finally pepper sauce.

  Finally, you will bring all your new knowledge and skills together to pan fry a steak with a sauce, just they do in Le Gavroche.

  Lesson length: 58 minutes

  Assignment: Create one/all of the sauces demonstrated in the lesson

• Pairing, preparing and dressing your salad

  One of Roux’s concerns is that many people (including many practising chefs!) do not know how to pick, prepare and dress salad.

  In this lesson, you will be shown how to make a mind-blowing dressed salad, but perhaps more important - shown how to make high quality, delicious and nutritious salads a part of your daily culinary routine.

  Roux starts with the basics - a walk through the different types of salad and their tastes, textures, seasonality – and how they can be combined.

  You will then be shown a variety of delicious dressings and how they should be paired. These will include a classic French dressing, a citrus dressing and a walnut dressing.

  Lesson length: 27 minutes

  Assignment: Using local/seasonal produce, create a salad using the techniques demonstrated in the lesson

• Iconic potato dishes

  In this lesson, Michel will show you three classic potato dishes, talking you through their heritage before showing you how they can be prepared as delicious sides - or meals in their own right.

  The first recipe is one which has been passed down through generations and is one of Roux’s personal favourites. 

  He will show you the secret to a truly great Gratin Dauphinoise, demonstrating techniques and preparation skills that you can embellish. 

  Next, you will be introduced to a Pomme Boulangère and finally shown how to create a Pomme Anna.

  By the end of this lesson you will have mastered a form of alchemy - turning a humble potato into something truly sublime.

  Lesson length: 42 minutes

  Assignment: Prepare your final potato dish. Choose either Roux dauphinoise. potato boulangère or potato rost and present the dish alongside your steak and salad.