The 'True' Cuisine

Sauté. Hors d'oeuvres. à la mode. Soup de jour. Restaurant. Aubergine. Béchamel. Blanc. Rouge. Quiche. Zeste.

These are just a handful of French terms that have been incorporated into modern English cooking language. French cuisine (techniques, methods, and ingredients) has done more for modern cooking than just provide us with some handy terms, it has developed a foundation. It is this French foundation that led to the beginning of cooking as a profession and ultimately to all cuisine as we know it today. (Now my Italian counterparts…namely family…may argue differently, saying that it was actually the Italians that developed cuisine and the restaurant). This, at least, is my opinion. After all the word, “cuisine,” is itself French. This is precisely why I have chosen to be professionally trained in French cooking. Choosing the French method has nothing to do with me liking (which I do) or wanting to cook French food (which I will). With a French foundation, the “true” foundation, I will build my own sense of style. I will add my fascination of the Japanese culture, my heritage of Italian flavors, and my curiosity of South American spices to what ultimately will become my style.

There was never a moment when I didn’t know where I wanted to train. I would say to those that asked, “If I am going to learn French cooking, then what more proper place to study than France?” More over, what better place to study than the famed Le Cordon Bleu?