Learning the Moves Archive

January 25, 2008

Notes from the Molecular Gastronomy Conference

Earlier this week, I attended a two-day conference on molecular gastronomy -- sometimes refered to as the "science of deliciousness" -- and the relationship between technique, technology, and science. It was a free and public session, organized by the INRA, the French institute for agricultural research, and the engineering school AgroParisTech....

"Notes from the Molecular Gastronomy Conference" continues »

November 22, 2006

Cours de Boulangerie

[Bread Baking Class] Hi, my name is Clotilde, and I have conquered my fear of yeast. For years and years, everytime a recipe called for yeast -- dry, instant, fresh, whatever -- I would write it off with a resigned sigh, like the plain teenaged girl writes off the popular unkempt boy, thinking, "He's not for me." I didn't know the moves, I did...

"Cours de Boulangerie" continues »

September 13, 2006

Sushi Class

On rue Garreau in Montmartre -- right off the place Emile Goudeau, which I like very much because it has trees, benches, and a Fontaine Wallace -- was the tiny workshop of a violin maker. Earlier this summer, I walked past it and did a double-take: the dusty window had been cleaned, and the instruments had been replaced by a miscellany of Japanes...

"Sushi Class" continues »

February 15, 2006

Cours de Cuisine Traditionnelle: Update

[Traditional French Cooking Class: Update] It has been much much longer than I thought it would be since my first post about the traditional French cooking class I am taking this year. Let me tell you, if you think quitting your dayjob will give you more time, you are as mistaken as I was -- time just seems to have hopped on a supersonic jet sin...

"Cours de Cuisine Traditionnelle: Update" continues »

October 17, 2005

Cours de Cuisine Traditionnelle

[Traditional French Cooking Class] Show-and-tell: this is the gear I bought for the cooking class I am taking this year! It's part of the Cours Municipaux pour Adultes, a learning program sponsored by the Mairie de Paris (the mayor's office), and mine is a weekly three-hour class to learn about traditional French cuisine. All classes offered in ...

"Cours de Cuisine Traditionnelle" continues »

March 12, 2004

Live Food : A Cooking Class

Last Saturday, I took a cooking class on live food at Pousse-Pousse, the little store where I buy my sprouting gear and collect my Campanier baskets. It was taught by Pol Grégoire, a chef from Belgium. He started out his career in conventional cooking, but then he got interested in what he calls "alimentation vive" and low-temp cooking, and deci...

"Live Food : A Cooking Class" continues »