Chef Jean-Pierre’s Cooking School, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Rolling up the Roulade

I was visiting my daughter in Boca Raton recently, and we were trying to think of something fun to do. We considered all kinds of options – a day-cruise to the Bahamas, an amusement park, deep sea fishing, an air-boat ride.  We decided to focus on our mutal culinary interest and took a cooking class.  Chef Jean-Pierre was kind enough to let us sit in on the dessert class of his series, Cooking 101.

There were about a dozen students, so it was possible to ask questions and interact with Chef Jean-Pierre during the class.  The evening was focused on desserts, but to get something other than sugar in our stomachs, we started off with the Spinach-Artichoke Dip featured in this YouTube video:

The chef went on to make a Creme Anglaise and Berry Coulis which were later used to decorate our dessert plates.  I’ve made both of these before, however, I had no idea coulis was the proper name for the raspberry or strawberry sauce I’ve made in the past.

We had a warm zabaglione over strawberries.  An impressive treat, and something that I’ve always eaten chilled before.  I learned something about proper equipment with this one.  My Heavenly Cake Baking buddies will remember the sabayon that we made a few weeks ago for Zach’s La Bomba.  I had to whisk my sabayon for much more than the suggested 5 minutes to get a thick foam, and I know some of the other bakers did too.  It may have been because I was using the wrong whisk.  Rose Levy Beranbaum recommends a piano wire whisk; Chef Jean-Pierre recommends a balloon whisk; my whisk was neither.

The chef went on to make a Chocolate Roulade (rolled cake) with a buttercream and fresh strawberry filing, finished with a chocolate ganache glaze.  We also enjoyed a Black Cherry Clafoutis.  This custard pie was my daughter’s favorite of everything we sampled.

The theme for this dessert class was eggs and the many ways they’re used in desserts – in custards, to bind ingredients, to make a batter lighter.  We left with all of these recipes (which you’ll see in coming weeks) and a good education in several techinques.  No matter what your level of experience, there’s always something new to learn.  Chef Jean-Pierre has a wealth of knowledge, which he shares with his students enthusiastically.

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.