The Parisian Kitchen

I’m a big foodie. I love to try different foods, discover restaurants and generally eat until my heart’s content, but I’m not a very inventive or well-practised cook. And I'm not one of those people who can just throw things together et voila! I have my go-to dishes that I return to time and time again, such as chili, or I consult one of my many cookbooks (25 at last count - which are admittedly more for decoration) and try to recreate a recipe, but often fail as I'll be missing a quarter of the ingredients.

So being invited to The Parisian Kitchen was a chance to get a little more creative in the kitchen and learn to cook some typically French dishes. Run by the lovely Bénédicte, she launched the venture earlier this year out of her love of cooking - a passion she'd inherited from her mother. Having worked in the luxury goods industry, Bénédicte wanted to do something a little more personal. Located in her gorgeous apartment in the 17th, she welcomed my friend Rachelle and I with tea and coffee on a Tuesday morning a couple of weeks ago. The first part of the morning was taken up by a trip to her local market and cheese shop to buy fresh produce (along with explanations from Bénédicte - who knew there were so many different types of onions!) that would be used for the three course menu that she'd planned for us to make together. We then spent the next couple of hours cooking (or they did, while I snapped away) before sitting down to the most delicious feast! 

We cooked & ate the following:
Cream of asparagus soup, foie gras froth and truffle oil 
Coley with a citrus dressing
Vegetable pie pastry 
Chocolate soufflé