The art of French Cooking

By Rebekah Simon, Year 11 French language Student

At the start of Semester 2, the Year 11 French class had the pleasure of meeting Chef Christophe Gregoire and his wife Josephine. Christophe and Josephine owned the famous French restaurant ‘Le Très Bon’ in Bungendore for many years. After closing the restaurant, they started doing classes and are planning a tour to France and Italy in the near future.

We began our incursion by drinking a warm hot chocolate and eating a delicious croissant at a beautifully set table. Whilst enjoying our morning tea, we were educated on the rich cultural history of French food. We learnt of the generations of people who worked in the food industry prior to the French Revolution, and how chefs like Julia Child and Auguste Escoffier became famous for their creations.

We were also shown various novels and information sheets that were published in France between the 1800's and 1900's, including advertising encouraging people to visit restaurants all around the country. Josephine spoke to us about the importance of connection to place in French food, such as naming certain products after their place of origin.

We were then brought into the beginning of our cooking class where we learnt new techniques and important cooking tips such as how to pick the perfect eggs for cooking. Working in teams of three, we created a clafoutis which consisted of eggs, potatoes, Brie and a variety of seasonings. After placing our dishes in the oven, we began the work on our dessert course. Following the guidance of Chef Christophe, we created Apple Cinnamon Donuts which were coated in beer batter made from scratch. They were then cooked in oil and dusted with icing sugar.

At the completion of our dishes, we returned to the table to share in the meal with the accompaniment of Deputy Principal, Head of Secondary School Mr Brad Cooney. We further discussed the importance of French food culture in society today, and the influence this has had on Australian food. This experience provided us with a wonderful opportunity to practice our French communication as a class. We are beyond grateful to Christophe and Josephine for their visit, and this amazing privilege we were given to learn more about French culture.