Caution: Don’t take a course in Oceania Cruise’s Culinary Centre on a full stomach. You’ll learn why soon enough.
I’m just a guy whose past culinary achievements have been grilling burgers at barbecues and frying eggs at breakfast. But I’d signed up weeks in advance of this cruise on Oceania Vista for today’s lesson in French culinary technique. There’s always a standby list for these hands-on cooking classes on board Vista and three of her Oceania sister ships.
Aprons on. Towels jauntily tucked in the waistband. Lay out your knives, spatulas and tongs and get ready to cook up a storm. Oceania Cruises’ senior Chef Instructor Kellie Evans runs a tight but remarkably fun kitchen classroom.
And, the lessons are lubricated with wine while we cook.
Today we’re getting a hands-on immersion in classic French technique and it sounds a bit daunting. In a single morning, we’ll learn how to prepare a savory French onion soup, then slice, season and bake Gratin Dauphinoise potatoes, then perfectly pan fry a bistro steak with a rich red wine sauce. And for dessert, we’ll bake up a scrumptious Tarte Tatin.
They’re all favorites of Oceania Cruises’ cuisine guru, French chef Jacques Pepin, who had a long-time collaboration with celebrity chef Julia Child including a television series: Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home.
Chef Evans who trained in France and then Italy has a storied career that included being a caterer to the stars on Hollywood film sets. Later she was a food editor for a gourmet magazine based in New York. Now she’s an instructor teaching Oceania guests the skills and lore of cooking.
She’s got fascinating stories and tips of the trade to share for each of the dishes as we gather around to watch her demonstrate before we create our own versions. For instance, potatoes helped make celebrity chef Julia Child a star. The creamy dish we’re making today is what Chef Child prepared in the first-ever episode of her television show.
Chef Evans shares another story of how Tarte Tatin, was supposedly an ”oops we made it upside down” mistake in the kitchen of sisters Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin at their hotel in the Loire Valley that still exists today. The apple pies with a flipside took Paris by storm in the Gilded Age.
Then we move to the entrée. The room sizzles as the two dozen of us simultaneously put our steak filets into sauté pans to sear in a couple of tablespoonfuls of clarified butter. Probing with electronic meat thermometers, we test the steaks that start at room temperature of 68 until they reach the ideal internal temperature of 125. It only takes a couple of minutes a side to reach medium rare. Then we put the filet on a paper to let it rest and use the same pan to sauté chopped shallots with another tablespoon of clarified butter, add red wine and thyme and let the alcohol evaporate. Finally, stir in cream and a pinch of mustard.
Now we get to the best part: Actually enjoying what we’ve created. We’ve timed things so that as the baked dishes come out of the ovens, the steak is ready as well. And that’s why it was important to have a hearty appetite. It’s a full meal we’ve cooked here and it’s a shame not to enjoy all this rich, flavorful food.
When you see all the dishes laid out, it’s quite a feeling of accomplishment. And of course, there’s more of the red and white wines we didn’t use for cooking. Can’t let that go to waste, can we?
We haven’t had the full experience that we’ll face when we take the recipes home. In the interests of time, all the prepping and cleanup has been done for us by Oceania’s kitchen staff.
But it was a morning full of learning ways to make everyone–even me–more confident in the kitchen.
Bon Appétit!
Gratin Dauphinoise (serves 4) from Oceania Cruises Culinary Center recipe book:
Ingredients: 2 cups heavy cream., 2 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, one and a half teaspoons kosher salt, half teaspoon fresh ground white pepper and one and a half pounds russet potatoes peeled and sliced with a mandoline.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease individual gratin dishes with butter. In a medium saucepan combine the cream, garlic, bay leaf and salt and pepper and heat to just below simmer. Add the potatoes and poach, adjusting the heat to prevent boiling. Potatoes will be slightly soft but not fully cooked in about 15 minutes. Discard the bay and garlic and divide the potatoes among the prepared gratin dishes. Pour in enough cream to just cover the top of the potatoes. Place dishes on a pan and bake until the potatoes are lightly browned on top and fork tender–about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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