Cooking classes at Paris' outdoor markets thrive - even in winter

Mar 11, 2010, 9:44 GMT

Paris - Standing outside in the cold, Sophie watches fascinated as a panful of crystallized sugar turns into a dark brown liquid. As an added benefit, the heat warms her hands.

Despite the icy winter cold, she's part of a small group of cooking enthusiasts who have gathered at a Paris market near the Bastille. It's the third time for Sophie, who's in her mid-50s.

'I always learn something new and it's fun to learn to cook directly at the market,' she says. Meanwhile, Sandrine, the master cook, is cheerily explaining that 'caramel can only be stirred once the milk is added.'

It's been about a year since FFCA, the French Society for Recreational Cooking, started offering its free cooking classes in Paris' weekly open-air markets.

'We want to bring people back to shopping at the markets and to cooking,' explains spokesman Mathieu Boulanger. 'And cooking classes are trendy. Paris has almost 80 cooking schools.'

Conveniently, there is almost the same number of regular markets. 'Our head cooks always come from a cooking school in the quarter,' says Boulanger.

There are sometimes small incidents. Sherif, a grey-haired man with a beard, cuts himself on the finger while he's peeling apples. It's embarrassing for him, since he owns a restaurant himself and spend hours in the kitchen.

It doesn't take long to get him a bandage. Meanwhile, someone has finished peeling the apples so small balls of the fruit can be carved out.

Participants don't just learn recipes - they learn the vocabulary of the experts. Even in France, not everyone knows that a half-rounded mixing bowl is referred to as a 'chicken's butt.' Which is just what Sherif is now using to mix egg yolks and sugar for a creme anglaise. This time, the dessert is done first: apples tossed in a frying pan and served with a tasty caramel sauce.

Sophie wrinkles her nose at the recipe for the main course. 'Chicken marinated in cola?' asks the Frenchwoman, a slight panic in her voice.

But the chef calms her. 'The name is just to draw your attention. The meat won't taste like Coke, but the sugar will caramelize it and give it an interesting flavour.'

The more interesting the scents wafting from the outdoor kitchens, the more shoppers who come to a standstill and begin to watch with interest. The organizers always have a few extra aprons, in case someone spontaneously decides to participate.

'That's more likely in the springtime than the winter,' says Boulanger, laughing.

Meanwhile, Sherif is rolling a mixture of goat's cheese and grated apple onto strips of smoked salmon. After an hour and a half, the three-course meal is ready, punctually for lunchtime. Someone quickly buys a fresh baguette from a baker's stand while another person uncorks some red wine - and the hobby chefs enjoy the meal they made themselves.

'I never would have thought that chicken in cola could taste so good,' says Sophie as she opts for seconds.