My Friend Chris and I Preparing Our Meal at Le Cordon Bleu

“Every bite takes you home” is a theme within the movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey. Food is a big part of my life, my memories and my celebrations. Pretty much every story I tell from my childhood has some aspect of food. For me, the food that takes me back to my childhood is crêpes. Every summer I would visit my grandparents at their lake house. My grandmother would make us crêpes every trip. I could eat tons of them covered in butter and powdered sugar. If I was to have a crêpe at this very moment I’d be transported back to that house playing on the floor with my first Transformers, learning to play pool, going fishing or playing down at the beach. The taste of crêpes will always make me remember my grandmother and those precious moments of childhood.

If I ever have Quiche Lorraine or Parisian Mumbai chicken Salad with Curried Walnuts again I’ll be transported back to my visit to Le Cordon Bleu.

Two Weeks Ago I was on an all expense paid blogger trip sponsored by ABC Family (#ABCFamilyEvent, #MysteryGirls, #YoungandHungry, #ChasingLife), Disney (#GuardiansOfTheGalaxyEvent, #BigHero6) and DreamWorks (#100FootJourneyEvent). The opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine unless of course they are credited as a direct quote of someone else.

Chef Chanel Martinez Gave Us a Tour of Le Cordon Bleu Hollywood Campus

For our visit to Le Cordon Bleu we started with a tour of the facility. The campus that we visited was the Hollywood campus. It is located right next to an ArcLight theater and has giant windows all around so that people can see in from outside and students can see the people walking by or even musicians playing. One of the chefs, Chef Chanel Martinez, showed us the different kitchens that were available to students. There were large kitchens filled with plenty of industry-current kitchen equipment. The bakery kitchen had three different types of ovens. There are programs for culinary arts, bakery and pastry arts and even online courses. There are also kitchen enthusiast cooking workshops. If the workshops are anything like the experience that we had then I’d highly recommend taking one of those workshops if you can.

Students in the program learn much more than in kitchen skills. Students learn business skills as well. Students must prepare menus and learn how to place orders for stock and learn how to prepare food so that it all comes out at the same time fresh and hot for patrons. Students also participate in externships and learn on the job skills in the industry. There were many resources available to students to pursue their culinary careers.

Chef Carlos Mulia Was Our Instructor for Preparing Our Meal

After our tour we met with Chef Carlos Mulia and he told us more about the dish that we would be making as well as the three items that we had in front of us to try. He welcomed us to Le Cordon Bleu and talked to us more about the school. As he spoke we enjoyed three delicious items and learned more about the spices that went into the foods from the film The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Pre-Meal Appetizers – Quiche Lorraine, Greens and a Beef Bourguinon Skewer

Each person had three items: Quiche Lorraine, Greens and a Beef Bourguinon Skewer. I was lucky to be at a table with a vegetarian because I got to have an extra piece of the amazing Quiche Lorraine and half of a second skewer. These were absolutely delicious and whet my appetite for what we would be having for our main meal.

Cardamom Seeds

On our tables there were some Cardamom Seeds for us to smell as well as curry powder. The meal that we were to prepare would be a fusion of French and Indian flavors. There is a strong connection to food in both cultures as well a sort of similarity in how food is prepared. Combining the two flavors and styles together makes for a delicious melding of experiences for the senses.

Our Work Stations With Perfectly Prepped Portions

We paired up to create our meal. Chris from Dad of Divas and I worked together. I attribute about 80% of the work done on this to him. He did almost all of the cutting and then the plating. I did things like put the chicken on the grill and sprinkle seasoning and oil onto the Naan bread and walnuts. I like how each workstation had the ingredients perfectly portioned out and ready to go. chicken was already in a plastic bag awaiting the marinade that we would create using yogurt and oil and spices.

Some of Our Ingredients for the Parisian Mumbai Chicken Salad

All ingredients were in little plastic containers or on spoons. We were making a Parisian Mumbai Chicken Salad. The salad had Naan Bread Croutons or “Naan-tons” as one blogger called them. The chicken was marinated in yogurt and spices. An apple and a mango needed to be sliced to give the salad a sweetness. For additional sweetness we made curried walnuts with sugar. All of these ingredients were then carefully plated on greens to create the salad.

Chris Preparing Our Meal. He did all the Heavy Lifting

As I said, Chris did most of the work. I grilled the chicken after learning how to make perfect diamond shaped grill marks. Place the meat at 10 o’clock and then switch it, without flipping to 2 o’clock. Then, when one side is done flip to the other side and repeat the 10 and 2 trick to have great grill marks on both sides.

Our Plated Parisian Mumbai Chicken Salad

The completed meal was delicious. I wasn’t quite sure that I would enjoy mango and apple in the salad but the sweetness combined with the crunch was perfect. The plate looked incredible and I made sure that we didn’t waste a single Naan-ton or curried walnut.

Adding the Finishing Touches to Chai Crème Brûlée

After we made our main meal we got the chance to make our dessert as well. The dessert was a Chai Crème Brûlée. The Chai Crème Brûlée was already in the ramekin but it still needed the melted sugar crust on top. We got to use the torches and melt the sugar. First we had to pour a layer of sugar over the custard, make sure it was distributed evenly and then use the torch to melt that layer. I did pretty well for my first time doing it and was surprised at how long I needed to melt the sugar.

Finished Chai Crème Brûlée

The completed Chai Crème Brûlée. Now with a golden brown crust it was time to crack the sugar shell and enjoy the delectable Chai custard beneath.

Cream Puff with Chocolate Sauce

For those who did not care for Crème Brûlée there were also some creme filled pastries and chocolate sauce. They were amazing!

Selfie with Chef Carlos Mulia

I had a fantastic time learning how to make the Parisian Mumbai Chicken Salad and will probably make it for the family soon. I may even have to make some Crème Brûlée as well. The experience make me thing more about combining textures and tastes to truly make a feast for the senses. Maybe at some point I will make something that triggers a food memory for my children.

This trip to Le Cordon Bleu tied things together nicely after seeing the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey. So many of the dishes within that movie had my mouth watering and I am glad that I got to try some and have a hand in making some of the food myself.

You can learn more about the Le Cordon Bleu Campuses through their social Media links. Be warned though, mouth watering food is everywhere on their social channels.

Le Cordon Bleu on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LeCordonBleu

Le Cordon Bleu on Twitter – https://twitter.com/lcbschools (#LeCordonBleu & #LCBLA)

Le Cordon Bleu on Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/LeCordonBleu/

Le Cordon Bleu on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/lcbschools

Le Cordon Bleu Website – http://www.chefs.edu/Los-Angeles

Learn more about The Hundred-Foot Journey Movie below.

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY
DREAMWORKS PICTURES and PARTICIPANT MEDIA

Genre: Comedy/Drama
U.S. Release date: August 8, 2014

Cast: Helen Mirren, Manish Dayal, Om Puri, Charoltte Le Bon
Director: Lasse Hallström
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Juliet Blake
Executive Producer: Caroline Hewitt, Carla Gardini
Co-Producer: Raphael Benoliel
Screenplay by: Steven Knight
Based on: The novel “The Hundred-Foot Journey” by Richard C. Morais

In “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant – the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own, escalate to all out war between the two establishments – until Hassan’s passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory’s enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory’s culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan’s gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” abounds with flavors that burst across the tongue. A stimulating triumph over exile, blossoming with passion and heart, with marjoram and madras, it is a portrayal of two worlds colliding and one boy’s drive to find the comfort of home, in every pot, wherever he may be.

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THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY arrives in theaters everywhere on August 8th!