Bon Appetit to Me

Downtown Milwaukee has a historical portion of the city called "The Third Ward."  It reminds me so much of Madison's State Street that I feel very at home there.  I've been down there many times and it's been wonderful to have the experience, but today's time was beyond memorable. Though the skies were overcast and a chill hung in the air, I bounced across the street with a pep in my step to see what I could see.   Having been to a food tasting at this location a couple of years ago, Mark signed up for their email blast and saw a cooking class for making crepes. Crepes!?!  In Milwaukee?  My last experience with crepes were in France along the Mediterranean with friends.  We were barely speaking as we took the amazingness of this dish into our mouths.  Does it sound fabulous?  That's because it was. Due to the incredible experience before I never wanted to mess with what I remembered as perfect...until now.

The class was more than crepes.  It was instructional, but also incredibly interactive.  I am one of the 5 folks that got up and tried to make the crepes in front of everyone.  It's a working kitchen, much like the ones you see on tv.  The "students" sat facing the kitchen at tables and could hear the chef speak (he was miked).  It was intimate with 16 learners, 1 chef, his wife as his assistant and a few volunteers.  They really did encourage us to ask questions and participate.  The group was largely shy, but I surprised myself several times by asking a couple of questions and introducing myself to a married couple and chatting with them.  I know a lot more about fancy food than I thought and have a ton to learn.   The chef made each of the recipes; they gave us copies of each of the recipes that he made for us.  We had "Soupe au Pistou", "Pesto", "Bouillabaisse", "Rouille" - which was this amazing spread that I can't wait to make, "Crepes & Galettes", "Crepe Suzette".  Tasting all of it was such a reward and especially inspiring, oh and yummers.  Did I mention that they served a glass of Rose with it?!?  Cherry on top!

This is Chef Pierre.  He's from France.  He speaks French.  Need I say more?  It was difficult to understand everything that he said, but I was taken back to my years of learning the language. Surprised by how much I was able to understand (he was cracking a lot of jokes) of what he was saying.  It made me miss the language and consider going back and refreshing myself in this area.  As Chef Pierre was coaching me (the first to try making and flipping crepes) he said my name....notice there is no name tag...I learned later that hubby had introduced himself to the Chef and facilitator before the class and talked them into getting me involved and in front of the group.  Chef was hilarious because he acted suddenly like he couldn't hear a word that I was saying, while keeping a smile/smirk on his face.  I did fairly well on my turn, but when he turned his back to put some dishes out of the way, my crepe didn't land exactly centered - see my face.

I'm so glad I got to experience this class.  As I'm finding my way, it's stops along the road like this one that are rejuvenating to me.  I found that I am more of a natural in the kitchen than I thought.  Most importantly though, I was super proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new.  What's best about it is that my husband suggested and supported it, that means a lot to me.

The biggest thing that I learned from Chef Pierre and this experience was not to be "pharmaceutical" in cooking, but to embrace the passion that it can bring out and have fun, to cook freely...to become more of an experimenter and romantic cook.  I think I can and look forward to enjoying some really delicious food.

As the French would say, Bon Appetit!