I had a fun and informative time at a recent sous vide masterclass hosted by Great British Chefs at Le Cordon Bleu with Master Chef Eric Bediat of Le Cordon Bleu and Head Chef Russell Bateman of Colette’s at The Grove sharing instruction and recipes.
Part of Great British Chefs’ ongoing Cook School series, the class was an excellent opportunity for hands on play with some killer kitchen gear – with a gorgeous meal to boot and the chance to learn a couple of new recipes.
Special kit for the occasion was provided by sousvidetools.com. For me, the idea behind sous vide (cooking vacuum sealed food in a ‘bath’ of warm water) wasn’t all that complicated, but I reckoned it to be the reserve of only high volume pro kitchens. I was surprised how straightforward it was to use the gear and that consumer-use equipment is available at reasonable price.
I learned that cooking sous vide method required minimal fuss and considerably less time management that most other ways of preparing food. Plus, as long as you’ve got your water temperatures set right, it’s virtually impossible to screw things up. No overcooking or burning.
My first time at Le Cordon Bleu, I was impressed with the awesome work stations and attentive help throughout the class.
The food made was exquisite. Bateman’s sous vide halibut cooked in vanilla flavoured brown butter with escabéche vegetables, saffron potatoes and fresh coriander was rich but delicately balanced to enhance the fish. I loved how the vanilla butter was so evenly infused in every bite of meat. Ditto the potatoes with the saffron. Bediat’s vegetarian-friendly celeriac fondant with cep and walnut nougatine and watercress velouté was a (mildy) sweet and savoury success.
Le Cordon Bleu is located at 15 Bloomsbury Square, WC1A 2LS. Find out more at cordonbleu.edu.
For more about Great British Chefs’ Cook School, go to greatbritishchefs.com/series/cook-school. To see more than 165 sous vide recipes, check out greatbritishchefs.com/collections/sous-vide-recipes.
