French and Pastry and Baking Courses

French and the Secrets of French Pastry

This course includes French language classes, French pastry classes, as well as Chocolate making courses.

French and the Secrets of French Pastry – a delectable combination of French pastry, chocolate creations and French language! After a morning of French language classes, we invite you to don an apron and head to the kitchen for our hands-on Pastry and Chocolate sessions.

A unique opportunity to develop your artistic side and your taste buds. Our enthusiastic, talented chef instructor, with his artistic flair and advanced technical qualifications, teaches in a relaxed setting. He leads you on a creative adventure that covers the basics of pastry and chocolate production, how to make technical improvements, and encourages you to use your imagination in the creation of a chocolate presentation.

French viennoiserie

Learn techniques and little secrets for preparing several types of croissants, pain au chocolat, brioche and viennoiserie: all you need to know about French bakery in France.

The croissant is indispensable to every good French breakfast. This pastry was created in 1863 in Vienna, but it was Marie Antoinette from Austria (originally from Vienna) who officially introduced and popularized the croissant in Paris, dating from 1770.
In the 18th Century, it was only a simple bread dough with a few improvements. The flaky, butter croissant that we eat today burst on the scene in 1920 under the agile hands of Parisian bakers.

It’s important to note the difference between the butter croissant and an ordinary or plain croissant (made with margarine). In terms of butter, France is unbeatable: the butters from Surgères (Poitou Charentes), d’Isigny (Calvados) and from Normandy are like diamonds to the pastry chefs. They are equally used in the production of pains au chocolats (general term) or chocolatines (product from the Southwest: Bordeaux and Toulouse, and in Quebec) and in all viennoiseries.

The French recall with great fondness the pain au chocolat, the raisin bread or the sugared brioche bought on their way home from school. Immerse yourself in childhood memories and share the unequaled pleasure of seeing, smelling, touching and listening to the array of French viennoiserie pastries!

French brioche

The brioche, similar to the type that we eat today, was born in Normandy in the 16th century, but brioche dough was developed in medieval times. It has undergone many different forms and flavor profiles, according to the region of origin (sugar brioche, Tarte Tropézienne, gâche, Brioche Nanterre, Brioche Vendée, braided brioche, Cougnou, Pogne, Saint Genis, Brioche Chinois, etc.) and also gains its reputation from the quality of the butter used in its fabrication.
Here in Roanne, the most well-known brioche is the Praluline. https://www.chocolats-pralus.com/en/la-praluline.html
Become a brioche expert and join in the grand tradition of French pastry makers in mastering the secrets and mysteries of the butter brioche that once delighted Marie Antoinette.