Getting a Grand Diplôme at Home
Talk about striking gold.
On Saturday night, my sister handed me — or should I say “dropped on the dinner table with a bit of effort and a heavy thud” — 72 issues of an at-home cooking course put out by the Cordon Bleu in the ’70s. Edited by the venerable Anne Willan, each issue contains 1-3 lessons that cover basic cooking techniques. I am both in awe of and slightly afraid of these booklets. First off, there is entirely too much aspic and gelatin for my liking. Secondly, to say that food photography has come a long way in the past 40 years is the understatement of the week. Case(s) in point:
On the other hand, I am a big fan of programs of study and a regimented approach to a field. I like coming at things systematically, learning how to roast, then steam, then fillet a fish, then make pie pastry, and checking off boxes when I achieve something (list makers out there will know what I’m talking about). And hello, if you’re going to embark on an at-home cooking school education, it might as well be from the Cordon Bleu in a series edited by Anne Willan.
So I think I’m going to go for it. I’m stoked, and yet terrified. I’ll admit to having tried my first lesson last night (more on this next week), and I was reminded of what my friend Kim said recently when she decided to study Hebrew: “It feels good to learn things. You appreciate it more as an adult.” Having roasted a fair number of chickens in my life, it was interesting to try something in a new way, no matter how initially resistant I was to the extra effort involved.
So I’m jumping in with both feet. I’ll adapt the ingredients slightly (if necessary) to bring them into the 21st century, and cross reference Mastering the Art of French Cooking when necessary, but basically I’ll go by the book. Grand Diplôme, you shall be mine!
Erin: In all seriousness… What the HELL is that green thing?? :01 year ago
Honestly, I’m not ENTIRELY sure, but I think it’s half an avocado with the pit side turned down.1 year ago
Sara Rose: COOLEST THING EVER.1 year ago
zoe: What a cool gift! Your sister didn’t want them?1 year ago
She’s unloading a lot of her possessions in preparation for a cross-country move. I’ll miss her — but have tons of recipes for aspic!
1 year ago
Kristina: Food photography has come a long way in 40 years, thank goodness for us all. The green thing (whatever it is) looks absolutely disgusting.
And yeah, I would love checking off the little boxes, too. Have fun.1 year ago
BECKY: Move over Julie and Julia…..Here come Sarah and Anne!!!
1 year ago
Jen: What a fun and arduous project! I look forward to these posts
1 year ago
Yeah, how do you make a glorious avocado look gross?
Becky, Woo-hoo! It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but I’m still excited!
Jen, Here’s hoping it’s more fun and less arduous.
1 year ago
ciaochowlinda: OMG did you ever bring back memories. I have some of those magazines from the 70s - and now I want to resurrect them too.1 year ago
ann: Woohoo go Sarah! I can’t wait to see what you stumble across
1 year ago
do it, linda! we could start some kind of viral trend!
ann, i’ll probably try to steer clear from the really weird stuff.
1 year ago
msmezzo: You are lucky they are not in french! Looks like fun to me!1 year ago
Bunny (michele)rosenthal: Hi, the magazines sound wonderful. My mother had found an old Simca’s Cuisine , Simone Beck cookbook for me several years ago and I ended up finding my favorite recipe for Coquille St Jacque in it. Plus it was great fun learning more about Simca!! I’m sure you will be discovering many wonderful recipes in your magazines. I just posted pictures of the adorable peacock platter I found on your blog last week. Its so cute. I filled it with delicious veggies from the Farmers Market last night.1 year ago
Nath: Hi, that’s a great course to take, no? You could also have a look at this site: lesotlylaisse.canalblog.com. It’s written by a French cookery teacher, it’s pretty good. Have a good weekend.1 year ago
Faith: Sarah, that is so exciting! I want to do it too. I am going to go online and do research right now. I’ve always wanted to do cooking school of some kind and how much easier to just do it at home. We could be like correspondence cooking school buddies and trade notes!1 year ago
Lisa (dinner party): How fun! Can’t wait to see what you make. I just bought a James Beard cookbook from 1949 and am thinking about doing a dinner party using some of the recipes. Luckily, instead of garish food photos it has gorgeous colored illustrations. Although I am a sucker for old food photography.1 year ago
Jessica: Is that green thing an avocado or a jello mold of such one? Doesn’t look at all appetizing. That’s awesome though that your sister gave you her old cookbooks. I’m a beginner myself and in need of some good materials to get me started.1 year ago
No, it doesn’t look at all appetizing, does it, Jessica!
If you need a cookbook to get you started, I can’t say enough great things about How to Cook Everything.1 year ago