Master chefs teach a hands-on approach at Le Cordon Bleu’s school in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ON – “Now for the soufflé,” announces Chef Daniel Verati. “A little bit tricky, but you are going to have fun with that.”

Then wagging a whisk at his class of eight, in the delightfully accented English that befits a French chef, he cautions, “I’m telling you right away, if you whisk, the whites will go down and your soufflé won’t go up.”

All eyes are glued to the overhead mirror and TV monitors, as Verati starts in on the gentle cutting and folding of beaten egg whites into the custard. No whisk for him. The implement of choice is a spatula.

“You talk to them,” he says as he cuts and folds. “Tu est gentil.”

This, to put it delicately, is my kind of chef, a whiz, with a girth that speaks of his longtime passion for food – with lots of tasting.

Everyone scribbles notes on their ingredient list in anticipation of the practical session to follow.

We are attending a Culinary Getaway Weekend sponsored jointly by the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute, the only fully accredited Cordon Bleu in Canada.

The day begins with a tour of the Byward Farmers’ Market led by Chateau Laurier executive chef, Collin Thornton. Then it moves on to the school, which is housed in the renovated 1874 Munross Mansion on residential Laurier Avenue.

The building, purchased in 2000 and restored to its original grandeur, is home to the restaurant Signatures@ Le Cordon Bleu Paris as well as the school. An addition to the rear of the mansion accommodates the-state-of-the-art school.

From the demo/lecture room, we move to the gleaming stainless steel kitchen ready to tackle Canard à l’Orange et Raciness Locales Roties (that’s duck à l’orange with roasted local root vegetables) and the tricky squash soufflé.

Each participant has a station with a workspace, fridge and stove. Beforehand, an unseen good kitchen fairy – one I would like to take home – has measured and labeled all the ingredients we would need.

We don spanking white aprons and hats and dig in. Somehow, Chef Verati keeps an eye on each of us all of the time. A little cajoling here, a joke there and a helping hand at whipping egg whites, when needed.

“There’s no problem that doesn’t have a solution,” he says. “Unless you burn the garlic. Then the solution is throw it out and start over.”

Since the first Cordon Bleu school opened in Paris in 1895, it has been recognized as the authority in French culinary technique.

The name comes from the Order of Knights of the Holy Spirit, the highest order of knighthood in 16th-century France. Called Les Cordon Bleus, members of the order wore a medal that hung from a sky-blue ribbon. A lavish banquet celebrated the awarding of each medal. These feasts became legendary. So did the cuisine that now bears the order’s name.

When Andre Cointreau, a direct descendant of the founders of Cointreau liqueur and Remy Martin cognac, bought the company in 1984, there was a school in Paris and another in London. Today there are 27 scattered in 15 countries around the globe. The student body now numbers more than 20,000.

“We take a hands-on approach to teaching,” says Cointreau over dinner in the elegant Signatures dining room. “The theory is thrown into the lesson, but it is in the doing that you learn best.” For anyone dreaming of a culinary career, le Grand Diplome le Cordon Bleu offers an intensive training in classic French culinary technique, taught by Master Chefs. For those who simply love to cook and want to improve their knowledge and technical skills, hands-on gourmet sessions are taught by the same masters. Topics run from hearty stews to summer salads to festive holiday baking. It is also possible to sit in on a monthly three-hour demonstration and lecture.

Since opening in 2001, Signatures has been awarded a Five Diamond rating from CAA/AAA. This highest honour signifies worldclass excellence. Signatures is one of only 10 restaurants in Canada to receive the prestigious award.

The restaurant is not, as you might expect, staffed by students. As executive chef Bernard Guillaudin explains, “It is staffed by a brigade of professional chefs and functions as an observation kitchen where students see first-hand the operations of a fine dining establishment.”

In choosing the name Signatures, plural instead of singular, Cointreau wanted to convey the fact that, “we are not a onecelebrity- chef restaurant, but a showcase of Le Cordon Bleu’s international chefs.”

It’s a philosophy that has propelled Cointreau into one of the leading ambassadors of culinary arts throughout the world. And the soufflé – before our awestruck eyes – rose to remarkable heights.