Lesson “Christmas in Alsace”

The festive New Year mood did not miss our school. We decided to end our culinary year with French cuisine lesson and devote it to the province of Alsace and the famous Strasbourg Christmas Market, the most beautiful and delicious fair in Europe. Especially for the lesson, as it is in our school tradition, we brought local delicacies, stories and, of course, recipes. Together with the chef of the French restaurant, Vadim Chevganiuk, we prepared dishes that one can taste at the Christmas market: toast with snail butter, gratin with spätzle and bacon, tart flambée, clafoutis cherry pie, mulled wine made from red wine and orange juice. Everything that can warm an enthusiastic tourist wandering through the narrow streets of Strasbourg. We not only tasted the traditional dishes of Alsace, but also immersed ourselves into the atmosphere of the French holidays, found out why a Christmas tree appears in our houses for Christmas, why a French Christmas cake looks like a log, why Christmas decorations have the shape of a ball… Sommelier Konstantin Vidoborenko suggested Alsatian wines Gewurztraminer Reserve Alsace 2012 Jean-Baptiste Adam and Pinot Gris Alsace 2011 Cave de Turckheim for the lesson. And we also had a special guest – the director of Alliance Française Odessa, Mr. Sylvain Bano. He told us stories about the traditions of his country. Like any Frenchman, Sylvan cooks well. We asked him to tell us his opinion on our culinary skills. The answer was short – some dishes tasted better than at home!!!

Lesson recipes:

• Spätzle and bacon gratin
• Tarte flambée or Alsace onion pie
• Clafoutis

Photos from the lesson