What is the principle? L'Atelier des Chefs, created 12 years ago by Nicolas and François Bergerault, is now available in an online version:i-Chef. These are live, video cooking classes with chef Cathleen Clarity, who you can ask questions about. There are four live recipes per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., for a lesson lasting approximately one hour) and available for replay thereafter. In total, more than 850 courses are available for replay.
We tested. I chose to test the chicken and lemongrass gyozas. Suffice to say that normally, I only eat gyozas at Japanese restaurants… I love it, but it seems really hard to do. Okay, first step:do the shopping from the list on the site and check that you have the necessary equipment. Nothing complicated but it's still better not to do it the day before in case some ingredients are difficult to obtain. I chose to test the course in replay, not being available the day the recipe was broadcast live. I prepare all my ingredients to put myself in live conditions, I connect to the site and select the recipe card (on which we also find the written instructions). Let's go ! Chef Cathleen appears on my tablet and starts talking and cooking. We start cooking immediately, and she explains very well everything she does, distilling tips and tricks along the way (how to cut lemongrass? what instruments to use to cut the chicken? etc.). At times, I have to pause the video because it's going a little fast for me, but overall, I manage to follow and nothing seems impossible to me, yay! Cathleen sometimes interrupts to answer questions from Internet users. The 48 minutes (well, a little more for me with the breaks) of the video pass very quickly and my gyozas + sauce are done. It's time now to move on to the tasting... Well, the taste isn't quite the same as at the restaurant and I find my stuffing a little too compact, but it's super good (and the sauce is delicious)! I am impressed by my achievement, as are my guests:“Did you really make them? "Yeah!" One thing is sure, I will try again, maybe in a vegetarian version next time.
Verdict. I find the principle really great:I managed to make a recipe that seemed quite difficult to me and I am proud of myself. On the other hand, as far as I am concerned, I find the replay more interesting than the live, which is too fast (in any case, for a recipe that is not easy). It's true, you lose the fun side of being able to ask the chef questions, but I found Cathleen's explanations to be very clear and I learned a lot. I intend to take advantage of my subscription to test other recipes, and tell my friends around me who love cooking but do not start because some recipes seem too complicated to them. Big crush!
i-Chef, €9.99 per month on the i-Chef website. Termination possible at any time. Pack 6 months €54.90 and one year €99.90. First month free.
