On February 23, 2017, the Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole hosted its first event for a group of U.S. travelers to Paris!
As the Académie's Ambassador to the U.S., I was pleased to propose a culinary workshop to Jacqueline Cofield, founder of J Rêve International, for J Rêve's second Paris Global Arts and Culture Exchange Program for educators. This professional development excursion took place from February 19-25, 2017 and Cofield was excited to include culinary arts as part of the activities for attendees.
Isabelle Tulle, the Académie's communications consultant, arranged for the workshop to be held at La Canne à Sucre - an Antillean and Reunion Island restaurant of long standing in Paris' 18th arrondissement.
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
Chef Stéphane Sorbon, winner of the Académie's 2016 Trophée Entrepreneurs (Entrepreneur Trophy) for traditional Créole cuisine, was the creative force behind the event. When we arrived, he was busily setting up the preparation stations for the afternoon.
© Discover Paris!
On the menu were the following Caribbean classics:
- Punch Planteur (Planter's Punch) - cocktail
- Accras de Morue (Cod fritters) - starter
- Colombo de Poulet (Colombo Chicken) - main dish
- Blanc Manger Coco (Coconut pudding) - dessert
Upper left and right - Punch Planteur and Accras de Morue
Lower left and right - Colombo de Poulet and Blanc Manger Coco
Individual photos and collage © Discover Paris!
The eight participants formed four teams of two persons. Each team was responsible for preparing one part of the meal.
To make things even more interesting, each team was asked to evaluate the appearance, presentation of the preparation, and taste of the dishes prepared by the other teams. The team with the highest score won a prize.
Chef Sorbon instructed each team in turn. Because he does not speak English, I served as translator.
We began with the Blanc Manger Coco because it had to cool and set in time for dinner. Team members Autumn Scroggin and Bobby Couch took turns grating, chopping, stirring, and cooking the ingredients for what turned out to be a delectable finish for the meal.
© Discover Paris!
Lower left and right - Autumn stirs the milk mixture; Bobby cooks the milk mixture
Bobby cooks the milk mixture - © Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
All other photos and collage - © Discover Paris!
Next, we turned our attention to the Punch Planteur. Chef Sorbon told team members Maria Pascual and Jonathan McBride the order in which to add the spices, fruits, juices, cane liqueur, and rum. They carried out his instructions to the letter!
© Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
© Discover Paris!
Jon then placed the punch in the refrigerator so it would be cool in time for dinner.
The Colombo de Poulet was the most complicated dish to prepare. Team members Louis King and Lancey Alexander gave it their all.
© Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
Lots of herbs, spices, and peppers go into a Colombo dish.
© J Rêve International
Louis and Lancey scored the chicken to allow the marinade to penetrate, then chopped and combined the ingredients for the marinade. Chef Sorbon browned cumin seeds and mustard seeds in the oil that would be used for cooking the chicken, then Louis did the cooking. Both team members chopped the vegetables that went into the pot once the chicken was browned.
Lower left and right - Louis cooks chicken; Lancey chops vegetables
Upper level photos and collage - © Discover Paris!
Lower level photos - © Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
Once these were added to the pot, we gathered around the team that would prepare the starter.
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There was lots of chopping to do to prepare the cod mixture. While the peppers used for the chicken dish were mild, the variety used for the accras was spicy. Chef Sorbon warned team members Patty Frazier and Robin Lyons-Couch not to include seeds when they added the pepper.
Once the vegetables were chopped, Robin mixed them into the fish by hand. She continued mixing as Patty added the flour and baking powder. She then took the preparation into the kitchen, where she deep fried it by the spoonful.
Patty chops garlic
Lower left and right - Robin mixes the fish and vegetables; Robin fries the fish mixture
Upper and lower left photos - © Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
Upper and lower right photos and collage - © Discover Paris!
Chef Sorbon had the members of Team Planteur and Team Colombo work on a surprise mise en bouche (appetizer) called Sucettes de Tomates Cerises - an innovative preparation of cherry tomatoes topped with caramelized sugar and dipped in sesame seeds.
Left: Louis, Jon, and Maria spear cherry tomatoes
Right: Louis and Lancey dip tomatoes into caramelized sugar
© Discover Paris!
Finally, everything was ready and we prepared to sit down and enjoy the meal.
Left: Robin and Patty bring the accras to the table
© Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
Right: Maria and Jon prepare glasses of Punch Planteur
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
© Discover Paris!
Chef Sorbon plated and served the chicken dish.
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The blanc manger coco, which had been prepared with and without a pineapple topping, was retrieved from the kitchen at the last possible moment.
Then we ate.
© J Rêve International
© J Rêve International
Patty repeatedly declared that the meal was the best she had eaten during the entire time she'd been in Paris!
The evaluations were quickly tallied at the end of the workshop and we waited to hear who would emerge victorious from the afternoon's activities. The winner was Team Accras de Morue.
The prize was a gift bag of Chef Sorbon's homemade banana marmalade, Colombo spices, bitter almond extract, and vanilla extract. Chef proudly informed us that these products will be available for purchase on line in the near future.
© Discover Paris!
The sun was setting as we left the restaurant. Everyone agreed that the afternoon had been magical!
© J Rêve International
Chef Stéphane Sorbon - private chef, caterer, and gourmet boutique owner
Telephone: 07 69 69 23 25
E-mail:
© Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
La Canne à Sucre
2 Rue Coysevox
75018 Paris
Telephone: 01 42 26 51 28
Hours:
Tuesdays through Fridays from 12:00 noon - 3:00 PM and from 7:00 PM - midnight
Saturdays from 7:00 PM - 2:00 AM
Sundays from 12:00 noon - 9:00 PM.
Closed Mondays and Saturdays at lunchtime
© Académie de l'Art Culinaire du Monde Créole
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