The art of French gastronomy

The art of French gastronomy is a feast for the senses, where the beauty is just as important as the taste.

Choosing a cake at a French pâtisserie is a cultural event. There is joy in the careful decision to be made as you view the counters filled with trays of cakes, cookies and croissants, sweet scallop-shaped madeleines, crisp rainbow-coloured macarons sandwiched with luscious velvety cream, scrumptious sugary chouquettes, and opulent opera cakes. Shelves heave with delicious tarts like fruity tarte tatin and delectable seasonal mirabelle plum, apricot and cherry pies. There are flamboyant fraisiers – fresh strawberries stuffed into the rich cream, wedged between layers of delicate almond sponge fingers and creamy flan pâtissier, and puff pastry fantasies, fluffy concoctions of choux balls and piped cream – religieuse, Paris-Brest and Saint Honoré cakes, frangipane filled pithiviers, galette des rois, and exquisite pear tarts.

Behind the scenes are the pâtissiers, cake and pastry makers, who have trained hard to learn how to make these delicious artworks. And, it’s not just cake shops where these skills are evident. A new trend has emerged, a growing legion of home bakers who also want to learn the craft of pâtisserie – for pleasure.

The world’s biggest pastry school

I arrived late at the Ducasse Campus in the village of Yssingeaux, not far from Lyon, in the south of France. It’s a surreal experience to watch Luc Debove whip the lid off a plastic container, pop it in a microwave for a few minutes and wish you bon appetit. The act itself is one we are all familiar with – but Luc Debove just happens to be a world champion pâtissier as well as director l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie, Ecoles Ducasse (ENSP). He takes my bag up to my room in a castle on top of a volcano, which apart from being a pastry school is also a hotel for students and visiting guest teachers – many of them superstars of the culinary world. “Help yourself to anything in the fridge” he says with a smile before he heads home.

And yes if you’re wondering about Ecoles Ducasse – it is that Ducasse, Alain Ducasse, one of the world’s top chefs with 21 Michelin Stars, 31 restaurants, umpteen books, a lifetime of French gastronomy, and founder of Ecoles Ducasse – a collaboration with Sommet Education, the world-leading hospitality management education group – which in 2023 was named winner of the World Culinary Awards.

For a cake monster like me, the fridge was a chilly little heaven. Full of salted cream millefeuille cakes, lemon meringue tarts, and chocolate gateaux, and in the freezer were marvellous looking ice cream cakes made by students during the course of the day. Much of what they make is delivered to local schools for the kids and teachers to enjoy, but some is kept in the fridge for peckish students to enjoy. And me.

The school used to be in the castle, formerly the base of the Confederation of Pastry Makers, but last year they expanded with a brand-new state of the art campus that took ten years to complete – making this the world’s biggest pastry school with a dozen ‘laboratoires’ – kitchens and accommodation for students. Courses here last eight months and include two internships. Students come from around the world; international classes are taught in English, the rest in French. Every student is given a ‘toolbox’ – a cabinet that has wheels as it’s so big, full of essential equipment needed to prepare, primp and prettify pâtisserie from ice cream to chocolate and everything in between.

From baguettes to brioche, bonbons and every sort of cake and pastry

In one class I meet students of all ages making vanilla brioche and caramel-coated sponge fingers, and after just three weeks training, they look good enough to be in a pâtisserie. Another group are making healthy desserts with less sugar and gluten free tarts with chickpea meringue. There are dozens of chef-teachers at the school including one who specialises in gluten free. There are no qualifications needed to take the course and I ask one of the teachers if anyone can learn to be a great pâtissier.

“Technique can be taught” says teacher chef Ludovic, “the key requirements are motivation, passion and hard work. But if you don’t have passion, it will be a struggle.”

Some students will go on to be professional pâtissiers, others are there because they love to cook, love cakes, and want to be the best they can possibly be. Coline from Lyon, a former physiotherapist, told me she loves home baking and wanted to develop her passion. “I was looking for excellence, I wanted the best” she says, “and here I found it. And yes it’s very hard work, but very rewarding.” Marc, a mature student who founded a successful logistics company says but wanted a career change enthuses, “I love cakes, and I love making people happy with cakes,” and planned to work as a pastry chef in a small hotel in Provence after the course.

I happened to be there at the end of a training course for some students, and joined an awards ceremony in which they received their diplomas, cheered on by proud chef tutors, family and friends. A fantastic spread of jewel like canapes and cakes, made to perfection by the students, was the perfect way to pay homage to their skills. I did them proud.

École Ducasse – Paris Campus

In Meudon, in the Paris suburbs, a huge campus caters to long term students with courses geared to teach culinary skills to students who come from around the world to learn from the best. There are several courses from two months to the three-year Bachelor course, taught in French and in English for the International students (80 nationalities). I toured some of the kitchens which were filled with delicious aromas, students fileting fish, chopping vegetables, mixing dough, plating up food, all dressed in meticulously clean white chef jackets and toques. “We’re not training them to be Michelin Star chefs, though some may ago on to achieve that,” one of the teachers tells me “but to be the best they can be. And it’s a serious job, it takes time to make people happy which is what our job as chefs and cooks is.” As with ENSP, there are no formal qualifications, but an interview process ensures that students are prepared for hard work and have the right aptitude.

There’s also a fabulous restaurant onsite – Adour. It’s decorated with copper pots and pans from Alain Ducasse’s own collection. It’s hugely popular (I spotted 2-Michelin starred chef Thierry Marx enjoying a bowl of soup!), so reserve in advance if you want to enjoy their superb menu.

École Ducasse – Paris Studio

Tucked away in a small side street in the heart of Paris, École Ducasse – Paris Studio, in the 16th arrondissement, is for those who want to squish in a morning, afternoon or day of developing culinary skills with a top chef teacher. When I visited, I just missed a Hollywood legend and his family who’d spent the morning learning to make macarons like professionals!

This is the only cooking school in France that’s geared towards amateurs in France who want to learn and practice the culinary arts combined with savoie faire. There are 800 small-class courses each year – a mix of cooking and pastry, plus wine tasting and kids’ cookery courses. You’ll learn to cook dishes with more than 80 different themes and recipes all come from Ducasse restaurants – traditional, classic, bistro and 3-Star, plus you’ll learn how to dress the plates, an important skill in French gastronomy. They use home-style devices, not inaccessible restaurant equipment that you’ll never be able to replicate it at home. As Alain Ducasse says: “Eating is a citizen act in which chefs have a role to play.” This is a unique cooking studio, and what you learn here is a fabulous souvenir of Paris to take home and share with friends and family. I was so impressed, I added this to the itinerary of my Perfect Paris Tours!

Find out more: ecoleducasse.com/en

Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com