A Guide to Baking with Whole Wheat
A strong, resilient food economy is one that is localized and accountable to all its participants. Bakers who know their millers are inherently tied to the farmers who supply the mill with wheat. A baker connected to their miller can …
Why Whole Wheat?
“This is the best cookie/croissant/sourdough I’ve ever had” is the most common phrase uttered in our baking classes. Our secret weapons? Sonora, Spelt, Hard White, and Rye are the rainbow of whole grain flours in our arsenal.
Our goal as …
12 Days of Holiday Cookies
Recipes & Tips for the Holidays from Our Kitchen to Yours
Our 2022 Holiday Cookie Collection was curated, styled and shot entirely by the awesome team behind our cooking and baking classes. We hope you’ll bake up one or all of our …
Quiche Lorraine Scones
Quiche Lorraine Scones
Dyeing Easter Eggs, Naturally
It’s time to dye eggs, naturally!
Gather together a few dozen eggs and your favorite crafty fingers this weekend and you’ll be continuing an ancient tradition celebrating rebirth, creation, and healing. Cultures have been decorating, dyeing, waxing, and carving eggs from the …
7 Ways To Honor The Planet In Your Kitchen
7 Ways To Honor The Planet In Your Kitchen
Protecting the resources that provide us with healthy soil, air and water starts in the very place where we appreciate these resources’ gifts! Our kitchens circulate more food, packaging and waste …
CAR ARTISAN CHOCOLATE
Planting Chocolate Roots in Pasadena
Car Artisinal Chocolate
On a modest corner of Colorado Blvd in Pasadena stands a burgeoning chocolate empire. There are signs of a company born of a pandemic; a stack of brand-new chairs across from a …
For the Love of Chocolate
Let’s dig into how chocolate is grown! For starters, chocolate, or cacao, begins its life on a farm. The Theobroma Cacao tree grows 20˚ North and 20˚ South of the Equator and spread from its origins in the area that …
Our Favorite Cookware… and why we love it!
Our partnership with 360 Cookware is going on 5 years now, and we couldn’t be happier! If you ask yourself, does it really make a difference what kind of frying pan you use, the answer is yes it does. When …
HOW TO FEED A POD
If you’re one of the millions of parents who are struggling with this new normal, we’re here to both commiserate and help. We learned how to cope on the fly last Spring and with the start of a new school …
What Can We Do…
We have been moved by the collective moment of observance to reflect on our country’s painful history of violence, racism, segregation and policies leading to civil and economic inequities and violence. In an effort to create dialogue and give voice …
Where to Source Food Outside the Big Box Retailers
Dear Students, Thank you for hanging in there! Thank you for all your emails, questions, DM’s and awesome posts. Thank you, Angelenos, for STAYING HOME, saving lives, being wonderful and kind, supportive and strong. We cannot wait to see you …
Small Batch Scones
We love big-batch baking, but when you can’t readily share your full sheet pan of brownies or 4 dozen cookies with your friends and neighbors and you’re craving something special, it’s nice to make things in small batches. We cut …
Oven Roasted Potato Wedges
Potato wedges were the primary reason for the “freshman 15” I gained at Syracuse, and they will be the reason I pile on a few pounds during the Stay-at-Home Covid-19. Ready in under 40 minutes with just a few minutes of …
Matzah
Here’s a recipe for homemade matzah. These might not be kosher for passover, but they’ll make your house smell incredible, will keep little hands busy for some time and make a fantastic vessel for chocolate-covered matzah over the weekend. Enjoy …
Bread Camp Day 6 & 7: Sourdough Bread
Let’s break down the steps to make sourdough bread so it feels a little more digestible:…
Bread Camp Day 5: Challah
We love this recipe for any day of the week- it makes a lovely sandwich loaf, is easy to braid and will get you challah-ing for more after tearing through these loaves!…
Bread Camp Day 4: Brioche
This, by and large, will be my favorite episode we will be posting because life would not be the same without bread and chocolate. This dough is rich and wonderful and needs to spend about 8 hours in the fridge …
Bread Camp Day 3: Sandwich Bread
It’s Day 3!!! We’re so loving the photos you’ve sent us of your focaccias and milk bread buns. Shall get into sandwiches now? Let’s!
Sandwich loaves are very slightly enriched, and a good one will have a touch of honey …
How to Watch Gourmandise on IGTV
IGTV is almost two years old, but lots of us are unfamiliar with how it find and view videos and show. Here is a How-To to view and find videos and some of our online classes on the Gourmandise IGTV …
Bread Camp Day 2: Milk Bread
It’s Day 2 of Bread Camp and with focaccia under our belt, we’re ready to tackle a soft, squishy enriched dough. Today’s lesson will focus on Milk Bread, or Pain au Lait, to make everything from dinner rolls to cinnamon …
Bread Camp Day 1: Focaccia
Focaccia
It’s Day 1 of Bread Camp – and we’re making Focaccia! This one-bowl, sheet pan bread that can double as your dinner and takes about 3 hours from start to finish. Join us for a 30-minute class filled with …
Take ‘Bread Camp’ Online
During this Stay-At-Home order, we have missed our students and the energy of cooking and baking side by side, watching our fellow chefs teaching through the glass doors, and working with our awesome team of assistants and dishwashers. It’s been …
LA Farmers Markets
Dear Students,
It’s hard to imagine that we have been living this new normal for less than a couple of weeks now. We’ve encountered shortages at our favorite grocery stores, turned to take-out in place of dining in and shifted …
Gourmandise & Straus Family Creamery
The Gourmandise School of Sweets & Savories, touted as one of the Best Cooking Schools in Los Angeles, and pioneering organic dairy brand, Straus Family Creamery, announce a partnership in which The Gourmandise School will use Straus’ minimally processed …
“Beurre Noisette” How To Brown Butter
Brown Butter is a simple sauce, perfect to toss with cooked vegetables, pasta or potatoes. It’s versatile and can also be used as your base to sauté fish, meat or poultry.
…All the Chocolate News That’s Fit to Print: A New Winnower!
Ruth here, fresh from the Fine Chocolate Industry Association meeting and teeming with all fresh batch of chocolate news!
First, I’m excited to announce a new addition to the Gourmandise family; we have obtained a cocoa winnower from Cocoatown for …
Where to Eat (Bread + Chocolate + Cheese) in Paris
Paris was my first home; the 7th arrondissement, a few blocks flanked by blvd. St. Germain, rue du Bac and the rue de Grenelle that housed the poisonnier, boulanger and tabac where my Mamie and I greeted, shopped for and …
Meze: Middle Eastern Small Plates
ARTICLE BY: JOHN PITBLADO
The anticipation of your steak frites is palpable. You poured over the menu, waffled a few times between the meat and the branzino and finally pulled the trigger. The waiter approaches, makes eye contact and swings
…A Collection of Passover Macaroons
ARTICLE BY: RUTH KENNISON
How often does one cookie transcend holidays, food allergies and requires little else than a bowl, a spoon and 20 minutes of your time? The classic coconut macaroon is both gluten free and Kosher for passover,
…The Gourmandise School’s New & Larger Space
It has been nearly seven years since we opened our kitchen doors and let you in. There have been countless Macarons classes, hundreds of Date Nights and Knife Skills courses and some really epic workshops and conferences that have changed …
The Sweetest Valentine’s Day Gifts from Santa Monica’s Independent Cooking School
The Gourmandise School shares a few ways to get romance cooking in the kitchen with the perfect selection of experience gifts.
Make & Take Valentine’s Confections & Gifts
Monday, February 12th at 6:00 P.M.
In this four-hour class, students will …
5 Classic Kitchen Must-Haves for Gift Ideas
Stumped about whether to get the sold-out computerized coffee maker or spaceship-shaped pressure cooker? We prefer good, classic tools and ingredients to make your kitchen and cooking shine. Here’s five of our favorites, some of which you can purchase at
…Our Top 10 Chocolate Tips & Recipes
Chocolate is the most ever-present ingredient in our kitchen, and we only discriminate in its quality. I happen to adore the silky, malted textures and flavors of milk chocolate as much as the tannin-rich bittersweet ones, but each has its
…Your Thanksgiving Turkey Tips
The star of any Thanksgiving meal is and has always been the turkey. Crisp, brown skin and juiciness throughout are the hallmarks of a well-prepared bird. But very often, the turkey is bland, bone-dry and, quite frankly, disappointing. Fortunately, these …
The Grain Conference Keynote Speech by Dave Miller
Thank you all for coming and thanks to Clemence and the team here at Gourmandise School for asking me to speak. I’m honored to be here
I remember the first grain fanatic I ever met. I was managing a bakery …
Interview with Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections
We wanted to dedicate this Mother’s Day to all the moms who work to make your special day a little sweeter. Valerie Gordon and Christine Moore began as confectioners who grew their small candy businesses into successful cafes, restaurants and …
Interview with Christine Moore of Little Flower Candy Co.
We wanted to dedicate this Mother’s Day to all the moms who work to make your special day a little sweeter. Valerie Gordon and Christine Moore began as confectioners who grew their small candy businesses into successful cafes, restaurants and …
The Perfect Pancake Tip Page
- DO NOT OVERMIX. It’s ok if there are lumps. Let the batter sit for a few minutes to allow the wet ingredients to absorb any flour clumps before cooking. Over mixing will lead to over-development of the gluten proteins in
Our Top 10 List of Kitchen Greening Tips
In honor of yet another Earth Day, we bring you our favorite ways to streamline your cooking and reduce waste. We’ve been working with the City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability since we opened 6 years ago and feel …
Cooking Shouldn’t Be Taxing
The idea of coming home, opening the fridge and pantry and whipping up dinner from its contents can feel freeing to some and terrifying to others. The first camp has a few techniques and basics under their belt and the
…How to Win at Brunch
Chef John is our King of Brunch, Excellency 0f Eggs and Minister of Muffins. He received his titles as lead breakfaster for the L.A. Kings a few years ago, regularly feeding 40-50 hungry skaters before 7am. John’s epic brunch skills aren’t just …
The Art of a Tart
We love our buttery vessels, but the difference between pies and tarts can get confusing. A flaky crust makes for delicious pies and savory quiches, but sweet tarts- the sort you’d find expertly adorned with fresh raspberries and a touch …
Your Sourdough Bread Questions, Answered Here.
I am not a careful baker, so when you’ve asked us for our signature Spelt Sourdough recipe, I’ve tended to lend you our copy of Ken Forkish’s awesome bread book Flour, Water, Salt and Yeast or guided you towards our …
Whiskey 101 with Matthew Biancaniello
The Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers Market is church for nearly every chef, established or aspiring, in Los Angeles. You’ll see bakers slalom past strollers with mile-high stacks crates of peaches and strawberries, restaurants chefs piling artichokes on top of potatoes …
How Whiskey is Made
Whiskey is, quite simply, distilled beer. The Scots use barley, your Kentucky Bourbon is made from at least 51% corn and Canadian Whisky’s got rye. These grains go through a series of processes to go from grain to alcohol -stay with …
5 Pie Tips from Evan Kleiman
There are two classes on our calendar that stir up a lot of emotion in students. Cake decorating is a delicious alternative to the Myers Briggs test, but pie classes take the cake. Out of 12 students, we’ll find that half …
How Irish Soda Bread Works
Irish soda bread did not originate in Belfast, just as potatoes weren’t indigenous to the green isles and tartans aren’t Scottish. The Irish picked up the soda bread tradition from Native Americans who had been leaving their breads with pearl ash, a …
Korean BBQ at Home
It’s not quite BBQ season yet, but we’re all itching to break out the charcoal, call our friends over and…eat! Chef May (who you may have had in a Sushi or Chinese Dumplings class) hosts the best get togethers and …
Our Top Doughnuts in Los Angeles
We know this list is going to get us in trouble because everyone’s got their “go to” shop. We’re not knocking your neighborhood joint, but Ruth and Claire and some of our other diligent, selfless staff members have donated their …
Mardis Gras 101
The deep, meaty flavors of Creole jambalaya contrast the brighter tomato-based version that Cajun influences brought to the dish. Either way you make it dish, be sure to double this recipe if you plan on having more that four hungry …
Where to Buy Chocolate in Los Angeles
Chocolate isn’t just for Valentine’s Day, but knowing where to get the good stuff for a lover’s holiday is helpful. We’ve compiled a list of chocolate shops specializing in truffles, confections and toffees as well as retailers who carry specialty single origin
…How to Buy Chocolate
Chocolate runs through our blood at Gourmandise like no other ingredient. It’s there for us in the morning on a thick slice of sourdough bread, toasted and studded with milk chocolate pieces melting atop the toast like heaven on …
How to Purchase Sustainable Meat
Buying meat and poultry, whether at your farmers market or Costco, can be confusing. Labels from Organic to Grass Fed to USDA Prime tell us part of the story, but what do they tell us about the welfare of the animals, …
Dinner in 20
Our dinner routines, like most of the folks we know who work in food, are unconventional. Dinner is often a grouping of leftovers from work or a grain or starch accompanied by one of our homemade condiments. We get home …
Butterscotch makes it better.
Sugar is to butterscotch as reconstituted frozen concentrated orange juice is to a juicy navel orange. The range of flavors and nuances derived from sugar cane as it is processed into sugar are great and far from just one-note-sweet.
Shall we discuss …
Top 5 Cookie Decorating Tips
It’s time to decorate! Relax, make your cookies ahead of time and follow these easy steps to cookie perfection.
1. Use a cookie recipe that doesn’t include leaveners (such as baking soda and baking powder) for cookies that lay perfectly …
Top 5 Holiday Entertaining Tips
This time of year is as good a time as any to look back on the last 12 months and learn from our mistakes. Let’s visit the ghost of Christmas past and recall why we swore we’d never host a …
Beating the wind with bacon and beans
My favorite savory dish of the winter season is easily (after butterscotch and chocolate pudding) Cassoulet. This white bean and three-protein stew of sorts is meant to keep you warm despite the frigid blows of Provence’s Mistral winds and delivers …
Top 5 Turkey Day Tips
Top 5 Turkey Day Tips From The Gourmandise School Of Sweets and Savories in Los Angeles
Whether you’re hosting the meal at your house or bringing a dish to a host, the season is about enjoying the process. Before you …
Guest Blogger: Adventures in Gluten Free Baking by Stephanie Hamilton
Our Pro Pastry series is 10 weeks long and designed to teach the science behind the recipes. Each of our students works independently, which allows for a great degree of variations from person to person. Stephanie Hamilton signed up for our …
Pate a Choux: The Most Versatile Dough in Pastry
There are a couple of superheroes in the pastry lineup; pastry cream, pie crust, meringue…but none are as versatile and easy to master as Pate a Choux, or cream puff dough. A pate, in French, is a dough or a …
Starting a Food Business? Here are 5 Key Rules to Follow.
The only rule you should write down on a post-it and stick to your forehead is this:
You should only be in this business if you can’t not be in it.
Owning a food business is different than nearly any …
5 Years of Sweet Gratitude
Tucked away in a corner of Santa Monica Place, now at the entrance of the Metro’s final stop, is a room full of gratitude. We opened five years ago as part of a larger collection of shops and restaurants, weathering …
Aw, Shucks! Pass the peas, please.
We sit side by side or in front of one another, bowl on our lap and bucket on the ground. A thumb digs into the top of the pod and slices its way down, releasing ripe, bold peas that plink …
Canning 101: How to Make Jams and Preserves
Hey! You! Relax! It’s time to jam.
Turn on the tunes, clear your calendar and your counter for a couple of hours; we’re going to make some sweet, sweet preserves together. Forget everything you’ve seen on YouTube or read in …
Condiments 101 (aka how to make cooking fun)
Read: You do NOT need to know how to cook to start cooking.
Also, we’re not preaching. It’s hard to cook for yourself/family of vultures when you’re running around. I get it. It’s also really nice to tell everyone in …
Single Best Cookie Ever? It’s in the flour.
Once upon a time, flour lived in a paper bag on the store shelves. You opened her up and ran your fingers through the soft white powder. Starchy and velvety, the flour absorbed moisture from the eggs and butter in the …
DIY Candy: The Spring Edition
Spring is here! We’re so excited. The chickens are mating with rabbits, plastic grasses are sprouting from wicker baskets and chocolate eggs are bearing sweet centers. It’s time to get all Willy Wonka and make wacky candy all on your own. …
Something Green for Breakfast
Hold up. Before you get your St Patty’s britches all bunched up at the sight of this un-recipe, consider the number of pints you’ll consume this holiday. We love this sort of breakfast any time of year, and with all …