Chez Leoniel French Cooking Class - Le France Festival 2016 at Alliance Francaise De Kuala Lumpur Lorong Gurney

In conjunction with the Le France Festival 2016 held from 12th May to 18th June 2016, Chez Leoniel presented a special French cooking class which was held at the Alliance Francaise De Kuala Lumpur Lorong Gurney, Kuala Lumpur recently.

For this cooking class, Chez Leoniel presented 3 dishes which the first is canapes followed by a Sturgeon soup and finally the highlight which is the Creme Patisserie.

Various canapes were prepared for the guest to enjoy with Cognac pairing by Martell.

One of the canapes served for the night is the Empurau fish canapes, which was pan fried and served with the German bread.



One of the unique features of this Empurau fish is that almost all parts of the fish can be eaten including the fish scales which is deep fried to a crisp.

The main highlight is the Creme Patissiere which Chef Leoniel take us each and every step to create this special pastry. What is important is the use of the right French ingredient from the type of butter

to the flour is critical to the final result. One of the critical steps is to ensure that the flour granules are adequately coated with the butter fat.

This ingredient is then mixed with the right portion of Omega eggs and kneaded in.

When done, the dough has to be kept in the fridge for at least 30 min to be air but for best result, overnight is ideal. This will give the pastry a light and fatty but firm base to support the filling.

Next, prepare and oil the tarts pan and place the dough evenly into the pan.



After the pastry is baked in the oven, line it with a layer of specially crafted cream.

Finally, layered your favourite fruit topping i.e. strawberries, mangoes, raspberries and blueberries and you have your fruits tart ready and to be eaten with your favourite cup of coffee.

Our final dish was the Sturgeon Soup which was pressure boiled for a couple of hours. The collagen enriched soup was great when eaten piping hot as when the soup cools down; the fishy taste is quite strong and can be a turnoff for some.

We really had a great experience to have the opportunity to learn the intricate preparation and the right techniques for baking French pastry and an evening of tips sharing which we truly enjoyed with the Chef Leoniel. We look forward to next year festival to enjoy some French cultural and dishes.

Bon Apetit