Pastis is one of Vancouver’s top French bistros and when it came to celebrating Julia Child’s 100th Birthday they stepped up and recreated many of the items from her epic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and are still doing so until September 2.

We attended the August 16 dinner, which was both a cooking class with Chef Tobias Grignon with commentary from the charming host and owner John Blakeley.

The night began with some bubble and a demo from Chef Grignon.

Pissaladiere Nicoise is a thin flatbread made with caramelized onions, black olive and anchovies.  Griginon suggested using store-bought puffed pastry which is a tactic I employ at home frequently because I basically suck at pastry making.   Maybe I’ll get to a class on this soon, but for now the store-bought it will be.  Caramelized onions are a technique worth learning.  This article in Simply Recipes has the basics covered.

Moules a la Bernaise were served as dish number two.  Seafood and bearnais sauce are an ideal combination and this buttery, luscious creation showcased this perfectly.  Check out Julia herself making the sauce with Martha Stewart.

Searing scallops perfectly is an art, they must be dry and the pan hot.  These ones where done with the additions of some button mushroom and a white wine cream sauce that was just the right texture and thickness.  I could seriously drink this stuff.

 

The Boeuf Bourguignon is Julia’s most iconic recipe and the flavours here were great, but the beef wasn’t as tender as I’d like.  The pomme puree was another little buttery delight.  Julia’s been quoted saying “When in doubt, just add butter” many times and this really is what makes potatoes taste so damn good.

Ambrosial Cherry clafoutis with vanilla wrapped up the meal perfectly and was paired with a sparkling Chamdebille a perfect wine to toast the evening and Julia Child herself.