Thomas Keller – Masterclass on Cooking Techniques

FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUES. FANTASTIC FOOD.

Thomas Keller has won more Michelin stars than any chef in America. In his first online cooking class, the founder of The French Laundry and Per Se teaches you the underlying techniques of making great food so you can go beyond the cookbook. Learn how to confit vegetables, poach perfect eggs, make hand-shaped pasta, and bring Michelin star-quality meals to your kitchen.

LESSON PLAN
01. Introduction
Meet your new instructor, Chef Thomas Keller. The award-winning chef shares an overview of what he’ll be teaching in his MasterClass: fundamental cooking techniques that will empower you to make great food in your own kitchen.

02. Kitchen Setup: Essential Tools
Before you start cooking, learn which essential tools—from knives to whisks—you should always keep in the kitchen.

03. Kitchen Setup: Essential Ingredients
Learn the key ingredients that you’ll need to enhance and add flavor to any dish.

04. Kitchen Setup: Cookware
Finish your kitchen setup by learning what cookware you’ll need for every dish. Chef Keller also shows you how to avoid cluttering your kitchen with unnecessary tools.

05. Sourcing Ingredients
What does it really mean when food is called local, organic, or sustainable? Chef Keller explains those terms and talks about how he chooses ingredients for meals.

06. Vegetables: An Introduction
Vegetables are a source of inspiration for Chef Keller. Here, he introduces you to a few preparations that will let you enjoy their flavors in every season.

07. Big-Pot Blanching: Asparagus
Blanching gives you bright, vibrant, and well-seasoned vegetables. Learn Chef Keller’s technique, and find out his favorite tools for peeling asparagus.

08. Glazing: Carrots
Chef Keller teaches you how to bring out the natural sweetness of carrots by glazing them.

09. Peeling: Tomatoes
Learn how Chef Keller refines tomatoes for use in salads, sauces, and sandwiches—by peeling them.

10. Braising: Artichokes
Preparing artichokes takes patience and practice. But Chef Keller shows you how to transform the ingredient into dishes that are satisfying and versatile.

11. Purée: Potatoes
This French potato purée is not to be confused with mashed potatoes. Learn how to create this luxurious dish—starting with the correct potato varietal to use.

12. Pickling
Capture the seasonal flavors of vegetables for year-round enjoyment by learning how to properly pickle them.

13. Purée: Parsnips
Learn how to purée a parsnip: a lesser-known root vegetable that Chef Keller loves.

14. Confit: Eggplant & Garlic
Chef Keller teaches you how to confit an eggplant, applying a technique most commonly used with duck to make a creamy and succulent dish.

15. Roasting: Zucchini
Learn how to enhance the flavor of a typical summer vegetable with this technique.

16. Baking: Beets
Chef Keller’s technique for beets involves baking to avoid diluting the flavor and color of the main ingredients.

17. Eggs: An Introduction
Chef Keller loves working with eggs. He discusses why they are his favorite ingredient and explains the different ways you’ll learn to work with them.

18. Mayonnaise
Homemade mayonnaise is versatile, dynamic, flavorful, and the building block for many sauces. Learn how Chef Keller makes it.

19. Hollandaise
Hollandaise is a very special sauce for Chef Keller, and he teaches you how to make it to accompany your dishes.

20. Custard: Crème Anglaise
Crème anglaise is one of Chef Keller’s favorite dessert sauces. Learn how to make a traditional vanilla anglaise—without curdling.

21. Meringue
Use leftover egg whites from your sauces to make a beautiful, sweet dessert that will delight your friends and family.

22. Boiled Eggs
Chef Keller begins every day with boiled eggs. There are many variables when boiling eggs—egg size, burner strength, and pot size, among others. Chef Keller teaches you how to boil an egg to your taste.

23. Scrambled Eggs
Chef Keller shows you two techniques for scrambled eggs—the way his mother made them and the technique he learned in France.

24. Poached Eggs
Chef Keller teaches you how simple it can be to poach an egg, resulting in an elegant and satisfying dish.

25. Omelet
Elevate your breakfast by making a beautiful, silken, golden omelet that’s finished with some classic ingredients.

26. Pasta: An Introduction
While Chef Keller is trained in classical French cooking, he loves working with pasta. Learn how to transform five simple ingredients into versatile pasta dough.

27. Pasta Dough
Learn Chef Keller’s technique for determining when your pasta dough is done, which he learned from an Italian grandmother.

28. Agnolotti
Chef Keller teaches you his technique for making a pasta that traps sauce in pockets.

29. Agnolotti with Peas and Bacon
Learn how to make a composed dish with your agnolotti, complete with peas, bacon, and a delicate parmesan crisp.

30. Spaghetti alla Chitarra and Cavatelli
Chef Keller demonstrates how to make two pasta shapes that take a little bit of patience but lead to gratifying results.

31. Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
In this dish, the ingredients are simple, but the technique is refined. Use your homemade pasta, garlic, and olive oil, and finish with bottarga.

32. Fettuccine and Linguine
Chef Keller shows you how to make these two classic pastas and how to make sure your pasta sheets stay pliable.

33. Gnocchi
Learn how to make potato gnocchi. Chef Keller shows you how to feel and test it to see if you’ve worked with the correct amounts of ingredients.

34. Gnocchi with Pomodoro
Pomodoro sauce is quick and fresh. Chef Keller teaches you his technique for making a perfect pomodoro that he learned from other world-renowned chefs.

35. Six Disciplines of Success
Learn the six disciplines that were critical to Chef Keller’s success early in his career, plus how you can apply them in your professional or home kitchen.

36. Essential Philosophies
Chef Keller leaves you with his personal philosophy about cooking and his thoughts on the importance of nurturing the people you love through food.