Crafty Amateur Chefs Learn Tricks of the Trade

What is more sensual than “un essaim” of French chefs stirring a roux and caramelizing crème brulee? Toque blanche (white hat) clad, “senior-ish” Jewish men learning to splice, dice, and sacrifice $85 to prepare a five-course gourmet meal with wine flights under the tutelage of local chefs as part of Les Marmitons.

Les Marmitons (French for “kitchen helpers” or “chef’s boys”) is a gastronomic social, members-only, international cooking club, focusing on the culinary arts with three Atlanta chapters: Roswell, Canton, and Sandy Springs. The AJT met up with chefs Eddie Wolffe, Wayne Lazarus, and Paul Kent, identified by their blue names emblazoned on apron fronts alongside the year of their initial membership.

Wolffe said, “You could call me ‘a foodie’ as I’ve traveled eight times to Paris to do a deep dive into dining and especially liked eating at L’Atlas. So, at Le Marmitons, I get to play that out and learn new techniques.”

The group meets monthly on Sunday nights at an industrial kitchen just inside I -285. The Valentine’s, Winter Holiday (not all members are Jewish), and picnic events allow female guests. Wolffe, a retired textile engineer, whose French favorites are Coc au Vin and Beef Bourguignon, likes to eat locally at the Colonnade.

“Actually, I’m underwhelmed by the eating out choices in Atlanta. The Brickery was wonderful but no longer exists.” He said, “I’m really good at making suga (sauce) with my ‘taste and go’ method.” When asked what new techniques he has learned, he replied, “I’m adept at cutting lemons and using tongs.”

Kent, with decades of experience in the food industry, now vice president of a Belgian-based spice business, was assigned to the salad course and shared how, after roasting the beets, he used the reserved liquid to fold into the salad dressing, adding, “It’s important to toast the walnuts before topping the arrangement.”

A member for more than two years, he joined to “be around a group of guys who love to cook and work together as a team.” His favorite menus involved stuffed chicken breasts and veal, adding, “My best ‘Marmitons trick’ was learning how to slice an onion in just a few cuts.” For an unusual notch in his culinary belt, Kent took his grandfather’s barbeque sauce recipe to market and sold it in 44 stores.

Between courses, that night’s chef, Jamie Adams, of Il Giallo Osteria and Bar (Sandy Springs) and L’Antoinette (Crabapple), worked with the lay chefs in the back kitchen and appeared between courses to go over details. Adams explained the simplicity of that night’s sauce, comprised of very few ingredients, beginning with pureed tomatoes. Note that Les Marmitons chefs are paired in teams and assigned to courses, while getting “clean up” duty is also possible. Two or three members are designated at each session to procure the food selected for the menu.

Lazarus, an attorney, who has been a member for just over a year, claims to have no special affinity for food, but wanted to broaden his horizons. He likes the varying professional chefs and explained, “The different chefs from local restaurants mentor, help with the menu, and direct our activities when we prepare the courses. We then have the option of going to that chef‘s restaurant with a special menu at a special price.”

One of the most practical things Lazarus learned was how to score fish … making shallow, diagonal, or crosshatch cuts into the skin or flesh before cooking. He added, “It’s primarily done to allow heat to penetrate thicker parts for even cooking, enable seasonings/marinades to penetrate deeper, prevent skin from shrinking and curling, and create crispy, textured skin … but my most practical lesson was how to avoid cutting my fingers when chopping vegetables quickly.”

Fun fact, in traditional toques, the more the pleats, the more accomplished the chef.