Dominique Ansel is offering his first MasterClass

Cookbooks are an excellent medium for transferring knowledge and skills about cooking and baking. From their pages, I’ve learned how to make a myriad of meats, side dishes, and desserts. Some techniques, however, lend themselves to live demonstration. I was never able to master deboning a chicken until I watched Jacques Pépin  do it on his PBS show (you can watch him reprise this in a video from Travel Channel). 

The field of French pastry is another one where seeing a technique can really assist in learning. This is one reason pastry chef Dominique Ansel is now offering a 17-lesson course via MasterClass. “Food is a necessity, but pastry and dessert is always a choice. Pastry, to me, has a very emotional connection with people, and teaching the fundamentals of pastry is a combination of both science and art,” the chef said in a statement promoting the course. In the lessons, you’ll learn fundamental techniques – and yes, one lesson includes how to make the world-famous Cronut.

The course is available for $90, or for $180 you can take any of the MasterClass offerings, including a new release from Thomas Keller on meat dishes, stocks, and sauces and classes from Alice Waters, Gordon Ramsay, and Wolfgang Puck. Through this weekend, MasterClass is running a promotion. If you purchase an all-access pass to the site, you will get a free membership to give as a gift. 

Photo of The at-home Cronut™ pastry from Dominique Ansel: The Secret Recipes