Last Updated on April 9, 2025
Sourdough doughnuts and cinnamon rolls on the menu
A pre-Christmas baking workshop at Le Cordon Bleu London was a treat with bells on. I am not a confident baker, lacking the temperament for exact measurements and precision. The joy of a class is that all the prep is already done, and all participants need to do is follow the leader. In this case, it was Chef Stéphane Gliniewicz, a French chef with a stellar list of Head Baker positions, who put us through our paces, demonstrating each step along the way. By the end of the evening, we each had a cake box full of goodies to take home – sourdough doughnuts and cinnamon rolls.
I love nothing better than pottering around a kitchen with professionals, especially for a fun event when I end up eating my mini-masterpieces rather than presenting them for grading or scrutiny. I was rather envious of a friend who spent three months at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, where she received a Diploma in Patisserie. That was a difficult course with long hours and a lot of pressure. Here I was simply having fun for two hours.
On arrival at Le Cordon Bleu, we descended to the teaching kitchen which is in the basement below the CORD restaurant where we were treated to dinner after the workshop. In our branded tote bags we found an apron and tea towel – the kind that you see tucked into chefs’ whites in the movies – along with a printout of the recipes we were to create. I was so thrilled with my Le Cordon Bleu apron and tea towel that I was like a child who is as happy with the packaging as the gift.
Eight participants took up places at the stainless steel countertops, each with a personal station with a professional mixer and all the ingredients measured out into plastic containers. I was very keen to learn to bake cinnamon rolls especially sourdough ones which I adore. During the Covid lockdowns, my local sourdough bakery kept my spirits up with their outstanding cinnamon rolls. I ate too many to recall, a several-times-a-week habit. Chef Stéphane showed us how to knead our prepped dough using the dough hooks provided with the mixers – the pastry chefs as Le Cordon Bleu have their own starter from which our dough originated. Then our balls of dough, wrapped in clingfilm, were taken to prove. You can of course make these at home, but you will need to have a sourdough starter first to make the dough which will also need to prove for longer than it does in a professional kitchen. Le Cordon Bleu has a designated proving room in and out of which our dough moved throughout the class. We learned how to roll out our dough, create buns, and fry doughnuts before coating them in sugar and stuffing them with filling.
During the evening we made two fillings – a cinnamon filling for the buns which we later glazed with a cream cheese, cream and zested lemon glaze, and a simply gorgeous caramelised filling for the sourdough doughnuts. I probably will not become a doughnut baker myself, these are an item best left to the professionals in my view, but I certainly will make the caramelised apple filling again. It would be gorgeous with thick Greek yoghurt or as part of a filling for a crumble. There was no trick to this – simply a chopped apple fried in butter and sugar until lightly browned. Utterly delicious. I know that is not baking per se, but sometimes one picks up other bits of useful know-how along the way.
I love attending cooking courses – within a few hours, I learn new skills, meet new people and get to eat some tasty food. Le Cordon Bleu has a full range of courses, and more are coming online in 2024. All classes are taught by Le Cordon Bleu Master Chefs. You can take three-hour daytime or evening classes to learn to bake, make Italian food, develop your wine-pairing skills and much more. You could equally enrol in longer courses or even study full-time for one of the many Diplomas. Have a look at the website to see what you fancy. Gifting a course to yourself or a loved one would also make a terrific gift at any time of the year.
After packing our cake boxes filled with doughnuts and cinnamon rolls, we were treated to a three-course festive menu upstairs at CORD restaurant. I was fortunate to review a popup earlier this year at CORD which was outstanding and Fiona recently reviewed dinner at CORD restaurant. Keep an eye out for workshops at Le Cordon Bleu which include a meal at CORD in the offer as this gives you the best of both worlds – a few hours in a professional kitchen with one of the chefs from Le Cordon Bleu and then dinner at the restaurant – a perfect evening in my book.
Le Cordon Bleu workshops and CORD are located at 86 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1AE
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