EPCHS Students Get Tips In French Cooking From Chef

Students in Evergreen Park Community High School’s French language and culture studies program were recently treated to a novel experience. On March 1, they had an in-school field trip whereby the whole event came to their doorstep rather than leaving the building via autobus.

Vincent Colombet, propriétaire of Cook au Vin as well as La Boulangerie, spent the morning sharing his culinary fame and secrets with the young French chefs. The menu consisted of the well-known café staple, croque monsieur, a fancy toasted ham and cheese sandwich. The main dish was accompanied by a variety of mocktails using sirop de monin, followed by petits fours, a dessert delicacy.

After having watched and participated in the creation of the French cuisine, the French students all learned about étiquette of the table, in a private dining area renamed “Le Café C’est la Fête.” Finally, students had the opportunity to chat in French with the chef before being given gift bags of all sorts of items so that they might go home and try some of the newly learned cooking skills for their family.

La Boulangerie, voted Chicago’s best French-style café and bakery, is located on Belmont Avenue and Wilson Avenue on Chicago’s North Side. Cook au Vin is a French catering company, also offering cooking lessons by the famed chef. La Boulangerie also has a food truck located downtown Chicago. This educational enrichment opportunity was made possible by the endorsement and support of The Educational Foundation of Evergreen Park Community High School.

COVER PHOTO: (Left to right) Colin Janes, Henry Lee, Seamus Rabbitte, Chef Vincent Colombet, Sean Campbell, Constanza DiBella, Mr. Alan Wax, Caroline Germann, Kayla Corcoran. | EPCHS