Episode 6 🍽️ The Original Chef’s Secret
Escoffier for the TikTok Generation
✅ Previous – Episode 5 🍽️The Original Chef’s Secret — Stocks: The Invisible Backbone of Every Kitchen
Roux: The Little Paste That Holds the Kitchen Together
(Escoffier for the TikTok Generation, Episode 6 )
🔪 The Original Chef’s Secret — Roux: The Little Paste That Holds the Kitchen Together
(Escoffier for the TikTok Generation, Episode 6)
Every kitchen has magic tricks —
but Escoffier’s favourite was only two ingredients:
butter and flour..
Simple, right?
But when he cooked them together…
he created roux —
the tiny, powerful paste that thickens half the culinary world.
Roux is quiet.
Unimpressive.
Looks like nothing special sitting in a pan.
But give it heat, care, and time —
and it becomes the foundation of sauces, soups, and stews everywhere.(Auguste Escoffier)
👑 Escoffier taught chefs that colour was everything:
Brown Roux – bold, toasty, full of attitude.
White Roux – light, soft, barely cooked.
Blond Roux – golden, nutty, confident.
The darker the roux, the deeper the flavour.
But here’s the catch:
the darker it gets… the weaker it thickens.
Every chef learns this the hard way at least once.
Even today, chefs brag about their stocks like parents brag about their kids:
“That’s my 12-hour veal stock.”
“That’s my simmer-all-night beef bone masterpiece.”
Roux taught cooks accuracy.
Control.
Patience.
Stirring without burning.
Heating without rushing.
Respecting the humble base before chasing big flavours.
From Béchamel to Velouté, from Gumbo to Cheese Sauce —
roux is the quiet glue that holds recipes together.
Escoffier didn’t just make sauces thicker.
He made the kitchen smarter.
Kookin’ Up a Secret — where butter and flour become power.
Every great dish starts long before service…
with a quiet pot in the corner doing the real work.
Escoffier called stock the beginning of all flavour —
and he meant it.
No cubes. No shortcuts.
Just bones, vegetables, heat… and time.
White stock. Brown stock. Fish fumet.
The foundations of every sauce, soup, gravy and reduction you love.
If mise en place is discipline…
stock is patience.
Liquid gold simmered into existence.
✨ The Original Chef’s Secret — Escoffier for the TikTok Generation.
Kookin’ Up a Secret. It starts one quiet pot at a time.
#Stocks #Escoffier #KooksSecrets #CulinaryHistory #ChefLife #KitchenBrigade #LiquidGold #FoodKnowledge #YesChef #HospitalityHeroes (https://www.thesavoylondon.com/).
Key Takeaways
- Stocks form the essential foundation of every kitchen, as highlighted by Escoffier’s teachings.
- He emphasises the importance of making real stock from bones and vegetables, not using shortcuts like cubes or powders.
- Different types of stocks include white stock, brown stock, fish fumet, and court-bouillon, each contributing unique flavours.
- A chef’s skill is often judged by the quality of their stocks, which reveal their discipline and craftsmanship.
- Stock is described as ‘liquid gold’, essential for creating depth in sauces, soups, and gravies.
✅ Previous – Episode 5 🍽️The Original Chef’s Secret — Stocks: The Invisible Backbone of Every Kitchen