Online Culinary School · Since 2001
Every course, video lesson and recipe on this site is free and self-paced — food safety, knife skills, techniques, sauces, French cuisine and restaurant management. When you have a goal — cooking with confidence, a culinary career, leading a kitchen or opening a restaurant — Chef Eric coaches you 1-on-1 to get there.
The Online Culinary Roadmap System. It maps every lesson to the skill it teaches and the skills it builds on, then puts them in the order chefs are trained. Answer five questions and it tells you where to begin and what to learn next.
Most cooking sites give you a pile of recipes and videos and leave you to figure out the order. OCRS™ does the opposite. It maps every course, lesson and quiz to the skill it teaches and the skills it depends on — the same order chefs are trained in a professional kitchen — and turns it into a personal roadmap.
Five questions: who you are, how you cook today, and what you want to achieve — better meals at home, a kitchen career, or your own restaurant.
OCRS places you on the roadmap and lists the courses that fit your goal, in the order that builds real skill — so every course prepares you for the next.
Each course is video lessons, recipes and short quizzes. Pass them and you earn a certificate; your progress is saved as you go.
Get my roadmapFive questions · about two minutes
Eight areas, from the habits every kitchen depends on to the business of running one — and the markets and producers behind it all. Watch a lesson from each below, then open the courses when you’re ready.
▶ Sample lesson: Introduction to Food Safety
The habits every professional kitchen is built on: safe food handling, hygiene, temperature control and the equipment you will use every day. Take these first, whether you cook at home or work the line.
See the 4 courses →▶ Sample lesson: How to Hold a Chef Knife
Speed, precision and safety with the most important tool in the kitchen. From holding the knife correctly to the classic French cuts — julienne, brunoise, paysanne, tourné — practised the way they are taught in culinary school.
▶ Sample lesson: Introduction to Sauces
The methods every dish depends on: cooking methods and heat control, vegetable cookery, and the classical sauces of the French kitchen — from the mother sauces to their derivatives.
▶ Sample lesson: How to Make a Bouquet Garni
Stocks are the backbone of French cuisine. Learn white, brown and vegetable stocks, then build on them with clear soups, consommé, purées, seafood soups and soups from around the world.
See the 10 courses →
The refined side of the French kitchen: hors d’oeuvres, canapés and verrines, and a complete French Christmas menu cooked course by course, with the presentation standards of fine dining.
See the 4 courses →
What it takes to run a restaurant that lasts: the owner’s mindset, decision-making under pressure, and a complete business plan — concept, market, menu, costs and financing — built on real numbers before you invest.
▶ Sample lesson: A Market Gardener in Lyon
Where great ingredients come from: markets, farms, fishermen and producers in France, Vietnam and British Columbia, filmed by Chef Eric Arrouzé on his travels.
Open the course →
Put the techniques to work: complete recipes cooked step by step on video — sauces and soups, salads and sides, appetizers, bistro mains and desserts — each with its ingredients and the full written recipe.
"The knife skills course completely changed how I cook at home. Chef Eric explains everything so clearly — I finally understand the why behind the technique."
"The food safety course helped me pass my certification exam on the first try. The structured format made it easy to study and retain the material."
Chef Eric coaches you 1-on-1 on video, 45 minutes, in English or French.
Certified Leadership Coach · Former executive chef and culinary instructor · Confidential, NDA on request
320 free recipes from 35 years in professional kitchens — each with ingredients, method and, for most, a video.
Recipe
Horseradish Sauce for Raw Oysters
Today, I’m excited to show you how to make a bold and flavorful Horseradish Sauce to serve with raw oysters.…
Recipe
Ginger Lime Relish for Raw Oysters
In France, oysters are typically served with lemon and a vinegar-based sauce called mignonette. Today, we're taking a twist on…
Recipe
Mignonette Sauce
In France, the typical way to serve oysters is with a piece of lemon and a vinegar sauce that is…
