Early on in culinary school, we dove headfirst into the foundations - stocks and sauces - and honestly? What a damn joy to go back and re-learn the basics.
There’s this moment that happens when you’re standing over a pot of slowly simmering stock - it’s quiet, it smells like time, and you realize: oh right… this is where flavor actually begins.
Cooking isn’t just about throwing things together; it’s about layers - layers of flavor, layers of learning, layers of patience.
And these two - stocks and sauces - are the foundation stones everything else in cooking is built on.
The Stockpot: Where Patience Meets Power
Stocks are sort of like the real unsung heroes of the kitchen. They’re not fancy.. They don’t post well on Instagram. But every chef will tell you: they’re literally everything.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make stock like a chef, here’s the truth: it’s about restraint, patience, and letting flavor build slowly.
In class, we made four kinds - each one teaching something different:
White Stock – chicken or veal bones, simmered gently until clear and clean.
→ Lesson: You can’t rush clarity.
Brown Stock – roasted bones, tomato paste, caramelized veggies, simmered forever.
→ Lesson: Time equals flavor.
Fish Fumet – fast and fragrant.
→ Lesson: Precision matters. A few minutes too long and it goes bitter.
Vegetable Stock – lighter but no less mighty.
→ Lesson: Balance - you can build depth without heaviness.
🍳 The Sauce Era
Once you understand stocks, you unlock the next level - sauces.
The 5 Mother Sauces
(and what they actually taught me)
Béchamel – the creamy one. Milk, butter, flour.
→ Lesson: Get comfortable with whisking - it’s therapy.
→ Make it: Mac & cheese, Croque Monsieur, creamy spinach.
Velouté – the silky one. White stock + blond roux.
→ Lesson: Subtlety is powerful.
→ Make it: Chicken pot pie, poached fish, or pour over rice.
Espagnole – the dark, complex one and a little old school in not a good way if you ask me. Brown stock + brown roux + tomato.
→ Lesson: Flavor takes time.
→ Make it: Demi-glace for steak night or glaze for roasted carrots.
Tomato – the bright, bold one.
→ Lesson: Balance is everything - acid, sweetness, salt.
→ Make it: Weeknight marinara, shakshuka, or pour over roasted eggplant.
Hollandaise – the showstopper. Egg yolks, butter, acid, courage.
→ Lesson: Stay calm under pressure (and keep your heat low).
→ Make it: Eggs Benedict, seared salmon, or spooned over asparagus.
The Daughters
Once you know the mothers, the daughters are where you play.
Béchamel becomes Mornay with cheese.
Velouté becomes Suprême with cream.
Espagnole becomes Demi-Glace when reduced.
Hollandaise becomes Béarnaise with tarragon.
Tomato becomes Creole with peppers and spice.
Every daughter sauce teaches freedom. It’s like jazz - once you’ve learned the scales, you can improvise forever!!
🧈 The Butter Side of Life
I can’t not talk about Beurre Blanc - she’s my obsession.
White wine, vinegar, shallots, and cold butter whisked into velvet.
And then there’s Beurre Noisette (brown butter), Beurre Monté (warm emulsion), and Beurre Composé (flavored butter).
These are sauces that teach you to feel, not follow. You learn to watch how butter melts, how heat behaves, how emulsions hold together.
It’s cooking with intuition.
🔪 Recipes to Practice the Foundations
Here’s your starter pack - real, useful, doable at home.
🦴 Basic Chicken Stock
Ingredients:
-
4 lbs chicken bones
-
1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks
-
1 bay leaf, 10 peppercorns, parsley stems
-
4 quarts cold water
Method:
Combine everything in a large pot. Bring to a simmer - never a boil.
Skim any foam off the top. Simmer 4–6 hours, strain, cool, and store.
Chef tip: Roast bones first if you want more depth and color.
🍳 Béchamel (and How to Turn It Into Mornay)
Ingredients:
-
2 tbsp butter
-
2 tbsp flour
-
2 cups milk (warmed)
-
Salt, white pepper, a pinch of nutmeg
Method:
Melt butter, whisk in flour, cook 1–2 minutes.
Slowly whisk in milk, stir till smooth and thickened.
Season to taste.
To make Mornay:
Whisk in ½ cup grated Gruyère or cheddar and a spoonful of Dijon mustard. Boom - mac & cheese sauce.
🧈 Classic Beurre Blanc
Ingredients:
-
¼ cup white wine vinegar
-
¼ cup white wine
-
1 small shallot, minced
-
8 oz cold butter, cubed
-
Salt and lemon juice
Method:
Reduce vinegar, wine, and shallots to 2 tablespoons.
Off heat, whisk in butter a few cubes at a time - keep it silky, not oily.
Season with salt and lemon juice.
Serve with fish, chicken, or roasted vegetables - it’ll change everything.
❤️ Relearning, With Gratitude
The deeper I go into culinary school, the more I realize that cooking isn’t about fancy tricks - it’s about foundations.
Stocks and sauces are the bones and butter of it all.
They’re what teach you how to balance, taste, wait, and trust.
And what a joy to get to relearn them - slowly, thoughtfully, one simmering pot at a time.
With love!!
Xx
Ellen Marie Bennett
Founder + Chief Brand Officer, Hedley & Bennett
@ellenmariebennett | @hedleyandbennett