Online French cooking class: pithivier and jus
7 days free, full access. Every masterclass, 50,000+ recipes, 1,500+ chefs.
Build a stuffed suckling pig with boudin noir and pork jus, then a lobster pithivier, on video with Alex Dilling, chef patron of Alex Dilling at Café Royal in London.
- 8 lessons
- 48 min
- French
- Professional
Rated 4.8 ★ by 60.2K App Store users · App of the Day in 120+ countries
What you'll learn
8 lessons · 48 min total
Introduction FREE
#1 Boudin Noir FREE
#2 Suckling Pig Stuffing & Cooking FREE
#3 Pork Jus FREE
#4 Stuffed Suckling Pig Plating FREE
#5 Pithivier Dough 
#6 Lobster Filling 
#7 Lobster Sauce 
#8 Lobster Pithivier Assembly & Plating
At the end of this course you will be able to:
Prepare a boudin noir and use it inside the stuffing for a suckling pig.
Reduce a pork jus and plate a stuffed suckling pig as one finished course.
Roll a pithivier dough that seals around a wet lobster filling without splitting.
Finish a lobster sauce and assemble the lobster pithivier ready for the pass.
About this class
This online French cooking class is built on two dishes: a stuffed suckling pig with its own boudin noir and pork jus, and a lobster pithivier, from dough and filling to sauce and plating.
Both run in the same order: components, then the assembly that has to hold them, then the plate. What transfers is the repertoire underneath, because a boudin, a jus, a pithivier case and a shellfish sauce turn up in far more than these two dishes. Eight lessons, every component made from scratch.
- Lessons
- 8
- Video
- 48 min HD
- Recipes
- 9
- Level
- Professional
- Audio
- English (VO)
- Subtitles
- English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
“Technique is what lets you plate something ambitious and still make it feel effortless.”
Alex Dilling · Executive chef @ Alex Dilling at Lord Jim's
PROFrench cooking today, pasta tomorrow.
Your membership opens every masterclass, the full recipe library, and the creators who add new recipes every week.
- 70+Masterclasses, new ones every week
- 50,000+Professional recipes, written for the pass
- 1,500+Creators cooking at starred restaurants
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Alex Dilling
Chef Patron, Alex Dilling at Café Royal, London · Two stars since 2023
- 2 starsAlex Dilling at Café Royal, since 2023.
- DucasseTrained under Alain Ducasse and Didier Elena.
Alex Dilling is a British chef and the chef patron of Alex Dilling at Café Royal in London, which has held two stars since 2023. He trained under Alain Ducasse and Didier Elena, then cooked at The Greenhouse and The Connaught in London.
His restaurant serves a modern reading of traditional French cuisine, and the technical precision it is known for is what this class is about. He takes two of its dishes apart on camera, a stuffed suckling pig and a lobster pithivier, and rebuilds both from their components.
See Alex Dilling’s Instagram profileJus reduction calculator
Example values. Reduction rate depends on pan width and heat; measure yours once and reuse it (Wikipedia).
What the community says
Dinis DiogoAmazing, thanks Chef for sharing the details and the masterclass. I loved making this pithivier 🙏
Shoon RobbenAre you steaming them to safely cook the chicken? If I made the farce with pork, could I put it in raw and cook it all together?
Alex DillingYes, exactly. Steaming safely cooks the chicken mousse and sets the boudin’s shape. With an all-pork farce you can skip it and cook everything together, as long as the pig reaches a safe core temperature.
Key concepts
Boudin noir
A French blood sausage, cooked gently and used here inside a stuffing. Taught in lesson #1. (Wikipedia)
Jus
A concentrated sauce reduced from roasting juices and stock. Taught in lesson #3. (Wikipedia)
Pithivier
A domed, enclosed pie of pastry around a filling, scored before baking. Taught in lessons #5 and #8. (Wikipedia)
Plating
Arranging the components on the plate in a set order. Taught in lessons #4 and #8. (Wikipedia)
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the free trial work?
4 of the 8 lessons are free, no card required. To watch all of them with Alex, start a Gronda PRO trial. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.
Is this a beginner French cooking class?
No. The class is rated Professional: it assumes you are comfortable in a kitchen and works at restaurant level, with every component made from scratch.
What will I cook in this class?
A stuffed suckling pig with its boudin noir and pork jus, plated as one course, then a lobster pithivier with its dough, filling and lobster sauce.
What level is it, and what language?
Professional level. Alex teaches in English, with subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
Do I get the recipes?
Yes. The class has 9 recipes, and each lesson is also published as a recipe you can open in the Gronda app or on gronda.com.
Can I cancel my membership anytime?
Yes. App Store or Google Play: in your phone’s subscription settings. gronda.com: in your account settings. No fees, no calls.
Chefs and cooks love Gronda
Gronda was App of the Day in 120+ countries.
- 4.860.2K reviews
- 4.825.4K reviews
- XXristos
“Easilly one of the best app for professionals out there, would be nice a scroll to the next recipe feature to binge watch recipes/techniques.”
- SStephen
“Excellent app to learn great techniques and new skills. Great recipes too 👌.”
Keep learning
Start free for 7 days
Every masterclass, 50,000+ professional recipes, and 1,500+ creators. No payment required.
Try for free- 4.8 on the App Store
- 3M+ chefs
- App of the Day in 120+ countries