Vol Au Vent

PART 1 - The Inspiration and a Recipe

PART 1

I was watching “The Taste of Things” a tender, slow-burning portrait of Eugénie, a brilliant cook living in the French countryside in 1889. A sun-drenched estate far from the bustle of Paris, she shares a beautiful kitchen—and a quiet, decades-long romance—with Dodin, a chef who reveres her skill. Through Eugénie, the film captures love, artistry, and devotion—not with grand gestures, but with slow rituals, precise technique, and meals that speak where words fall short. If you love food I recommend watching this movie it is a beautiful French film.

Passing the Vol Au Vent “The Taste of Things”

In the movie she made a lot of great dishes with such good technique. In one memorable scene she created Vol-Au-Vent and I have never seen one this big, only smaller formats have existed in my mind, and that I have made. This was a masterpiece. The one made in the movie is filled with poached chicken, root vegetables and folded together with a creamy béchamel. It looked delightful and I needed to recreate a version of my own.

This dish uses my Pastry Dough Recipe

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

Simple Pastry Dough + Tips on laminating your dough for a flakey finish.

Vol au Vent-build

To make the Vol-Au-Vent shell, start by cutting out three discs of puff pastry. One will be your solid base.

From the other two, cut out smaller circles from the center to create rings.

Stack the two rings on top of the base to build up the walls.

Take one of the inner cutouts and place it inside the center- this will be your lid.

Brush everything with egg wash and bake on a silpat-lined tray until golden and crispy.

PART 2 (click below)

RECIPE CARD BELOW