Mirepoix. Bouquet garni. Boeuf bourguignon. Coq au vin.

These are clearly French terms, but how many of us know what they mean? How many of us can even pronounce them?

If the thought of French cooking seems intimidating, it’s no surprise. French cuisine has long held an elevated reputation as being too complicated for all but trained chefs.

But delve past that aura of hauteur and it becomes apparent that some of the most basic of cooking techniques are at the core of French cooking.

"The word ‘French’ can scare people, but technique-wise, some of the preparations can be very approachable to home cooking," said chef Warren Uchida, an instructor at Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific and former sous-chef at the Kahala Hotel. "People are using French techniques but don’t realize it. Braising and poaching are typical French, but they’re something anyone can do at home."

Kahala’s executive pastry chef, Michael Moorhouse, agrees.

"Braising is an ancient technique done by every culture, and the French do it as well as everybody else," he said.

Moorhouse and Uchida are thinking French these days, thanks to a monthlong event at the Kahala honoring the 100th-birthday anniversary of Julia Child, the iconic chef who brought French cooking to American housewives. "Bon Appetit! A Tribute to Julia Child and Mastering the Art of French Cooking" comprises French cooking classes, the Kahala Wine & Food Festival, special menus at the hotel’s various restaurants and a five-course benefit dinner for the James Beard Foundation and KCC’s culinary program.

The dinner will bring back to the hotel Uchida and fellow Kahala alumni Ryan Loo (executive chef at the W Hotel Seattle) and Colin Hazama (Sheraton Waikiki executive sous-chef). Each chef will contribute dishes to the menu alongside Kahala executive chef Wayne Hirabayashi and Moorhouse. Master sommelier Patrick Okubo will offer wine pairings for both the dinner and the wine and food fest.

Hirabayashi asked the chefs to contemporize selected recipes from Child’s famous cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," with their own twists and the inclusion of local ingredients. The menu illustrates how the application of basic techniques, combined with fine ingredients, makes for mouthwatering gourmet dishes.

One of Uchida’s offerings, for instance, is Homard Aux Aromates with Beurre d’Estragon and Citron (butter-poached Kona Maine lobster with Beurre Blanc with Tarragon), an appetizer served with Waipoli Island Greens and a Champagne Vanilla Bean Vinaigrette.

"It’s a simple dish," said Uchida. "The whole lobster is blanched in seasoned stock of white wine, celery, leeks, herbs and vinegar — that’s a French technique — to loosen the meat from the shell. Then we butter-poach the lobster with tarragon, wine and spices."

Uchida explains that butter-poaching the lobster "makes it much richer," fitting for the gourmet dinner.

He calls the salad "fairly standard," though a pickled beet component offers a contemporary flair, and the Champagne vinaigrette is anything but standard.

"The beets complement the lobster. It adds acid to the richness of the lobster," Uchida said.

Hirabayashi’s contribution is the main course, Tournedos Rossini — beef fillets with foie gras, truffles and Madeira sauce — with Molokai Sweet Potato Balls sautéed in Plugrá Butter, Buttered Peas, Wailua Asparagus and Braised Manoa Lettuce.

The fillets are roasted, a basic braising technique usually used on inexpensive, tough cuts of meat.

Beyond roasting, however, nothing about the dish is basic. It utilizes only the best part of the filet mignon — "the center of the center," Hirabayashi said — as well as gourmet ingredients foie gras and truffles.

"We’re making sure the main course has that ‘wow’ factor," he said.

While it’s surely delightful to partake of that fine meal, some folks would prefer to be in the kitchen employing those classic techniques. For those ambitious souls, Moorhouse is offering a series of hands-on culinary classes.

Two courses will feature French desserts. The third will delve into braising techniques with a dish of stuffed chicken legs, a classic French preparation.

Braising involves an extended cooking time in liquid on lower heat. The technique works well on tough cuts of meat because "high heat would make the protein seize up," explains Moorhouse. "Slow cooking allows the meat not only to loosen up, but it makes it more flavorful."

At the class, the chicken will be deboned and stuffed with mushroom, Swiss chard and ricotta cheese, then sealed up and sautéed for browning. A mirepoix (aromatic trio of diced carrots, celery and onion) will be added to the browning pan, and then the pan will be deglazed with chicken stock. The chicken legs will be braised for 1-1/2 to 2 hours in the oven, with liquid reduced for a sauce.

Moorhouse said that while French cuisine is infamous for its use of butter and cream, contemporary French cooking highlights another facet of the French approach to food.

"Basically, they use what’s in season," he said.

The Normandy region, for instance, is famous for butter, apples and pears, while the warmer area of Provence is renowned for stone fruit such as peaches and apricots as well as figs, dates and strawberries. Honey and cheeses are made all over France.

"There are cheeses of each region," Moorhouse said. "Certain cheeses come from certain cows fed certain feed … So for (the French) it’s all about availability, freshness and quality."

Hirabayashi said everyone can take a lesson from that approach.

"Use what’s available that’s fresh," he said. "Use what’s in season; if not, it’s not at its peak."

BRAISING AND POACHING CLASSICS

Chef Warren Uchida shares recipes for a court bouillon, used classically with seafood, and braised artichokes.

COURT BOUILLON (POACHING LIQUID)

4 quarts (16 cups) water
6 ounces white wine vinegar
2 ounces lemon juice
3 cups sliced onion
2 cups sliced celery
1 cup carrots
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon crushed white peppercorn
Pinch dried thyme
10 parsley stems
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

In large pot, combine all ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer about 45 minutes. Makes 3 quarts, enough to poach 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of seafood.

Nutritional information unavailable.

BRAISED ARTICHOKES

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots or round onion
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 ounces white wine
8 ounces chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice, to taste
Salt and coarse black pepper, to taste
6 sprigs fresh tarragon
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 artichokes, cleaned and quartered with stem

In medium pot, heat oil and sauté shallots. Add garlic and sauté until garlic starts to caramelize.

Add wine and deglaze pan — release caramelization (brown bits) with addition of liquid, scraping bits from pot. Cook until alcohol dissipates.

When wine reduces, add chicken broth, bring to boil, then simmer. Add lemon juice; salt and pepper. Add tarragon and thyme.

Add artichokes. Liquid should cover 2/3 of artichoke; if not, add broth or water. Simmer until tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Test artichoke stem and heart for doneness with toothpick or skewer. Serves 2.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including salt to taste): 300 calories, 21 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 700 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 9 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 7 g protein

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.