Gordon Ramsay is wrong.

No, not about that “head chef” myth Fox and he are spreading despite the fact that not one winner in six seasons was made head chef (and, seeing the quality of cooks, I can’t say I am surprised). And, no, not about calling amateur cooks “Master Chef” after six weeks of light cooking. We’ve gone over that one before. No, it’s about something so basic, every non-cooking dishwasher knows after a month in a fine dining restaurant:

Demi Glace is not a mother sauce.

If you watched today’s Hell’s Kitchen, you indubitably didn’t miss it – the “mother sauce” challenge in which demi glace (pronounced “demy glaze” by Scott, the “Executive Chef with extensive French training”). Not only did he mispronounce the sauce, he lumped it in with the mother sauces. And Ramsay agreed. First week culinary students would fail over such a faux pas.

What is a mother sauce, then? Strictly spoken, it’s a basic sauce used to create “small” sauces which, in turn, are used on dishes. Careme named four sauces, Bechamel, Allemande, Veloute, and Espagnole. Since Allemande is based on Veloute, Escoffier, whose definition stands to this day, removed it. Based on his nomenclature, mother sauces are:

• Bechamel – a sauce made from roux (equal parts of butter and flour) and milk.
• Veloute – made from white stock, that is stock made from unroasted bones.
• Espagnole – made from brown stock, stock in which roasted bones are used.
• Tomato Sauce – made from tomatoes and mirepoix.
• Hollandaise – made from tempered egg, lemon, au sec aromatics, and butter
• Mayonnaise – made from untempered egg, vinegar, and oil

Except for Hollandaise and Mayonnaise, none of the mother sauces is used widely on dishes. Instead, smaller sauces are derived from it. Such as, yes, demi glace.

To make demi glace, first make Espagnole. That one’s easy:

1. Prepare a dark brown roux
2. Add to brown stock (usually veal)
3. Add mirepoix (2 parts onion, one part carrot, one part celery)
4. Add parsley root
5. Add bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, crushed black peppercorns)
6. Simmer and reduce by half
7. Add more veal stock to replenish to full
8. Simmer and reduce to half
9. Remove (strain) all aromatics and bouquet garni
10. While simmering stir in pureed tomatoes or tomato paste when out of season
11. Let simmer for another hour, replenishing loss in volume with water or more veal stock
12. Strain

Even easier is to arrive at demi glace from here:

1. Reduce Espagnole by half
2. Replenish with veal stock

And then you have demi glace. Which goes great with meats :). Alternatively, to go even better with steaks or chicken, one could make a demi-glace au poulet or demi-glace au boeuf by substituting chicken or beef stock for veal.

Side-note: while writing this on my way to London via Edinburgh I was informed that Gordon Ramsay had to cut short a trip to return to London where his mother is in stable and good condition following a heart attack. Everyone at the House on the Hill wishes him and his family all the best. Those who do so will be praying for her speedy recovery tonight.