This training programme offers an in-depth exploration of the history, influence and techniques of sauces, essential foundations for understanding cuisine from past traditions to contemporary gastronomy.
A true cornerstone of the plate, the sauce structures dishes, enhances ingredients and plays a key role in expressing a chef’s culinary identity.
“An extraordinary training programme that challenges our assumptions. It makes me want to rethink certain practices from the ground up, share these new approaches with my teams and set new challenges. Nothing but positive!”
Jérôme, March 2025
Marc Lahoreau
Culinary Deputy Executive Chef at Institut Lyfe
Duration: 5 days-35 hours
Dates: From February 9th to 13th 2026
Number of participants: 6 to 10
Requirements: Experience in the world of culinary arts.
Tuition Fee: €2,150 including VAT-€1,791.67 excluding VAT
Expected outcomes
The objective of this training is to enable culinary professionals to master the knowledge and techniques required to create fundamental, modern and fermented sauces.
It aims to strengthen the overall understanding of sauces, both from a technical and sensory perspective, in order to better integrate them into dishes and fully harness their culinary potential.
This training program was created in collaboration with Yannick Alléno, a three-Michelin-starred chef.
This training program was created in collaboration with Yannick Alléno, a three-Michelin-starred chef.Sauce school – training program
The advanced training programme for adults “Sauce School” follows a comprehensive technical progression, from traditional foundations to the most contemporary approaches.
During the program, participants will work in particular on:
- Stocks, consommés and jus, as well as their reduction techniques
- Glaces, brown sauces and their derivatives
- White sauces, emulsified sauces and tomato sauce, along with their variations
- Dairy products and compound butters
- Binding techniques, texturising agents and sensory analysis tools
The training program also introduces modern sauce techniques, including:
- Extractions and cryo-concentrations
- Modern mother sauces based on extraction or fermentation
- Acetic fermentation, lacto-fermentation and the use of koji
- Marinades and pickles
This approach makes it possible to strengthen the fundamentals while integrating contemporary techniques used in fine dining kitchens.
The programme also enables participants to understand how fermentation can be applied to sauces, through analysis, tasting and practical application in the kitchen.
Particular attention is given to the chemical, mechanical and physical aspects that influence the final result, in order to optimise flavour balance and taste dynamics. Participants learn how to reveal the full potential of sauces—especially through fermentation techniques—and how to apply the specific characteristics of each mother sauce within recipes adapted to contemporary cuisine.
The program covers stocks, consommés and jus, as well as brown, white and emulsified sauces, together with their derivatives.
Dairy products, compound butters and different binding techniques are explored, as well as modern sauces derived from extraction or fermentation. Finally, techniques such as lacto-fermentation, marinades, pickles and the use of koji further enrich the contemporary understanding of sauces.
Register for the training program
Why take a training program dedicated to sauces?
Whether in street food or fine dining, sauces are an integral part of dishes and contribute significantly to creating a unique culinary experience.
Learning the fundamentals of sauces and cooking juices allows chefs to bring more depth, intensity and character to their plates while delighting their guests.
Through this training programme, you will develop a more precise, technical and creative approach to sauces, enabling you to elevate your dishes in both gastronomic and contemporary cuisine.
“I was very pleasantly surprised by the content — it went far beyond my expectations. The school is incredible, the working environment is beautiful and the atmosphere truly enjoyable. The chef is passionate and patient. I will be able to apply many of these techniques in my restaurant. Thank you!”
Pauline, December 2025
A chef at the heart of the training
“Sauce is the verb of cuisine: mastering the fundamentals in order to evolve them and share this pleasure with our participants.”
— Marc Lahoreau
Executive Chef of Culinary Arts at Institut Lyfe, Marc Lahoreau puts his expertise and culinary vision at the service of knowledge transmission.
With more than 20 years of experience, he has worked in prestigious establishments in France and internationally, notably at Troisgros***, as well as in Michelin-starred establishments in Switzerland, Corsica, Scotland, Bora Bora, Fayence and most recently at Royal Mansour Marrakech.
Throughout the training program, he shares a rigorous and contemporary approach to cuisine, in which sauce plays a central role. Convinced that sauce structures the dish and fully reveals ingredients, he guides participants in understanding the fundamentals while exploring modern techniques with both precision and pedagogy.
Creator of the exclusive “Sauce School” module, developed in collaboration with Chef Yannick Alléno, Marc Lahoreau designed a training program specifically for culinary professionals.
He guides participants in acquiring the gestures, techniques and reflexes essential to mastering sauces in contemporary cuisine. Winner of several culinary competitions, he shares a demanding, precise and evolving vision of sauces, deeply rooted in the realities of the profession.
Additional information about the sauce training programme
Who is the Sauce School training programme for?
This adult training programme is intended for Head Chefs, Sous-Chefs, Chef de Partie, cooks and kitchen assistants.
What are the prerequisites?
Having initial experience or basic knowledge in cooking, acquired in a professional environment, through training or previous experience, and possessing sufficient culinary knowledge to follow a specialised advanced training programme for adults focused on sauces.
Teaching methods and learning approach
The adult training programme “Sauce School” is led by one of the Chef Instructors from Institut Lyfe, an expert in culinary techniques and the fundamentals of sauces. The programme is based on a practice-oriented teaching approach, combining technical input with practical application in the kitchen.
Each participant works from a booklet of technical sheets provided at the beginning of the training and takes part in culinary workshops including demonstrations, recipe preparation, plating, tasting and organoleptic analysis of the dishes.
This approach allows direct practical application of the techniques covered and learning that is fully rooted in the realities of the culinary profession.
Certifications and evaluation methods
The evaluation methods for the adult training programme “Sauce School” include:
- a multiple-choice questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the training programme;
- the delivery of a certificate of completion in accordance with Article L6353-1 of the French Labour Code;
- a satisfaction survey.
Institut Lyfe Executive Education is a training organisation certified Qualiopi.
Key points of the sauce training programme
Designed as a true culinary laboratory dedicated to sauces, this advanced training programme for adults takes place in person, within small groups of six to ten participants.
This format encourages discussion, experimentation and personalised support, closely aligned with each participant’s expectations.
Supervised by chef instructor Marc Lahoreau, you benefit from a precise and demanding perspective directly drawn from professional practice. The training places a central focus on hands-on kitchen work, with an approach clearly oriented towards action and experimentation. You will explore and implement key sauce techniques, from classical foundations to contemporary approaches: mother sauces, compound butters, fermentations, extractions, acid and fat balance, and flavour dynamics. Each sequence is designed to allow immediate application of knowledge, enabling participants to test, adjust and develop a deeper understanding.
Designed in direct connection with the requirements of the culinary profession, this training programme offers a concrete and demanding learning environment, ideal for strengthening technical mastery, refining sensory perception and sustainably evolving the practice of sauces in professional kitchens.
Practical information
- Duration: 5 days – 35 hours
- Dates: from February 9 to 13, 2026
- Location: Institut Lyfe, Écully – France
- Number of participants: 6 to 10
- Tuition fee: €1,791.67 excl. VAT – €2,150 incl. VAT
To bring: professional kitchen attire, knife kit, padlock.
Registration procedures
Registration for the “Sauce School” training programme begins with a phone or individual interview, during which we discuss your expectations and training needs. This step allows us to verify the alignment between the proposed programme and your professional project, and to support you as effectively as possible in your process.
The registration file includes a completed registration form as well as a curriculum vitae.
After validation by the academic team, Fabienne Novelli, Client Relations Manager at Institut Lyfe Executive Education, will send you the professional training contract or agreement to sign and return in order to finalise your registration.