Demi-Glace

Demi-glace (French demi-glace — “half-glaze”) is one of the most refined and labour-intensive sauces of classic French cuisine, a deep dark-brown meat sauce with a rich, concentrated flavour and a thick, glossy, almost syrupy consistency.

Its preparation is a true test of patience. The base is a brown stock, cooked from veal or beef bones first roasted to a dark colour, with vegetables. Classically this stock is combined with the brown sauce espagnole and then slowly reduced for hours, continuously skimming off the foam and fat, until the volume is reduced by at least half and the liquid turns into a rich, velvety substance that coats a spoon. It is precisely the long reduction that concentrates the flavour and, thanks to the natural gelatine from the bones, gives the sauce its signature glossy body. Demi-glace is rarely served on its own — it is rather a powerful base, the “cook's gold”, from which dozens of other sauces are created (with wine, mushrooms, pepper added) and with which the flavour of meat dishes, gravies, and stews is enriched and deepened. It is the embodiment of the classic French school of sauces.