Indeed! It is the stock. The stock is everything in cooking. At least in French cooking and in most European cooking. Without it, nothing can be done. If one’s stock is good, what remains of the work is easy; if, on the other hand, it is bad or merely mediocre, it is quite hopeless to expect anything approaching a satisfactory result.

In order to achieve this result, you will find it necessary not merely to make use of the freshest and finest ingredients, but also to exercise the most scrupulous care in the preparation, for in cooking, care is half the battle. It would not be a bad idea if we learn to cook like the old masters first, because after then everything becomes easy and you can do as you wish. But the foundation, like a good stock has to be there.