[Daily Meal] 12 Chef-Approved Tips For Making The Perfect French Onion Soup

Ludo Lefebvre is a Michelin-trained chef who currently runs a bistro, Petit Trois in Los Angeles, and a restaurant, Chaz Maggy in Denver. He demonstrates his flare for French cooking in the special feature for Food & Wine, where he deconstructs the French onion soup and shares a number of valuable tips to make it absolutely delicious.

Chef Lefebvre is a fun chef to watch, but he takes the task very seriously. He starts his soup by slicing the onions quite thick, which provides a nice texture and crunch. Instead of regular oil, Lefebvre likes to use grapeseed oil due to its high heat tolerance — a smart way to caramelize onions without burning them. Nevertheless, he warns us to stay focused as onions need help from regular stirring.

Another surprising addition is Worcestershire sauce. According to the chef, it compliments the beef flavor well; a few spicy notes can't harm the rich beefy stock. As a final touch to the recipe he recommends being extra generous with the cheese — his version gets plenty of it, enough to drip all over the sides. It's no surprise Chef Lefebvre calls the soup a "liquid sandwich."