Life Lessons That Bechamel Sauce Taught Me

How good does this look?

On a Thanksgiving morning, I woke up and decided to make macaroni and cheese for the first time. In order to make the cheese sauce, I would have to make a bechamel sauce as a base for it. It's been a while since I've made the sauce since culinary school, but I decided to take on this challenge and pursue this messy journey.

To start out this process, you would need equal amounts of butter and flour. If there is too much flour, the sauce gets clunky. If there is too much butter, the sauce gets too watery. Every time I started this process, it was always too clunky because I rushed the process. This time it was different. I carefully measured out what was ahead of me, and started whisking away. There was a point when the pot was too hot, and it almost turned my blonde roux into a brown, but I kept my composure and added the milk before it burned.

I kept whisking away and enjoying the process. Patiently waiting for the sauce to simmer, I enjoyed the view of the autumn leaves on the tree through my kitchen window. It reminded me that there was beauty behind everything that ends because it brings light to new beginnings.

When I checked on the sauce, it was almost ready with the texture that I was looking for before I added the cheese. As soon as I added the cheese, it was the perfect silk that I looked for in a sauce. It was not only the perfect outcome, but it was the life lesson I needed at that time. Sometimes it's good to get lost in the sauce.

-Gian Carlo