When Auguste Escoffier published his Guide Culinaire in 1903, he listed a total of 163 sauces that any kitchen with a pretense to haute cuisine should be able to produce. Until the advent of nouvelle cuisine in the 1970's Escoffier's definition of what was a correctly made sauce stood, and only in a restaurant kitchen of some splendor or the most extravagant household (the kind of place where the primary homeowner has, say, the command of a navy at their disposal) would you expect to find even half of these sauces in regular use.

Sauces, then as now, are what separate home cooking from the professional kitchen, with the professional kitchen taking hours... and hours... and, well, hours, to roast bones, chop vegetable for the mirepoix, tie up bundles of bouquet garni, simmer the results for hours... and hours... you get the drift, right?

But these sauces have value – deep, real value – in the kitchen, whether you're using Veal Demi-glace to deglaze a pan or you've been overcome with desire to sample a genuine Bordelaise Sauce. We do all that work so you can add all that flavor. Roasting our bones, chopping our freshest vegetables and herbs, simmering for hours until everything is just right... and all for you and the people you care for who gather around your table.

In addition to the Demi-glaces, we also offer our own version of four (we think) rather grand sauces, Rosemary, Peppercorn, Mushroom Marsala and Porcini Mushroom Sauce, suitable to add a dash of richness to your table and gain you kitchen cred in abundance. Go ahead, take the credit, we don't mind... enjoy!