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Stade reached the last four courtesy of an enthralling 32-28 win over fellow French outfit Montpellier last Friday as they fought back from an early 16-0 deficit.
And while the margin of victory was smaller than Stade would have liked, the quality of some of the rugby on display was nothing short of breath taking.
When Stade held on to the ball for extended periods they always looked like scoring, with Ollie Phillips, Hugo Southwell, Sergio Parisee and Lionel Beauxis all playing pivotal roles.
That attacking adventure made for a less comfortable ride in defence during the early stages, while too many balls hit the deck for Stade to feel too content with the overall performance, but Whitaker knows that his side are on the right track to striking what could be the perfect balance.
"The boys looked good and were pretty positive out there," said former Australia scrum-half Whitaker.
"Montpellier got a bit of a jump on us at the beginning and probably took us a bit by surprise. We weren't up on the pace of the game early on but we fought back well. We took our opportunities and scored a couple of good individual tries as well.
"When we hang on to the ball and stick to the pattern, it seems to work.
"We've got a lot of individually talented guys so, with a few phases under our belt, those players start to shine. They did that against Montpellier.
"We were probably a little bit guilty of pushing a little bit too much and trying to score on every occasion. The key is to hang on to the ball.
"But what we don't want to do, especially with a French side, is inhibit their play. You want them to attack and play the way they usually do. There's definitely a balance to be found there."
Next up for Stade is a Top 14 clash with Clermont just a fortnight before the two meet again in the Amlin Challenge Cup.
And Whitaker admits playing their semi-final opponents so soon before their European encounter is set to makes things even more interesting. Strangely, though, it's a scenario Stade are already accustomed to.
"It's going to be a funny one," added Whitaker.
"We play them this weekend and then in two weeks' time in the Amlin again.
"It was the same with Montpellier as we played them two weeks ago as well. It's worked out a little bit funny and it is a strange one."
