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> OUR PROGRAMS IN PROVENCE > OUR PROGRAMS IN LYON > OUR PROGRAMS IN THE LOIRE VALLEY Avignon is absolutely unique! First of all for the beauty of its site crowned by the fourteenth-century Popes’ Palace. Secondly for the richness and the diversity of its cuisine that is naturally paired with the Rhone Valley and Provence wines, and that you enjoy at gourmet restaurants and traditional bistrots. City of arts and history surrounded by ramparts, Avignon has to be explored by walking through its narrow cobbled-stone streets. Steps to the Popes’ palace, you arrive to Place Pie and the indoor food market called “Les Halles” an enchanting environment where merchants display their colourful and flavorful goods. It’s the heart of the city where local people meet and make their shopping every day. We could not expect a better location to host a cooking school ! Under Executive Chef Julien C. direction, the School in Les Halles offers an attracting program celebrating the delightful Mediterranean and Provencale cuisine such as : ratatouille tart with fresh basil and sun-dried garlic, lime-flavored salmon “rillettes”, pissaladière (onion tart with anchovies and black olives), rolled sole fillets with asparagus, olive oil and lemon emulsion, tomatoes purée and pilaf rice, roasted peaches in a herbal tea “vervein” juice, aspic of granny smith and tea, strawberries millefeuille and chiboust cream, pistachio and red berries crumble… Yummy !
The adventure starts at 9:30am by the market visit and shopping with the chef for ½ hour. Back to the kitchen, you wash hands and wear your apron. Within 2hrs 30mn, you learn how to prepare and cook a three-course meal (starter, main course, and dessert). At 12:30pm, it’s the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. The 3-course tasting lunch is accompanied by wine. No cooking experience is required to attend these classes designed for gourmet amateurs. Classes are taught in English, and operated by Executive Chef Julien who worked in California, Florida and New-York restaurants for five years in the `90s, and owned restaurants in France before opening his school. PROGRAM PRICE : US$ 235.00 per person
Gina has always lived in an epicurean environment, raised in a family of chefs and wine growers in the South of France. Before opening her cooking school in Carpentras, she owned a restaurant and wine bistrot in Paris. As a member of the Slow Travel and Slow Food association, she always takes time with her guests, and shares her passion for the light cuisine and the organic wines from Provence. Gina offers cooking classes every day that are operated in her beautifully restored mansion transformed into a charming B&B. Gina loves to cook and the kitchen is one of the largest room of the house, opening to a private garden with flowers and aromatic herbs, where dinners are served at the warm season.
Hands-on classes are offered for individuals and intimate groups limited to 8 participants. It celebrates the Provencale cuisine made with organic fresh products from the farms and the local markets. Each class is dedicated to a theme : aromatic and wild herbs, vegetables and fruits, olive oil, Comtat Venaisin traditions, cheese & wine harmony.Classes are scheduled in the evening, starting at 6:00pm for 3 hours. Tasting dinner accompanied by organic wines from the Rhone Valley follows. The aperitif is served after the class and before dinner PROGRAM PRICE : US$ 250.00 per person.
AVAILABILITY : available year-round for a minimum of 2 participants
>> TOP The Cooking School of Provence is nestled in a beautiful property surrounded by laurels, hundred-years-old trees, rosebushes, olive trees and lavender. It’s located at the foot of the Alpilles mountain, nearby Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.You have choosen Provence to spend your upcoming vacation, and decide to experience the southern cuisine during a day. This class is for you !
Under Chef Pascal direction, you learn how to cook the perfect balanced meal, including a starter, a main course and a dessert. The class starts at 10:00pm for two hours, and it’s followed by the tasting lunch. On Wednesday, join the chef for the food market visit and shopping. You meet him directly at the market at 9:30am. He will explain how to choose the ingredients that he will buy for the class. After the market shopping, you walk back to the school to prepare and cook a three-course meal PROGRAMS PRICES : US$ 225 per person. (cooking class & lunch) , US$ 240 per person. (including the market visit (on Wednesday) prior to the class & lunch) AVAILABILITY : Classes are scheduled from March through November, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, starting at 10:00am. Private classes for a minimum of 3 participants are offered on Tuesday and Wednesday, upon request
>> TOP Lyon, the former headquarters of the silk trade until the 19th century, remains today the top-ranked city in France for its exquisite cuisine, and for its numerous Michelin-star chefs that have been extensively promoting the French cuisine over the world for decades. Paul Bocuse finest chef of the 20th century that has been horoured in 1961 with the title “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” is certainly the best ambassador of Lyon, giving his name to the most prestigious indoor food market in France. Les Halles Paul Bocuse is the Lyon indoor food market, featuring more than 50 artisans and merchants that offer top-quality products among the best in France. Food lovers meet there around the same passion for excellence and best of the Lyon tradition. When former Michelin-star chef of Château de Bagnols decided to open his cooking school in Les Halles last year, we couldn’t expect a better gift for you !
Thirty-year experienced Executive Chef Philippe L., a member of the Toques Blanches Lyonnaises Chefs Association runs unique classes in both French and English, and designs the menus according to the clients tastes and to the fresh seasonal produces available on the market : walnut butter flavored chicken supreme, apples & pistachio caviar, quail & bacon brochette and its licorice flavored quince purée, hazelnut crumbs scalops and its vanilla-flavored pumpkin purée, spice bread millefeuille and its roasted rosemary flavored figs, Grand Marnier soufflé, etc... Classes are scheduled year-round, from Tuesday through Saturday, starting at : > 8:30am if you attend the market visit before the cooking class, > 9:00am or 2:30pm to partake the 2-hour cooking class > 10:00am or 6:00pm to experience the French finger food and verrines > 2:30pm for the pastry or macarons class PROGRAMS PRICES (per person) : US$ 260 : MCL (Market, Class, Lunch) US$ 220 : CL (2-hour cooking class, tasting lunch included) US$ 190 : PC (2-hour pastry/macarons class, tastings included) US$ 90 : FF (1-hour finger food class, tastings included) AVAILABILITY : Classes are scheduled year-round, from Tuesday through Saturday. Please contact us for the calendar
>> TOP With more than thirty-year experience at Michelin-star restaurants and at the Bocuse Culinary Institute, Executive Chef Jean-Marc Villard is certainly one of the best chefs we partner with, and his teaching is definitely up to the average. Each class is perfectly organized from the time you arrive to the school until the time you say “goodbye”. Recipes are clearly detailed and translated in English, and Chef Jean-Marc reviews each one before running the class. On choosing this program, your goal is to improve your knowledge in the “Haute Cuisine Française” while expecting a teaching for gourmet amateurs. At the end, you almost cook like a French pro !
Classes are of course hands-on, and scheduled in the morning or in the afternoon, starting at 9:30am or 4:30pm. It’s taught in English. Within the 3-hour class, you learn how to prepare and cook a three-course meal including starter, main course and dessert such as: Coconut flavored cold peas velouté and its crab meat & mango mousse, Pike dumpling with lobster sauce, Hazelnuts crumbs scallops brochette and creamy pumpkin sauce, Gambas and green asparagus in a vanilla-flavored bouillon, Cappuccino-style Norway lobster soup, Salers beef rib in red wine sauce and gratin Dauphinois, Lime jelly & fresh fruits salad in a coconut biscuit tulip, Lemon verbena crème brûlée, Praline mousse and caramelized walnuts, and much more.
>> TOP 7:00am departure from Paris (we take you at your hotel). It takes two hours to get to Blois by private car. Our Loire Valley exploration starts by the visit to the Blois Renaissance chateau, built at the 15th century for the King Louis XII and Anne de Bretagne, after being home to several other French kings, and also the place where Joan of Arc went (in 1429) to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before she departed with her army to drive the English from Orléans. The visit starts at 9:30am and lasts one hour. We stop at a café boardering the Loire river for having a drink before continuing the excursion to Chambord. Lunch at noon at a typical restaurant nearby Cheverny.
The visit to the largest Loire Valley chateau of Chambord, built for the King François I at the 16th century is planned after the lunch break. It takes at least 2 hours to visit it and to admire the beauty of its unique architecture and park. After Chambord, we drive to Amboise, a beautiful city built along the Loire river, listed at the UNESCO world heritage. The Amboise chateau is the symbol of the French Renaissance architecture. Leonardo Da Vinci lived at the Clos Lucé, which is just nearby. Before driving back to Paris, we stop at Montrichard to visit the Monmousseau wine cellars, and enjoy a three-vintages tasting.
>> TOP LIFESTYLE VACATIONS FRANCE - Email : info@vacationsandlifestyle.com |
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