Cooking vacations in France to learn the most refined cuisine in the world

Added: 03/17/2006

France, as the country of a refined cuisine, hundreds of cheese sorts, exquisite wines and renowned chefs, is an ideal place for cooking vacations. Cooking vacations in France can combine learning from the best chefs in one of the wonderful cooking schools, history and cuisine plunge, and, certainly, sensual delights of the French fine dining. Each region takes a pride in its own distinctive tradition, and cooking vacations in France vary along with these regional differences and peculiarities.

Cooking vacations in France can strike a traveler by a huge variety of offers and styles. Each region and valley of France is highly individual in its culinary tradition, and ccooking vacations in France are as diverse as these regional differences are. However, in Gascony or Burgundy, in a small village or a large city, culinary vacations France commonly include a plunge into rich historic and culinary heritage, enhancing your skills in French cooking, visiting famous vineyards and restaurants, learning food and wine pairings and meeting interesting people, who adore and know the unique French cuisine.

As you plan your cooking vacations in France, think of such place as Burgundy. Southern Burgundy is especially rich in history, revealed through its prehistoric sites and famous vineyards. A few miles of Macon, southeast France, there is Rue du Lac, a hotel, converted from a farmhouse with comfortable rooms, terraces and a small lake nearby. Rue du Lac is a great place to start the Burgundy culinary exploration, as well as to take several culinary lessons from Robert Ash, a legendary chef. The culinary lessons at Rue du Lac are hands-on and conducted in a fully equipped kitchen.

Spend your cooking vacations in France in the Champagne region to comprehend all the majesty and intrigue of the beverage. A half an hour ride from the vineyards of Champagne a town of L'Epine is situated. There is a four star Aux Armes de Champagne, a lovely and sophisticated hotel with a gourmet restaurant, run by Jean-Paul Perardel and his wife, Denise. The head chef of the restaurant, Phillippe Zeiger, conducts the cooking lessons at Aux Armes de Champagne.

Head for Amboise to learn the French baking. Amboise is a beautiful Renaissance town with a colorful main market street and a thirteenth century hotel, the Chateau de Pray. The cooking lessons are held in the restaurant kitchen of the Chateau with Chef Laurenty, who has worked for three years with Alain Ducasse at the "Cote St. Jacques." His cuisine is inspired by the products of Provence and the south of France, as well as he regularly uses local products, including fruit and vegetables from the garden of the Chateau.

Taking a short drive from the Chateaux country of the spectacular Loire Valley, you will find an excellent cooking school, Walnut Grove. The Walnut Grove is located in the scenic French countryside and has beautiful views on numerous walnut trees, growing around (the name comes from it). A relaxed atmosphere of the place allows the most effective French cooking learning, as well as some imagination and an experiment. Maynard Harvey and Benedict Haines, who practice in combinations of flavors and ingredients and create distinguishably new dishes, guide the cooking lessons at the Walnut Grove. There are also numerous chateaux along the banks of the Loire River in the Loire Valley, where the guests enjoy beautiful settings and landscapes, wines, and cooking. Wine specialists guide wine tours in the area, while talented cooks teach the guests the classic French cuisine.

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