ACTIVITY HOLIDAY GUIDE 2015
Taking cooking lessons in France is the best way to learn how to prepare authentic cuisine
are the desserts: crème brûlée, îles flottants, chocolate fondants… With this in mind, is it any wonder that some of the most popular activity holidays in France revolve around cooking? Stays at cookery schools are available all over the country, including Paris. Follow in the footsteps of Julia Child and enrol in Paris’s legendary culinary arts institute Le Cordon Bleu (
www.cordonbleu.edu). Founded in 1895, the school attracts students from all over the globe to learn the art of French cooking. Short courses for amateur food enthusiasts are available, as are more prestigious diploma programmes, some of which are even tied with university degrees. Le Cordon Bleu’s short courses are the most popular among visitors, as they’re very reasonably priced and usually take up just one morning or evening. They enable you to learn the basics of food and wine pairing, regional cuisine, bread baking or sauce making – or if you’d rather simply observe a cooking master, sign up for a demonstration session or a guided market tour.
If French pastry is your personal weakness then give in to temptation and book yourself onto a baking course at Pâtisserie à la Carte (
www.patisseriealacarte.com). They’re based in Paris, a stone’s throw from Montmartre, and resident French chef Séverine teaches pastry classes in English on a variety of classics. Learn how to make macarons, croissants, éclairs, brioche or millefeuille – or if you can’t decide, master the art of different cakes, ganaches and tarts in a class which spans the prettiest pastries and glossiest fruit fillings imaginable. Courses are generally around three hours long and cost between €75 and €90.
If you’re keen to make sure that your holiday’s focus is strictly on relaxing, you can book a week with French House Party (
www.frenchhouseparty.co.uk), whose 200-year-old farmhouse in Carcassonne is the ultimate destination for anyone in need of a French food fix. Choose from an assortment of residential cooking holidays, ranging from one-off morning classes to a seven-day
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