Walks France
... by The Walking Party
A Taste of French Cooking
This takes place in the heart of the Dordogne in a beautiful eighteenth century chateau split with a two night visit to the wonders of the Quercy, a region steeped in gastronomic tradition and the home of your hosts, James and Diana Tamlyn. French chefs will seduce you with ideas from haute cuisine to nouvelle cuisine. From Bernard Philippe, one of the best chefs of the Lot, to Madame laCuisse fresh from the French farmyard all will entertain you in their exhilerating and idiosyncratic ways.
This is not a cooking course, it is just an excuse to have fun with food bought fresh from the French markets and return home loaded with new recipes and ideas.
| Duration | Distance | Price Per Person | Single Room Supplement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Days | Miles | €1830 | €360 |
| Departure Dates | |||
| 22 – 29 October | |||
Folding the soufflé
There is much hands on cooking to do with the freshest of vegetables and farmyard meats and all taking place in the gastronomic heart of France. You will touch on haute cuisine and nouvelle cuisine and learn for instance how to work with simple base food like crème brulée and mousse and turn them into totally different and exotic dishes by the simplest of ways.
There is little walking to do. It is really just to work up an appetite.
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 1
After flying in to Bordeaux airport you will be met in the afternoon by James and Diana and driven to our chateau. The chateau is beautiful and eighteenth century sitting nestled within its own walled parkland surrounded by lofty sweet chestnut trees. Diana and James will be your hosts here and you will spend the next three nights in the comfort of French chateau life. All bedrooms have good showers and loos en suite.
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 2
We visit the wonderful market at the medieval village of Issigeac where we buy ingredients for the lunch and dinner. Then we return to our chateau to the most lovely of kitchens made available to us here. Madame La Cuisse will come and show us just why French cuisine is one of the best in the world. Chopping, slicing, sewing, wrapping and using her very best savoir faire with the fresh local produce, she will prepare the evenings dinner with us. Lunch will be at the chateau. In the afternoon we will visit a local truffle farm and see how one masters the art of trufficulture before returning for the final dinner preparations and a delicious dinner therefore with wines carefully chosen from James’ cellar. Walk: 2 miles
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 3
James and Diana will show you how they make a fête champêtre picnic and will be disclosing some of the recipes you have all been after on previous walks! We will be touching on both sweet and savoury sides and suggesting excellent wines that will compliment these flavours. Firstly though a walk down to a pretty village. Once back in the kitchen we work together for lunch. Lunch on the terrace of the château again. In the afternoon we will visit one of our favourite wineries of the area: Château Terre Vielle. Chateau Terre Vielle is owned by the Morand Monteil family and as well as a having good tasting of their excellent Pecharmant red which is very close to Bordeaux in grape variety and we will see the extraordinary collection of pre-historic flint chip tools that Msr Morand Monteil has collected over the years from his vineyard. It shows that this has to be the oldest vineyard in France! Dinner will be in Bergerac at a lovely restaurant with a wonderful maitre d'hôte and a great reputation in the area for its excellent fish. Walk: 4 miles
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 4
We leave the lush beauty of the Dordogne for the tranquil beauty of the Quercy Blanc and drive to Lario, the home of James and Diana. Here we will talk about the versatility of the magret. This is the breast of the fatted duck and is an excellent and tender ‘cut’ of meat. We will show you some of the different ways it is enjoyed here in South West France. Lunch will be on the terrace with the magret and assorted salads and wines. In the afternoon we will walk to a small local lavender distillery and see how this ancient culture still exists here. There were many distilleries in the Quercy once upon a time but now only three remain. We then drive to a charming local hotel, a beautifully restored Quercy Manor House where you will spend the next three nights. All bedrooms with bathrooms en suite. Walk: 4 miles
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 5
After breakfast and a short circuitous walk, our chef and host will be showing us how, from the simple base of a crème brulée for example, you can have such diversity of presentation and of flavours. A chance to see a master chef at work. Local flavourings of lavender and saffron will be used as well as many others to help put his theory into effect. The results of this meeting will be sampled in the evening at dinner. We drive then to Château Figeac, a fifteenth century château belonging to one of the oldest families of the region where we will enjoy one of Diana’s sumptuous picnics. After a long and leisurely lunch we will visit a small unknown frescoed church. Then return to the hotel. Walk: 2 miles
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 6
Charles de Gaulle said that France had three hundred and sixty five different cheeses and how on earth was he expected to govern a country with so many different cheeses. Well we will look this morning at several of these wonders and what wines and breads compliment their flavours. Goat, ewe and cow from smelly to mild will all come under scrutiny. Madame Lasfargues will come and help us cook cheese soufflés for lunch on the terrace looking down to the distant hilltop bastide of Lauzerte. In the afternoon, after preparing the foie gras, we will take a walk to gain an appetite for the evenings’ dinner and then return to Lario for the last demonstration of the week. This is quite a theatrical affair and Christiane will be there to show us how the local pastry ‘Pastis’ is made. After this we return to the hotel for dinner. 7km
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 7
We drive for the hustle and bustle of the market at a lovley village, a beautiful rural market that circles the church. After the market we will continue to Cahors stopping for lunch at a favourite restaurant where the maitre d'hotel frowns at you if you ask for water “What use has water when there is wine on the table??” We then drive to Cahors, see the medieval martial masterpiece, le Pont Valentré. We stop at Clos Triguedina to see how they make they best Cahors wine including a delightful sweet white made from Chenin Blanc noble rot. Then Cahors and last minute shopping before the comfort of a charming hotel with an internationally reputed restaurant, Le Balandre. 1.5km
A Taste of French Cooking : Day 8
Return to Bordeaux airport on the way stopping in the famous village of Saint Emilion for lunch. This is a national heritage site and without doubt the most beautiful village in the Bordeaux region. The wine itself is a stunning merlot blend. The names that come first to mind are Aussone and Cheval Blanc! A chance to grab a few bottles before you return home. There are some excellent shipping deals here!
