By Nellie Day
Cooking Vacations in Paris
Known for its rich foods and beautiful scenery, Paris is the perfect place for lovers, both
romantic and food lovers. Though there are plenty of schools inside this city that offer technical courses on how to master the art of French cooking, there are also lots of classes geared toward tourists who want to enhance their knowledge, appreciation and skills regarding French cooking. Simply determine how much you want to spend and how big of a commitment you want to make to cooking during your vacation and sign up for a culinary class of a lifetime.
At Home with Patricia Wells
On the Left Bank of Paris is At Home with Patricia Wells, who holds a cooking class called Cooking in Paris. The program is five days and teaches students how to utilize various types of meats, cheeses and breads--three staples of the French diet. Aside from teaching students how to cook, Wells' school also involves a few field trips to local markets and shops, where students can taste some of the finest French ingredients, including olive oil, wine and bread. There is also a visit to a top French restaurant where students can experience what perfectly cooked French cuisine tastes like. This cooking vacation is costly, running $5,000 for the whole week, though it includes all tastings, field trips, supplies and ingredients.
At Home with Patricia Wells
cookingclasses@patriciawells.com
Elegant Home Cooking
Located on the rue Rouget de Lisle, the Elegant Home Cooking School embodies French cuisine. Participants can stop by for a day class or register for an entire week or even month. Though the school's owner, Marguerite, does not teach cooking techniques so much as she teaches specific recipes that can be made at home, the school is nonetheless very informative. It starts with a visit to an authentic Parisian market where Marguerite shows participants how to properly purchase fresh, readily available ingredients for everyday recipes. The class then commences with students pairing up and sharing a fully stocked kitchen station where they create recipes such as guinea hens with peaches in a balsamic sauce, asparagus in a puff pastry crust with Parmigiana sauce, and chocolate and chestnuts cakes. Each class costs 90 euros, or approximately $120.
Elegant Home Cooking
35 rue Rouget de Lisle
92150 Suresnes
Paris, France
+33 (0)1 42 04 74 00
marguerite@elegantcooking.com
Cook'n with Class
Cook'n with Class takes a more relaxed approach to the traditionally stringent French culinary world. Its directors realize and appreciate that many who attend the school's classes are vacationers who simply want to learn a thing or two about French cooking, not chefs in training. This is why the classroom looks more like a neighbor's kitchen than a commercial facility, and why music, wine and coffee flow freely in the background. Classes tackle breakfast, pastries, dinner, baking and even macaroons. For those looking to simply learn more about French ingredients, there are a few tasting classes that the school offers as well. Costs range from 100 to 150 euros, or $130 to $195.
Cook'n with Class
21 rue Custine
Paris 75018
+33 (0) 6 31 73 62 77
info@cooknwithclass.com
About the Author:
Nellie Day is a freelance writer based out of Hermosa Beach, CA. She has her Master's degree in broadcast journalism from USC, and Bachelors' degrees in English and sociology from UC Irvine. Ms. Day's work can regularly be seen on newsstands, where her specialties include weddings, pets, real estate, electronics, product reviews, business, architecture and design, Southern California, food and wine, and travel and tourism.
Photo Credits:
patriciawells.com
