Cookery lessons
During your stay, enjoy sharing a joyful moment to cook in the chef's kitchen and learn some new dishes from the chef. She will share her tips and tricks with you during a cookery lesson. You can choose between local cuisine (du terroir), pastry lessons or more exotic cuisines, like the Vietnamese cuisine.
Marianne is a chef and has done her cookery education in Avignon, Provence. She gained culinary experience in good restaurants in the Provence and in the Auvergne (Brunel, Avignon and at Régis Marcon, 3 Michelin stars) but she traveled also through Europe to discover the Spanish and Italian kitchen. She went not less than five summers to one of the Hebridean Islands, Colonsay in Scotland, to cook many dinners and lunches. Born in the Netherlands, she is used to cook all the world cuisines. She used to live on a house boat very close to Amsterdam, where she held cookery lessons, table d'hôtes and catered for numerous clients in Amsterdam. Now, she lives on a beautifully restored farm in the Tarn.
After having cooked a complete menu or some specific dishes (depending on your cookery lesson), we will taste the dishes together, accompanied by a local wine from Gaillac or Marcillac.
Please ask Marianne when you have specific wishes for a cookery lesson.

Cookery lessons: some themes

Natural cuisine
You will learn how to cook with the produce of the season. We will pick flowers, herbs and vegetables that will inspire us to create original and vegetal dishes. The season will lead us in creating dishes.

Duckways
We are in the southwest of France where the duck reigns … from starter to main course, duck is essential in the local dishes, to accompany a salad or in the main course.

Amuses-bouches and canapés
You are organising a cocktail party and you will be receiving quite a few guests. Thanks to this course, you will will learn some tips and tricks to be prepared for your guests ánd have some tasteful canapés and amuse-bouches at your party, without getting stressed.

Local Tarn and Aveyron cuisine
You will learn the traditional local cuisine of the Tarn and Aveyron. We are going to prepare a garlic soup from Lautrec, farçous /vegetable galettes that you can find on the markets, but also the croquant /almond biscuits from Cordes sur Ciel. But there are many more dishes to discover and taste in this area.

Chou pastry
Once you master the art of chou making, there are plenty of choux to make. During this lesson we will focus on the basics of chou making, the pastry but also some sweet and savoury fillings. We will pass via the chou à la crème to the éclair and the Paris Brest. And to finish the lesson a good gougère (savoury) will do.

Les canelés bordelais
Canelés bordelais, original from Bordeaux, this small crusty cake has a soft inside is also aprreciated outside Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, and even beyond … You are going to learn to make and bake these cakes in copper moulds, essential for the crusty outside. We will discuss and see all important steps in the making of canelés: adding vanilla and rhum, resting time, greasing of the moulds, the baking and the temperature of your oven.