Taste Gascony! Cooking Weekends in the French Kitchen with Kate Hill

Kate Hill welcomes you to her French Kitchen!

Discover the rural gastronomy of Southwest France, from foie gras to armagnac and all the delicious fresh produce in between, on this exclusive 'French Kitchen Adventure’- this is a perfect weekend break or 3-day add-on to a visit to Paris or Provence (The French Kitchen is just 4 hours from Paris by high speed train!).

Kate Hill has scouted these French backroads for over 20 years, meeting the butchers, bakers and armagnac-makers on their own home ground. An enthusiastic host and teacher, Kate shares her favorite farmers' markets in the most picturesque Gascon villages as well her well researched, easy and delicious authentic recipes as you cook and dine together around the convivial table at Relais de Camont.

Friday: Afternoon arrival in Agen by TGV from Paris or from near by Toulouse or Bordeaux airports. This adventure in good cooking begins at Kate Hill’s French Kitchen at the Relais de Camont. The 18^th-century farmhouse fills with the fragrant perfume of good food cooking with a traditional Gascon dinner—a Poule-au-Pot or Gascon pot-au-feu. Discover the taste of Gascony from Aperitifs to Armagnac!

Saturday: Cookbook author and cooking queen Kate Hill escorts you to the picturesque and bustling weekly farmers market at Nerac, a haven of artisan food producers in Gascony. Artisan food producers sell their own wares and offer samples to their favorite visitors- like us! Kate's been shopping here for 20 years and the locals spoil her with samples and tastes as well as the best artisan food they produce. After the market, we enjoy a delicious lunch in a charming café or a perhaps a shady pique-nique by the river. By mid-afternoon, we return to the French Kitchen for a fun and easy cooking class #1- 'Gascon Traditions'—introducing you to foie gras, confit de canard and other regional and seasonal specialties. Aperitifs to Digestives accompany our dinner and feature a wine tasting of local regional wines from Madiran, Cahors, Buzet, & Cote de Gascogne- the best of the Southwest.

Sunday: After a lazy morning over cafe-au-lait and fresh croissants, Cooking Class #2—'French Basix' is influenced by the potager and herb gardens at Camont- what’s fresh, in season and out the kitchen door. How to make fresh herb sauces for braised poultry using parsley, lovage, rosemary and thyme, elegant vinaigrettes for startling good salads and French soups, a potager primer creating simply elegant soups from fresh garden ingredients like shallots, watercress, and celery root. A long Sunday lunch awaits. Departure after lunch.

An optional Sunday night stay is available*.

This all-inclusive gourmet package for the Weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun- available year round) includes:

• Two nights accommodation at the Relais de Camont,
  
• two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, including wine and beverages accompanying meals,
• 2 hands-on and demonstration cooking classes and
  
• market and shopping tour in Nerac or Agen

Sample Weekend Program

• Day 1: Welcome Dinner and accommodation
• Day 2: accommodation, breakfast, market visit,and lunch out. Evening cooking class #1, dinner, wine and armagnac tasting with cheese and dessert.
• Day 3: breakfast, cooking class #2 followed by Sunday lunch.
  

Price: 750€ (euro) per person based on double occupancy in a superior double room at the Relais de Camont. Single supplement 250€.

*Optional third night (Sunday) stay including buffet supper + 200€

Note: Does not include air fare or transportation to and from France and Camont exclusive of local transport for market shopping and outing. Pick up from train station is available by request.

For more of Kate Hill and her French Kitchen Adventures –– www.katehill.blogspot.com

email: kate (at) thefrenchkitchen (dot) com