About the location: The Ile Rousse, a beautiful four-star hotel with 55 rooms on the sea in Provence, boasts no less than five unique restaurants as well as a Thalassotherapy Seawater Spa Center. This delightful retreat of private sandy beaches is located about 45 minutes from the Marseilles airport in the town of Bandol, noted for its wine production. Stendhal wrote, ”Nothing is quite so pure and clean as the waters of the Bandol Gulf,” and you’ll see that he’s right. The spa uses the beneficial qualities of the water in its treatments, and your room overlooks the pristine blue sea from a terrace. Excursions will focus on a different gourmet perspective each day, from the fishermen on the French Riviera to the olive oil and wine producers of the Provençal countryside. In your free time, you can attend to your health and well being at the spa, pools, and fitness rooms, or visit the casino in Bandol for an entertaining evening.
About the lessons: The unique location makes for an interesting blend of cuisine: Mediterranean dishes with the freshest Provençal ingredients. The hands-on cooking classes will be led in the very well equipped restaurant kitchen of Chef Jean Paul Lanyou, the head chef of the hotel’s Michelin- and Gault Millau- recommended restaurants. Dinners will be held on the terrace surrounding the seawater pool or at one of the gourmet restaurants.
Your Itinerary
Day 1:
Enjoy a welcome drink upon arrival in your Sea-view room at the four-star Hotel Ile Rousse. Relax until the welcome dinner in the evening.
(D)
Day 2:
Buffet breakfast. Visit the local fishmonger to see the day’s catch. Ingredients for the lesson later in the day will be picked out. The rest of the morning is free until the lesson. We recommend exploring the range of spa treatments available at the Heliovital Thalgo Seawater Spa Center. At 3 pm, begin the cooking course devoted to Mediterranean Fish, where you will learn to prepare dishes such as Fish Soup or Bouillabaisse or Baked Fish. Dinner and tasting of the dish cooked during the course will follow the lesson.
(B) (D)
Day 3:
Buffet breakfast. Visit a typical Provencal market and Les Olivades, the provencal vegetable gardens. Some ingredients for the afternoon cooking lesson will be selected. The rest of the morning is free until the lesson. At 3pm, join the chef again for a cooking course at “L’Auberge du Port,” a delightful harbour front restaurant in town owned by the hotel. The class will be devoted to the Farm and Garden, focusing on dishes such as Pigeon with Provencal Honey. Dinner follows with a tasting of the dish cooked during the course at the restaurant.
(B) (D)
Day 4:
Buffet breakfast. Visit a local olive mill for an olive oil tasting and learn how the olive becomes the oil. The rest of your morning is free. Meet at 3pm for a cooking course devoted to a seasonal menu, such as Mushrooms (Cepe Mushrooms, Morels, Girolles …) Dinner will follow the lesson with a tasting of the dish cooked during the course.
(B) (D)
Day 5:
Buffet breakfast. This morning’s excursion will take you to a wine property for a wine tasting with degustation. Reconvene at 3pm for the final cooking lesson, to further explore the recipes of the Farm and Garden. Enjoy a final delicious dinner based on your cooking efforts.
(B) (D)
Day 6:
Buffet breakfast and departure.
(B)
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
France
Cooking School
Spa/Hot Springs
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