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Welcome to our Provencal cooking school and Bed and Breakfast. We're now into our 8th year offering Provencal Cuisine workshops in our home inside the Roman walls of Arles.

Together we'll begin your French Provincial cooking experience with a visit to the outdoor market of Arles, the largest in France with over 1300 merchants. Every morning before your evening cooking class, we'll visit local artisans such as the chocolate maker, or the potter, go wine-tasting at local wineries and learn from the men and women who have wine in their veins. The list of artisans and possible visits keeps growing so we've put articles here to introduce you to them.

We'll fill your days with memories and flavors to treasure. You may have a short vacation, and so prefer our Mini Gourmand formula, or you might have a bit more time and prefer our Classic Gourmand class. Perhaps you are particularly interested in learning more about the wines of Provence and how they marry with the foods, or, you love to hike and walk and would like to visit the many varied corners of Provence on foot as well as eat well every evening.

On our schedule you'll find the program to fit your desires, from March through July and September through December. We've a special class to tempt you over to Provence during truffle and foie gras season in December and January.

Your chef

Erick Vedel

Erick Vedel was born and raised in Arles. Impassioned by the richness of his region, Chef Vedel has devoted himself to bringing the forgotten delicacies of his native cuisine to light. In the last 12 years his research has gathered him over 1000 dishes ranging from the dishes favored by the ancient Romans, to the specialties of the 19th Century. Chef Vedel has been teaching his recipes and his know-how in the kitchen since 1995, first through videos, then in his own kitchen in Arles, and in others abroad.

Schedule

March - Our spring French Language Intensive for Food Lovers (4-17 March) still has some space in it. With the warm weather we have been having, I might be able to promise you poppies and asparagus and strawberries... and all sorts of early spring goodies. Not to mention a quiet city with relaxed and friendly shop-keepers eager to help you practice your French.

April - 13-19 is our Spring Gourmand week-nearly full, we've just 2 more spots in it. So if you know anyone who's considering it, encourage them to contact us soon!

27- 2 May - our Mini-Gourmand that includes the colorful May day costume parade, a chocolate class, picnics amidst the poppies, and much more

May 13-19 - our spring Hiking and Feasting-a favorite of mine! During this week we explore some of our favorite corners of Provence with you, and then come home to cook and feast.

May 27-31 Hiking Feasting and Yoga - this 5 day class will have 2 cooking classes, 2 hikes, and 2 yoga classes with our new collaborator, a lovely woman who teaches Iyengar style yoga. She is calm, patient and will work with the group both as a group, and individually. Depending on the weather, we should be able to do at least one class at the beach!

June 1-8 is a summer Classic Gourmand week in collaboration with our colleague Linda Forristal. There are still 2 spots available in this class...

June 10-23 -- Our summer French Language Intensive for Food Lovers -- 2 weeks of language instruction, fabulous meals with our friends to practice your French, outings, cooking classes and more!

29-4 July - our High summer Mini-Gourmand... with all the glorious fruits and vegetables on the market, an abundance of good cheeses, costume parades, and so much more!

Provence

Provence is a land of people, food, agriculture and spectacular structures built over its 2500 year history as one of the major centers of trade on the Mediterranean. We revel in intimate lunches at the homeof the bee-keeper, back of the store visits to the baker and pastry-maker, guided truffle tours. Through stories, history and daily cooking classes we will share the traditional foods of Provence, the warmth of sharing time over Mediterranean food and Rhone wines, the pleasures of the table. A sampling of our favorite recipes are here for you to enjoy at home.

As we drive and walk through Provence, we will pass through orchards of olive trees and fruit, vine-covered hill sides and plateaus, rows of vegetables that will show up at the market stalls in Arles every Wednesday and Saturday. You can see a preview of what will be in season during your visit on our gourmand's calendar to Provence.

Provence is home to Roman and Medieval ruins -- though can we call the Arena ruins when we still hold events inside it? and the antique Roman theater where films and operas are shown throughout the summer? But Provence is even more important as the center of French agriculture. For 12 months of the year there are fresh vegetables on the market. To the east are the olive groves, to the north the fruit orchards and along the Rhone the vines. To the south is rice and wheat and salt. Herds of wild cattle and the indigenous white horses roam the Camargue - still range-fed and living much as they always have. Goats are herded into the hills of the Alpilles to eat the fresh herbs and grasses, and early spring, poppies carpet the floors of the olive orchards.

We consider ourselves blessed to be surrounded by such bounty, and the urge to share it comes naturally in this sun-drenched country. The many varieties of fish at the market come straight from the Sea just a half an hour away -- leading every market day to be fish day in our house. The olives are pressed nearby and give us smooth and fruity golden green oil to drizzle over vegetables, bread, pasta.. The wines in our "backyard" are amongst the mostdistinguished, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Lirac, Tavel, and more. And to our great pleasure, the wineries are small and welcoming and the wine-makers eager and pleased to share their passion and knowledge. Mushrooms grow in the the hills, tomatoes are sold ripe and flavorful from July through October, and fresh cheese from goats and sheep raised and tended locally is ours for the asking.

Regional Specialities

Lavender: The Purple Waves of Provence Lavender... the word alone brings to mind a heady perfume, fields of blue, purple rows rolling with the landscape. A perfume, a delicate flower, sachets, bath bubbles... Pictures of lavender adorn many a guide to Provence. From late June through mid- August, these fields draw us from afar.

Truffles: the Black Diamond - When living in Provence, how can one not be tempted by the winter diversion of truffle hunting, nor be left unaffected by the dramatic shift at the top restaurants to menus featuring these treasures?

Olive Oil les Baux de Provence - Though some attribute the use of olive oil to an Italian influence, in fact, olive oil has been a main source of cooking oil in Provence -- as well as oil for light and lubricating wheels -- for over two millennia now.

Cave Verger des Papes - At the top of the village of Chateauneuf-du-Pape you'll find the ruins of the Chateau, and just below, the restaurant and wine cellar of the Verger des Papes.

Romana Taverna - Provence is named thus through its historical role as the Provincia Romana, or the Province of Rome. And there is a wonderful Roman restaurant nestled in the ruins of Glanum...

The Honey Collector - When you find Sophie at the market, she generally has a honey from Provence which is made up of rosemary, thyme, wildflowers and a few trees, a honey toutes fleurs from the Camargue...

The Potter's Shop - When we go to visit we are invited back into the potting room, where they throw the pots on the wheel and form other dishes in molds.

The Baker - The Fassy family have run the bakery in Maillane in a direct line for 6 generations...

The Rhone Organic Winemakers - Accross the Rhone and a bit further north you'll find the Domaine de Trapadis on the outskirts of the village of Rasteau. There, the young Helen Durand and his mother Michelle are business associates making some of the most delicious red wines in the region.

Claudine, The Goatcheese Maker - One of the many delights of Provence is tasting the many varieties and qualities of goat cheese.

Joel Durand, The Chocolate Maker - Though chocolate comes from the new world, no one can deny that the French (and the Suiss and the Belgians) have taken it to a new level. One of the most adept in our neighborhood is Joel Durand.