manstouch travel
Casual Cooking with the Countess
Cooking classes in the 9th arrondissement
Address: 9th Arrondissement
Area: Paris
In 2002, as a Parisian speaking fluent English, I was asked by Columbia University Programs in Paris to coach some of its scholars wanting to improve their French and cooking skills at the same time, during a semester of research in France.
The next thing I knew, I was in charge of preparing a series of "Introduction to French Cooking" courses for its junior students. I still teach these classes every semester and have other English-speaking students as well.
My concept also extends to an "à la carte" course, where one conveniently chooses the schedule, then the most tempting menus, with the guarantee of always discovering easy – yet sophisticated – cooking, in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
How Classes Work
CHOICE OF SCHEDULES & MENUS ARE ON A “FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE” BASIS
- The class is held in my cosy Parisian apartment.
- Preparation and cooking are done in the kitchen; meals are served in the dining-room
- Each participant is handed a copy of all the recipes in French, which are read, then explained either in French or in English (or both) with special attention given to the culinary vocabulary
- The practical “hands-in” class starts 10 minutes later. Everybody takes an active part in the making of all the recipes (peeling, chopping, stirring, tasting, etc…)
- Lunch or dinner are served in the dining-room and last between 45 minutes and an hour
- While we enjoy a quick cup of coffee or herbal tea in the sitting room, I gather the recipes that have been annotated, add a cover-sheet with the “menu of the day” and bind them with a piece of ribbon. The booklets are returned and we part shortly after.
On Request
2 day cooking with lunch The interest of these consecutive lunches being the making of
a fairly complicated or long recipe over 2 days
All about the Countess - Art & Cooking
Born in 1960 on an Alberta ranch, near Calgary, she left Canada with her parents – East European aristocrats - at the age of 11, first to North Africa, then to the wonderfully hospitable “South-West” of France. After passing her Baccalaureate there, she became a student in Paris.
With a BA in English Literature and Art History, she worked for almost twenty years in the art business (for an auctioneer, art dealers and decorators), before completely changing her professional activity to teaching her "Introduction to French cooking" courses, directed to the many English-speaking university students on"study abroad"programs in Paris.
Making jewellery is a thirty-year-old passion that started by gathering material on stays and trips in Africa or Europe. The result in an “ethnic-chic” look. When she does not create the beads herself they come from across the World: the glass beads are usually from India or the Middle East, the stones are from China, Afghanistan or even South America. The coloured cords she uses are French, found in those very quaint but more and more scarce Parisian haberdasheries.
Since 1996 she has created small “series” on different themes and exhibited them privately in Paris, London, Warsaw… and Calgary. So here we are!
In preparation: a selection of stones gathered by André Breton, bought in the sale of his collections, mounted as objets d’art and jewellery by Rosabelle Tarnowska under the name “Pierres exquises” in commemoration of the Surrealist movement.
Semi Private Cooking & Lunch Classes
(2 - 4 persons in each group)
- Two Course Lunch
- Three Course Lunch
- Three Course Dinner
Two Course Lunch
(main dish and dessert) 90 euro per person
Duration: 2 1/2 hours between 11am & 3pm
When: Tuesday, Thursday or Friday
See Menu Options Below
Three Course Lunch
(starter, main dish and dessert) 110 euro per person
Duration: 3 1:2 hours between 10am & 3pm
When: Tuesday, Thursday or Friday
See Menu Options Below
Three Course Dinner
(starter, main dish and dessert) 120 euro per person
Duration: 3 hours between 8 to 11:30 pm
When: Monday though Thursday
See Menu Options Below
Special Menus
Terrine de Foie Gras de Canard au Jurançon 150€ (Nov to Mar)
Three Soufflés 110 €
Three Exotic Dishes 120€
Three Desserts 90 €
Three «Galettes des Rois 90 € (Dec 15th to Jan 31st)