Cooking
or culinary holidays, vacations, tours in France:
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SHORT
BREAKS : COOKING HOLIDAYS : COOKING VACATIONS
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Cooking
in Nice, France . . .
the colours and flavours of the Cote d' Azur
The
fresh, lively scent of a Menton lemon. The melting texture
of long-cooked onions. The bracing chill of that first
sip of rosé. Les Petits Farcis is not just about
flavours - it is about all the pleasures of a day spent
shopping at the Cours Saleya market and preparing an
authentic Niçois meal in Frances most Italian
city.
Food
writer, Cordon Bleu trained cook and longtime French
resident Rosa Jackson invites you to join her for hands-on
classes in her beautifully renovated Seventeenth century
apartment, steps from the vibrant Cours Saleya food
market in Nice.
 
Nice
The
best way to discover Nice is to wander at random through
the narrow streets of the Old Town and then stroll along
the famous 'Promenade' before entering into the heart
of the city with its rich architectural and cultural
heritage and its parks and gardens. With nineteen museums
and galleries, thirty-two classified historical monuments
and three hundred hectares of parks and gardens, woodland
and green areas in addition to one hundred and fifty
ornamental lakes and fountains there is plenty to see
or do unless you prefer to stretch out on the
famed beaches and relax!
One of the great pleasures when visiting Nice is to
take time to stroll around the outdoor market along
the Cours Saleya. This famous market area runs parallel
to the Quai des Etats-Unis in the Old Town. Every day
of the week except Monday you can marvel at the colourful
displays of fresh produce, olives, candied fruit and
spices.


Market
Tours and Cooking Classes
The day begins at 9.30 am at the Cours Saleya market,
while there is still a fresh morning breeze. The narrow
maze of centuries old streets that is the Vieux Nice
opens up onto this splendid space lined with bars, cafés
and fish restaurants on either side and market stalls
down the centre. 'Le tout Nice' converges on the terraces
at lunch, but early in the day it is time for that famous
Niçois street food, la socca (a chickpea
flour pancake), as you stroll through the market and
admire the vivid displays of flowers, candied fruit
and seasonal produce.
Though
the main aisle is the most dazzling thanks to its array
of colours, what really interests us is the collection
of small producers stalls in Place Pierre Gautier.
The fruit and vegetables are not as uniformly shaped
and the variety not as great, but every ingredient we
will find here is firmly rooted in the region and much
of it is organic. Depending on the season you might
see:
- untreated
oranges, including bitter oranges for jam
- real
wild asparagus
- strawberries
from Carros
- red,
yellow and orange tomatoes ripened on the vine
- figs
bursting with juice
- the
mix of salad leaves known as mesclun (no Niçois
meal would be complete without it)
- and
much more
Gourmet
cooking classes in Nice are a highlight of the experience
of Les Petits Farcis.
Depending
on your menu choice, we will visit the best butcher
in the Old Town or prepare fish from Poissonnerie Deloye
just outside the Vieux Nice. Because traditional Niçois
cooking relies more on vegetables than meat or fish,
we can also plan an entirely vegetarian menu. No matter
what the main ingredient of our meal, we will not forget
the wine. Then we will make our way past the fresh pasta
shop to my four hundred year old building in Rue du
Jésus, where if pissaladière is on the
menu we can get started on the yeast dough. A couple
of hours later we will sit down to an authentic Niçois
meal and toast our efforts with a glass of rosé
(or, if you prefer, an intriguing local red or white
wine).
After
lunch, if you wish, I will lead you on a gourmet tour
through the zig-zaggy streets of the Vieux Nice, where
you will taste Niçois olive oils (the region
has two thousand producers), see fresh pasta being made,
learn more about Provençal wines and discover
local sweets. You will find out how the Italian influence
has shaped Niçois cooking and marvel at the local
obsession with eating - this is the only city in France
where street food is an institution. Our day will finish
with a well-deserved glass of wine in a shop specializing
in natural and organic wines.


Delve
deeper into the local cuisine with a five-day course
Each
season on the French Riviera brings an abundance of
local ingredients and recipes. For students who want
to explore the sun-drenched cooking of this region for
more than a day, Les Petits Farcis offers five-day intensive
courses a few times a year for a maximum of six students.
This affordable program covers the basics of Provencal
and Nicois cooking, providing students with a full repertoire
of recipes to take home.
Each
two-hour class starts at 10.30am and is followed by
a leisurely lunch. Afternoons are free to relax on the
beach or visit the area. Renting a car isn't necessary,
as there is a convenient system of buses and trains
that will take you to places such as Cannes, Antibes,
Monaco, Eze, St-Paul-de-Vence and Villefranche sur Mer.
The
friendly hands-on classes take place in my beautifully
renovated Seventeenth century apartment just off the
world famous Cours Saleya market. On Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday we'll prepare a full menu of fresh,
seasonal dishes before sitting down to lunch and toasting
our efforts with delicious wines from the region. On
Wednesday we'll tour the food market before tasting
Provencal olive oils and enjoying a Mediterranean lunch
that someone else has prepared!
You
will leave with a complete recipe book, my list of recommended
restaurants in Nice, and a Petits Farcis apron to take
home.
A
Taste of the Sun
September 21st - 25th 2009
Make
the most of the season's bounty, cooking such typical
Nicois dishes as petits farcis (stuffed vegetables),
ratatouille and soupe au pistou (the local
version of minestrone). Desserts will draw on the
last strawberries and the first local apples and pears.
Cost:
695 euros per person
Includes
four hands-on cooking classes followed by three-course
lunches, a market tour followed by an olive oil tasting
and lunch, a two-hour wine and cheese tasting with
a local wine expert, a complete recipe booklet, my
list of recommended restaurants, and a Petits Farcis
apron to take home.
A
Taste of the Riviera three-day program
April 16-18, 2009*
May 15-17, 2009
June 11-13, 2009
July 9-11, 2009
If
you're fascinated by the colourful food markets in Provence
and want to learn more about the local cuisine without
feeling the least bit stressed about your cooking skills,
this program is tailor-made for you.
- Day
1 - "A Taste of Nice" food tour
followed by a typically Nicois lunch
9.30am - 2.30pm
Location: the Old Town in Nice
Nice is the only city in France that is famed for
its street food, a reminder of the days when the county
of Nice belonged to the Italian-ruled Kingdom of Savoy.
On a fascinating three-hour tour, you will learn about
the history of Nice and its food and taste such unexpected
delicacies as pissaladiere (caramelized onion
tart), socca (chick pea pancake), fougasse
(Provencal flatbread) and tourte de blettes (a sweet
pie with a surprise ingredient). You will also sample
a selection of Provencal olive oils, taste vinegars
flavored with passion fruit or piment d'Espelette,
discover the secrets of French cheese and visit an
artisanal pork butcher. After the tour, I will lead
you to a typically Nicois bistro for a delicious lunch
with local wine.
- Day
2 - A relaxed cooking class with Rosa
11.00am - 2.30pm
Location: the Old Town in Nice
Whether or not you're an experienced cook, I will
make you feel at home in my kitchen as you prepare
a three-course meal of light Provencal dishes that
are easy to recreate at home. I am happy to cater
to your tastes and adapt the menu to any food allergies
or intolerances.
Sample
menu:
Tomato-tapenade tart on a parmesan sablé
Sea bass fillets with sauce vierge
Poached pears with vanilla ice cream
- Day
3 - A tasting under the olive trees
2.00pm - 6.00pm
Location: the Nice back country, departing from the
Old Town in Nice (transport provided)
My charming French husband Philippe, who you will
have met during the cooking class, will drive you
up to an olive farm in the stunning countryside near
the Italian border. After touring the farm with the
owners, you will taste its organic olive oil and delicious
olive paste, tapenade and jams - all in an idyllic
setting under the olive trees.
Price
for the three-day program in May, June and July: €450
Includes lunch with wines on Day 1 and 2, transport
on Day 3 and all tastings.
*
The April 16th - 18th program will involve two days
of cooking, including a market tour, and a full day
Meet the Producers tour (9.30am - 6.00pm). Cost: 595
euros including two cooking classes, three lunches,
transport for the Meet the Producers tour and tastings.
And
for those who dont wish to cook . . . 
Les
Petits Farcis also offers a selection of inspiring programs
- A
taste of Nice
Nice is the only city in France that is famed
for its street food, a reminder of the days when the
county of Nice belonged to the Italian-ruled Kingdom
of Savoy. Many of the snacks sold at the market and
in the Old Town's street food stands are the types
of things farmers would have eaten in the fields to
calm mid-morning hunger pangs: a tradition known as
la merenda. On a fascinating three-hour tour,
you will learn about the history of Nice and its food
and taste such unexpected delicacies as pissaladiere
(caramelized onion tart), socca (chick pea
pancake), fougasse (Provencal flatbread)
and tourte de blettes (a sweet pie with a
surprise ingredient). You will also sample a selection
of Provencal olive oils, taste vinegars flavored with
passion fruit or piment d'Espelette, discover the
secrets of French cheese and visit an artisanal pork
butcher.
- Market
tour, food walk, olive oil tasting and tapas-style
lunch
Spend the morning tasting delicacies in the
Old Town, learn all about Provencal olive oils and
have a light Mediterranean meal prepared with only
the freshest ingredients from the market.
- Meet
the producers
The producers at the Cours Saleya were understandably
suspicious at first of a foreigner who dares to teach
Nicois cooking. But my constant presence at the market,
enthusiasm for the local produce and loyalty to the
small producers has convinced them over time that
I am a true Nicois at heart. Many of the producers
have invited me to their farms, which is what gave
me the idea for the Meet the Producers tours. Just
beyond Nice the land becomes rugged and mountainous,
making the producers' task a challenging one. The
scenery is some of the most breathtaking on the Cote
d'Azur, yet this is not an area that most tourists
would explore on their own as the villages are so
remote and tiny. Depending on your interests, we can
visit an olive farm to taste organic oil made from
the local Nicois olives, see dozens of varieties of
citrus fruits at a garden run by a former Formula
One race car driver in Menton, gape at the 80 organic
tomato varieties grown in the hills of Bellet, and
sample the little-known wine from that same region.
The price of the tour includes transport in a comfortable
vehicle and a gourmet lunch in a small village. Weekdays
are preferable, as most of the producers come to the
market on weekends. A maximum of seven people can
be accommodated on this tour.
- Wine
tours in the Nice back country
There is more to wine on the Riviera than
rosé! Wine lovers can spend half a day discovering
the unique whites, reds and rosés of the Nice
back country. As with the food producers, we visit
only winemakers who are passionate about what they
do and work with few or no chemicals.
- The
Bellet vineyards: Experience France's
smallest AOC wine region, which the winemakers here
believe is also the oldest wine-producing area in
France. We'll visit two small producers who put
all their knowledge, skill and passion into growing
obscure grape varieties such as braquet and folle
noire, which have notoriously unpredictable yields.
You'll taste whites, reds and rosés, see
the spectacular terraced vineyards just 20 minutes
from the center of Nice and have an opportunity
to buy wines to take home or enjoy during your stay.
- St-Jeannet:
This town near St-Paul de Vence does
not have an AOC, but that doesn't stop its winemakers
from producing some of the area's most exceptional
wine. We'll visit a winemaker who uses Roman methods
to produce red, white and rosé which are
prized by local sommeliers, and enjoy a two-hour
tasting in the vineyard.
"When
we visited Provence last fall, we were fortunate to
have found Rosa Jackson's cooking class, via the internet.
Our time with Rosa was one of the highlights of our
two weeks in France. The trip to the market, and her
knowledge of the fresh food and wine we used to prepare
our menu made this an incredible experience that will
not be forgotten. We only wish we lived closer, so
that we could do it again. This experience was definitely
worth the investment!" ~ Lynn Langeliers
- Montana, USA

"I want to thank you SO much for the lovely
cookery course. It was so enjoyable while at the same
time being highly informative. I shall never be able
to return to my slovenly ways
.from now on it
is nothing but the very best of ingredients AND replacing
the knife with a proper assortment of
sharp ones! You have really whetted my appetite and
I will be keeping an eye on your website with the
view to returning to your kitchen in the near future."
~ Síghle Bhreathnach-Lynch, Dublin

"Just wanted to thank you again for a wonderful
week of cooking. It was truly the highlight of my
visit on the Cote d'Azur!! I wanted you to know that
I have made several of the recipes here in Australia;
the Beet Orange salad at least 4 times and it has
been such a hit, the apple tart twice - very VERY
impressive and so yummy, the lentil soup at least
twice with ordinary Aussie sausages - still nice and
the couscous salad at least twice. Will try lots more
recipes when I get back to the USA." ~ Eleanor
Therese Coyne, Australia

"Just want to say thank you again for the
wonderful day we spent with you and your sharing your
knowledge with us. Our dinner that evening was wonderful
and we have enjoyed the wines we purchased when we
were with you and most of all we are still enjoying
that fabulous olive oil!! Please give our compliments
and thanks to the owners of the shops and let them
know how much we are enjoying our purchases."
~ Forrest and Adella Greek, USA


About
Rosa Jackson
Food
critic and cookbook author Rosa Jackson is fascinated
with Nice and its unique culinary tradition, a result
of its history and climate. She wrote about food for
a daily newspaper in Canada before moving to France
in 1995 to work as an interpreter at the Cordon Bleu
cooking school and run Paris Market Tours.
She
has edited six editions of the Time Out Paris Eating
and Drinking Guide (published by Penguin), a guide to
more than eight hundred and fifty restaurants, bars
and cafés; updated several chapters of the 2006
Time Out South of France and Fodor's Provence and the
Côte D'Azur guides; and written about food for
a number of magazines and newspapers, including Food
& Wine, Fine Cooking and Eating Well in the United
States, Food and Travel magazine and The Evening Standard
newspaper in Britain, and Eat magazine in Japan. She
is the Paris correspondent for Australian Gourmet Traveller
magazine and writes a monthly restaurant column for
the subscription-only newsletter Paris Notes www.parisnotes.com.
She
divides her time between Nice and Paris, where she runs
the custom designed itinerary service www.edible-paris.com.
Her first cookbook, Petites recettes pour grandir, was
published by Marabout (a division of Hachette) in March
2004, and her second cookbook, La cuisine des paresseuses,
came out in February 2005. She is married to a Frenchman
and has a five-year-old son.
| "Nothing
brings people together like food and cooking,
and nobody is a better guide to French cooking
in Nice than Rosa. Our day started with a
tour of the open-air farmers' market and then
the bakery, butcher shop, cheese shop and
wine store, before heading to the kitchen
to make lunch. Rosa guided us to the freshest
ingredients and highest quality local produce
while fielding our constant questions about
French food and culture. Her comfortable style
and great knowledge make it an experience
that my wife and I still talk about."
Alan Wozniak, Los Angeles, California |
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Old Town Apartment Rental for your Vacation in
Nice, France
Looking
for accommodation for your trip to Nice? Les Petits
Farcis can recommend several newly renovated apartments
in the Old Town, available for a few days to a month
and sleeping two to five people. Renting an apartment
allows you to live like a Niçois, making the
most of the fabulous ingredients available at the Cours
Saleya market - the beach is only a minute away, too!
Prices start at about €500 (Euros) per week.


Prices
for Cooking Classes and Market Tours in Nice
Les
Petits Farcis market classes are small and friendly,
with no more than six participants. Classes are available
year-round, every day of the week except Monday.
As
of summer 2007, enjoy cooking in my air-conditioned
kitchen! My Seventeenth century apartment has entered
the Twenty-first century, making it possible to cook
year-round in comfort.
Market
tour, cooking class and four-course lunch
9.30 am - 3.p0 pm
200 euros per person
Market
tour, cooking class, four-course lunch and afternoon
gourmet food walk
9.30 am - 6.00 pm
290 euros per person
Market
tour, gourmet food walk and olive oil tasting with
lunch
10.00 am - 2.00 pm
150 euros per person
Afternoon
gourmet food walk
3.00 pm - 6.00 pm
100 euros per person
Saturday
or Sunday early morning market tour with tasting breakfast
8-11am
120 euros per person
Meet the producers tour
9am-5pm
290 euros per person (includes transport by car and
lunch)
- Discounts
are available for groups of four or more and families.
- A
minimum of two people is required for a class or
tour to take place.
- Private
class: 100 euro supplement per person.
For
further details please contact Rosa <click
here> or visit Les Petits Farcis web site.
<click here>
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