Food
and cooking articles and information:
French
cooking holidays in the Dordogne
by
Gemma Driver
The
Gastropod is the home of Gemma Driver, the food writer
and consultant living in France. Stuffed with foodie
advice, lush photos, intriguing projects and addictive
articles, this slick site will have your brain inspired
and your mouth watering - www.gastropod.co.uk
 Masterchef
finalist, Jim Fisher, took his cutting-edge skills and
enviable chefing experience (such as chefing for Rick
Stein) to the rural Dordogne, where, with the help of
his wife, Lucy, he has established a thriving cookery
holiday business amongst their beautiful stone farm
buildings at Bombel. Jim and Lucy invited me to join
them and their guests for a week, so that I could find
out exactly how the holidays work. I thoroughly enjoyed
myself, learning new skills, tasting lots of superb
food, and getting to know the other guests and our hosts.
Here’s what happened . . .
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 Transport
issues meant that I arrived rudely early on the first
day, but although it was too early for me to see straight,
I was welcomed by a relaxed and smiling Lucy, who seemed
as if she’d been up for hours. The converted barn
which houses the gorgeously decorated professional kitchen
was warm and comfortable. Lucy and I chatted as I got
to know the surroundings, while she made a constant
supply of tea and checked on the freshly baking croissants
and pains au chocolat.
Gradually,
the six other guests and Jim himself drifted up to the
mezzanine kitchen. Lucy laid the dining table, and we
all went down to eat the delicious pastries with freshly
ground coffee and mugs of malty tea. The mixture of
people was fantastic; an English girl, an Australian
couple, an Irish lady who lives locally, and a mum and
daughter from Texas. Everyone had such interesting stories
and points of view to talk about, but the best thing
about the people on the course was that everyone was
pleased to learn and get along, and no-one had anything
to prove.
After
the leisurely breakfast, everyone went upstairs and
cleared away the breakfast things, before getting stuck
in to making fresh pasta. The courses which Jim runs
are not limited to the local cuisine and ingredients,
and he is happy to take requests for demonstrations.
The menu for a week’s holiday is different every
time, not just because the meals are designed around
guest’s requirements and requests, but because
Jim changes plans according to how people are feeling
and the availability of ingredients.
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Everyone
was amazed at their own achievements, as Jim effortlessly
showed us how to make pasta from scratch. We used our
tagliatelle and sheet pasta for two dishes; aromatic
tagliatelle with a rocket and almond pesto, drizzled
in olive oil, and tasty ravioli, which was filled with
rocket, lemon, feta and black olive, and served on a
chunky, spicy tomato sauce. Delicious! But the pasta
was the first of countless skills that we would master
throughout the week. By the end of the holiday, everyone
knew how to fillet a fish, prepare mussels and squid,
butcher a duck, roast the perfect leg of lamb (with
orange and garlic) make perfect pastry, tarte au citron
and creme brulee, concoct the best ice-cream I’ve
ever tasted (one was toffee, the other was basil flavoured),
select ingredients and much, much more. Simple tips
from the expert transformed people’s approaches
to everyday tasks like zesting and chopping. From my
point of view, a disinterest in ice-cream has switched
to the fact that I have to have a proper ice-cream
machine (now), whilst my disastrous pastry, which I
thought was a hopeless cause, is now light, malleable,
and stays in one piece!
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Another
highlight for me was Jim demonstrating how the flavours
in a sauce change as it reduces, and ingredients like
salt, fruit juice or oil are added. Vast quantities
of salt and fat in processed foods are consumed unnoticed,
but the relatively small amounts of salt and oil in
fresh food shocked guests, who are normally very careful
about adding these ingredients to their food. Jim would
make everyone taste a sauce or filling, add salt or
oil or sugar to it, and make us all taste it again.
 The
flavour would explode in our mouths, the difference
being immense. Then Jim added more salt and asked us
to taste it, and then more salt again. Conservative
salt consumers loved the new flavours, which were simply
massively enhanced, rather than actually being salty
/ sweet / oily, and their attitudes to ingredients were
changed forever.
Despite
all the learning, the experience of a Cook in France
holiday is extremely relaxing. Long lunch breaks chilling
out on the lawn, gazing at the wonderful view or basking
in the pool, plenty of breaks, afternoons-off to explore,
trips to local markets for ingredients, and a lack of
pressure to join in if you’re not in the mood mean
that there is plenty of balance. Eating what we had
cooked was extremely satisfying, and everyone enjoyed
swapping cross-continental foodie tips over lunch, but
Jim can also recommend a whole range of reliably good
local restaurants if you fancy an evening out.
This
French holiday is an enjoyable experience for anyone
with an interest in food. It must be good for you, too,
because in the year since the courses have been running,
two babies have - allegedly - been conceived there.
The wine is free!
©
Gemma Driver 2005
 This
article was written by Gemma Driver, a food writer and
consultant, who is passionate about the French way of
life and now lives in the Dordogne after moving to France
several years ago.
The
Gastropod is the home of Gemma Driver on the internet.
Stuffed with foodie advice, lush photos, intriguing
projects and addictive articles, this slick site will
have your brain inspired and your mouth watering - www.gastropod.co.uk
This
article first appeared on the web site
FrenchEntrée.com
Published
18 May 2005
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