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Provence Cooking Classes with Patricia Wells
For several weeks each year Patricia and Walter Wells open their
18th-century Provençal  home for personalized cooking classes
to a small number of participants eager to share in the food, wine,
and culture of one of France’s most blessed regions. Students
cook with herbs, salads and vegetables from the garden, grapes from
the vineyard, olives from the groves, sip homemade aperitifs from
the orchards, and prepare roast meat and poultry in the wood oven
fired with vine clippings from the vineyard. The house wine is Clos
Chanteduc, the fruity, fragrant red Côtes-du-Rhône from
the property. The five-day English language program includes hands-on
cooking sessions led by Patricia and Walter, as well as their guided
visits to markets, vineyards, shops, and local restaurants.
Each day’s program offers something different:
The prepared menus shared around the farmhouse
table, the insider’s guide to the regional
production of olives, oil, and cheese, and tastings
from the rich selection of local wines, including
the famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the heady
and varied Vacqueyras and Gigondas, as well as
the huge variety of top quality Côtes-du-Rhône.
All instruction is in English. Recipes are geared
to the home cook. Guests are supplied with aprons
as well as detailed recipe booklets that are theirs
to keep.
 The class is limited to 12 participants. The
week begins with dinner on Sunday night and ends
after lunch on Friday. The fee is $5,000 and includes
market visits, all tastings and transportation
for local visits. It includes a welcome dinner
on Sunday; a Monday class and lunch; a Tuesday
class and lunch; a restaurant dinner Tuesday; a wine
tasting and restaurant lunch on Wednesday; a class
and lunch on Thursday; a class and dinner on Thursday;
a class and lunch on Friday. Monday and Wednesday
evenings are free for students to explore the region
on their own. The fee does not include lodging.
(A list of recommended hotels is sent to enrolled
guests.)
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