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The French Table
In The Footsteps of Julia Child
August 15-23, 2012
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Cost $10 900.00 plus $2200.00 single supplementary
Whats included:
*All meals including finest wines and champagnes with meals
*All accommodation
*Train tickets to Provence
*All private chauffeured travel throughout stay
*The French Table at Chateau Bosgouet Apron
*Cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris
*Certificate of participation at Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School |
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When Julia Child first came to France in 1948, she couldn't boil an egg! She was a tall, gawky woman from Pasadena married to a cultural liaison officer posted at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She had heard the French could be tricky. She did not speak French and had no expectations of what lay ahead for her in France. This week long culinary adventure will take us to the sights and sounds of Normandy, Paris & Provence that shaped the life of the extraordinary Julia Child.
« The Norman Countryside struck me as quintessentially French in an indefinable way » |
August 15th, 2012
2pm: Hotel Relais Christine 3 rue Christine Paris.Guests meet in Paris where you will be met by Jane Webster to travel by minibus back to Chateau de Bosgouet.
Settle into your charming room, explore the Chateau and grounds, enjoy afternoon tea followed by free time.
Aperitifs, a full open bar including French champagne...Billiecart...Moet & Chandon is followed by Dinner in the chateau's magnificent dining room.Indeed one of the highlights is that each evening guests are introduced to champagnes rarely seen outside of France from small exclusive houses. |
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August 16th, 2012
Day Two Breakfast Chateau Bosgouet style: Fresh croissants, pain au chocolat, homemade muffins, fresh fruit, homemade conserves, compote of rhubarb & apples, freshly brewed coffee and tea & freshly squeezed orange juice.
Market Day in Rouen to shop & stroll at the Vieux Marche where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake in the 15th C.
After visiting the market, explore Rouen's old town that has been developing since the Romans built the first bridge but came to its zenith in the century between the French Reconquest and Wars of Religion - an era during which many fine examples of Renaissance style were brought to the city.
Our lunch today will be at La Couronne, a restaurant Julia Child's husband Paul knew in Rouen. Julia was happy to discover that at La Couronne the waiters were friendly, probably because Paul spoke some French and loved to talk about food!
Then came her first taste of proper French food: oysters with rye bread, followed by Dover sole in butter sauce and a simple green salad. Julia felt guilty about drinking wine at lunch - a crisp, white, Loire Valley Pouilly Fume. They had fromage blanc for dessert and espresso coffee.
After lunch we will visit the same places in Rouen that Julia did all those years ago!
Dinner tonight at château Bosgouet. After dinner we will watch the film Julie & Julia! |
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August 17th, 2012
Breakfast at château Bosgouet
Depart for Paris for our gorgeous hotel where Julia and Paul stayed when they first arrived in Paris.
A beautiful boutique hotel on the left bank surrounded by St Germain and the Latin Quarter!
Time to settle into your beautiful room followed by an afternoon visit to some of Julia Child's favourite haunts.
Dinner tonight at the incredible Le Meurice |
August 18th, 2012
Breakfast at our beautiful hotel
This morning we visit Le Cordon Bleu
Founded in Paris in 1895, today the presence of Le Cordon Bleu encompasses 30 international schools in 15 countries, attended by more than 18,000 students every year.
The origin of the expression "Cordon Bleu" comes from the 1578 foundation of the Order of Knights of the Holy Spirit.
The members of the order wore a medal suspended on a blue ribbon and their spectacular feasts became legendary.
Late afternoon return to our hotel.
Dinner tonight at L'atelier Joel Robuchon at our hotel. |
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August 19th, 2012
On their first Saturday in Paris Julia and Paul had breakfast here before taking a long walk through the streets of Paris.
Deux Magots
This classic café, which overlooks the St-Germain des Preés church, specialises in chocolate chaude, which is the main reason to go these days. Made with milk and pure chocolate, this hot beverage is served in a lovely white porcelain pitcher. 6 pl. St-Germain des Prés, 6e.
Mid morning visit to Marché aux Puces St-Ouen.Learning how to cook various dishes at Le Cordon Bleu meant Julia had to add special supplies to her already-full kitchen. She and Paul took a trip out to this market, where she went looking for the huge, heavy mortar and pestle needed to prepare quenelles de brochet (a Lyonnais fish dish)
Also referred to as Clignancourt, this market on Paris's northern boundary still attracts the crowds when it's open-Saturday to Monday, from 9 to 6. The century-old labyrinth of alleyways packed with antiques dealers' booths and brocante stalls sprawls for more than a square mile. Old Vuitton trunks, ormolu clocks, 1930s jet jewelry, and vintage garden furniture sit cheek by jowl. Arrive early to pick up the most worthwhile loot (like old prints). Be warned-if there's one place in Paris where you need to know how to bargain, this is it!
Dinner tonight at Brasserie Lipp |
August 20th, 2012
Early morning walk through the streets of Paris.
Breakfast at our hotel
Morning visit to to the mythical 200-year-old professional kitchenware shop Dehillerin in Paris. A unique gastronomic pilgrimage destination.
Lunch Today at Le Grand Véfour
Julia and her husband Paul happened upon this Paris institution while exploring the Palais Royal. They visited the restaurant once a month thereafter.
Victor Hugo could stride in and still recognise this restaurant, which was in his day, as now, a contender for the title of most beautiful restaurant in Paris. Originally built in 1784, it has welcomed everyone from Napoléon to Colette to Jean Cocteau under its mirrored ceiling, and amid the early-19th-century glass paintings of goddesses and muses that create an air of restrained seduction. Foodies as well as the fashionable gather here to enjoy chef Guy Martin's unique blend of sophistication and rusticity, as seen in dishes such as frogs' legs with sorrel sauce, and oxtail parmentier (a kind of shepherd's pie) with truffles. There's an outstanding cheese trolley and for dessert, try the house speciality, palet aux noisettes (meringue cake with chocolate mousse, hazelnuts, and salted caramel ice cream).
This afternoon we will vist Shakespeare & Company!
Browsing here and in other bookstores in Paris, Julia came to realise that there weren't any French cookbooks in English that would be accessible to an American audience.
A sentimental Rive Gauche favorite, Shakespeare & Company is named after the bookstore whose American owner, Sylvia Beach, first published James Joyce's Ulysses. Nowadays it specialises in expat literature. You can count on a couple of eccentric characters somewhere in the stacks, a sometimes-spacey staff, the latest titles from British presses, and hidden secondhand treasures in the odd corners and crannies. Poets give readings upstairs on Monday at 8 pm; there are also tea-party talks on Sunday at 4 pm. 37 rue de la Bûcherie, 5e, Quartier Latin. Dinner tonight at wonderful Parisian restaurant.
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August 21st, 2012
Early morning walk for those interested
Breakfast at our hotel
Mid morning TGV to Julia's beloved region of Provence
Late afternoon check into our beautiful accommodations
Dinner at Michelin star restaurant
August 22nd, 2012
Early morning walk for those interested
Breakfast at our hotel
Market Day at a nearby market followed by lunch.
Afternoon Cooking class at our hotel
Final dinner at local restaurant
August 23rd, 2012
Early morning walk for those interested
Breakfast at our hotel.
Our tour finishes this morning. |
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