Laurel’s classes are led by chef Stephanie and take place in our own fully-equipped restaurant kitchen in the charming provençal village of Fontvieille.
Class topics range from fundamental culinary skills, full meal preparation, visits to local marchés and tours of artisan workshops. All classes end with a shared meal around our communal table. Classes are offered at Laurel or in your kitchen! Private chef services are available upon request.
Our Classes:
• Marché Tour & Lunch - Mondays & Fridays 9:30 - 13:00
When you think of Provence, lavender, rosé, bright sunshine, and marchés come to mind. Is there anything more Provençal than a small town farmer’s market on a sunny weekday morning? The smells of chickens slowly roasting, domed bowls of olives, pesto and tapenade, wafts of freshly baked fougasse filling the air. Let’s be real, it's why you came to Provence!
Let’s tour the marché like locals, stopping to meet purveyors and farmers to learn about their products, sample a few along the way and pick up our ingredients for a farm-fresh Provençal lunch. You’ll learn about local products, how we choose fresh in-season ingredients, and local histories surrounding the foods people love.
We’ll begin with a tour of the marché, shopping for our meal along the way before heading to the atelier to get cooking. Menus change as ingredients do, with the seasons. One thing of which you can be sure is that we’ll wrap up with an indulgent lunch accompanied by local wines.
€130/person
This class is also available upon request without the market tour on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Price for the class without a market tour is €95/person.
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The How-To Series Classes
The How-To series highlights special dishes, meals or food-related customs in France. These unique experiences are the ones that stay with us long after the meal. They pepper our vacation memories adding local flavor, bringing us right back to that special time and place. Themes for the How-To series are always changing so check in with us often to see what’s on the menu.
How To: Fromage
Tuesdays 15:30-18:00 & Wednesdays 10:00-12:30
"How can you govern a country which has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?" - Charles de Gaulle
To which I might have replied, get to know one at a time!
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In the How-To: Fromage class, you’ll learn about the different varieties of French cheese, regional specialties and the basics of how to keep, store and shop for cheeses. You’ll leave knowing what makes a delicious and well balanced cheese plate as well as what other foods and wines to pair with cheese. I’ll also teach you the unspoken rules of how to cut cheese when presented with, say, a whole Camembert or a wedge of Roquefort on a cheese board.
€80/person
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How To: Apéro
Every Wednesday 16:00-18:00
How-To: Apéro will teach you how to become an Apérpro! Apéro (short for apéritif) is when the fun begins. It’s the “entry” into the evening and meal time in France. Many cultures have a similar practice, (happy hour anyone?) and an apéro is always interpreted by the host with their company in mind.
In this class, you’ll learn how to make 2 aperitif cocktails (or mocktails), serve and pair wine and how to put together a gourmet spread complete with easy plating and presentation techniques.
Tchin-tchin!
€80/person
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La Base Classes
The La Base series includes classes focused on fundamentals or, la base in French. These classes are for the home cook seeking confidence, consistency, and new skills to integrate into their daily cooking.
La Base: Knife Skills
Every Tuesday 10:00 - 12:00
In our La Base: Knife Skills class students will learn a variety of cuts (taillages) as well as how to sharpen and hone their knives at home. We will spend a lot of time practicing each cut on different fruits and vegetables, putting our skills to good use, and enjoying the fruits of our labor… did someone say soupe au pistou?
120€/person
Adult: from 80 €.
Every day throughout the year.
Closed on Sunday.
