An Intensive Cooking 'Stage' at Le Calabash Cooking School
Yzeures-sur-Creuse (Indre et Loire)

About the Location: Le Calabash Cooking School is located in the heart of the Indre et Loire region on the river Creuse, set in a small French hamlet on the edge of the local forest. The region is home to the finest goat’s cheese producers, and winemaking has been deeply rooted here for centuries. This area is simply known as France’s ‘Bread Basket.’

At Le Calabash you will embark on an intensive French culinary experience that will open new doors to flavors, techniques and skills that will enable you to follow your own flair and imagination. While the environment and kitchen may feel informal, the husband and wife chefs will broaden your cooking horizons by teaching you how to infuse exotic flavors into traditional French dishes. The kitchen where your French cooking classes are held is a traditional French farmhouse kitchen, fitted to allow you to feel at home. You will work with equipment and ingredients that can normally be found in the home kitchen, so that these recipes can be replicated at home. The cooking courses provide a hands-on opportunity to develop your culinary skills in a practical environment, as well as being on vacation in the most beautiful surroundings, and the chance to make new friends.

About the accommodations: Your home for the week is a stunning relais hotel converted from a previously lovely manor home. (View the hotel’s photogallery here.) The property has been lovingly restored with gorgeous taste and attention to every detail, keeping in mind modern conveniences while not compromising the character of the building. There is also a lovely dining room and a wonderful lounge with a large fireplace, a perfect location for an aperitif in the cooler evenings. The hotel has complimentary Wi-Fi throughout; there are also hairdryers on request. The hotel is also located right near the river, where all the locals swim, in a lovely scenic village, a perfect location for a wonderful food and wine experience.

About the lessons: You will be immersed into Le Calabash Cooking School with five hands-on cooking classes and various other opportunities to work with the chefs. Alison and Sidney are award-winning chefs with many years of international experience. After meeting at The Royal Swazi Sun Resort and Spa in Swaziland, they married and enjoyed a colorful culinary career. They have cooked for several heads of state and celebrities (including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Richard Attenbourgh, Mick Jager, Madonna, Cher, Sylvester Stallone, U2, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), and have won recognition by major food guides and medals at the international level. The philosophy of this husband and wife team is ‘Balade Gormande sans Frontière‘–Cooking without boundaries–or as Sidney would like to say, ‘Let’s take a walk on the wild side’: and he would, as he was born and raised on the plains of Zululand! They take traditional French cooking and introduce exotic flavors and traditions from around the world to create an exciting ‘cooking adventure.’

You will leave this culinary adventure with a new-found enthusiasm and confidence, impatient to return to your own kitchen to use your new skills.