Our Story

My husband David and I, motivated by our shared love of France and David’s passion as a professional chef for French cuisine, moved to Gramont in 2002. We specifically selected the Tarn-et-Garonne region, situated as it is in the heart of Gascony, for its famed gastronomic repertoire. Home to duck foie gras, cassoulet and armangac Gascony’s culinary prestige is long established, making it, in our opinion, an unmissable stop on any true foodie’s tour of France. And we hope you will soon agree!

With the original intention of establishing a chambres d’hotes and table d’hotes (a traditional French Bed and Breakfast including evening meals), we began our new life in Gramont by carefully restoring an old farmhouse and barn. We furnished each of its five rooms in keeping with the style of the original seventeenth century buildings, aiming in doing so to preserve as much of the area’s local history as possible. We were pleased with our new home and David and I ran the chambres d’hotes and table d’hotes successfully for four years. However the popularity of David’s cooking soon attracted the attention of talented local chef Bernard and from their newfound Franglais friendship (helped along the way by a few glasses of rose wine one summer’s evening…) our cookery school was born!

Bernard has owned and run a successful restaurant in Gramont –Le Petit Feuillant – for over twenty-five years and his traditional menu, celebrating the best of gascon cuisine, has earned him a respected reputation in the region. Bernard and David’s vision was to design a programme that would enable students of French cookery to work their way up from mastering of knife skills to executing impressive four course meals in just under a week. They wanted to use their combined knowledge as professional chefs from either side of the Channel to make French cookery enjoyable and accessible to all and to debunk its reputation as a complex style of cookery to master.

David and Bernard’s vision is still alive and well and we are thrilled that you are thinking about becoming a part of it! Through their combined tutelage over these past years they have turned students of all ages, nationalities and cooking abilities into confident, competent chefs of French cuisine. During your time here at the Gascony Cookery School we will aim to familiarise you with the ingredients and techniques that form the basis of Gascon French cookery. With your new skills, knowledge and confidence you will then be able to replicate with ease the dishes you learn here in the comfort of your own home.

Our Philosophy

At The Gascony Cookery School we believe that cooking French food should be enjoyable and accessible for all! Our cookery school is a family-run business, and we want people to feel as at home as possible in our kitchen; one of our family, and part of the very special French village in which we live. Combining both of these ethoses means that joining us for a week-long or weekend course at The Gascony Cookery School is a unique, memorable experience.

When David Chance and Bernard Corbiere first conceived the idea of establishing a French Cookery School in their shared village of Gramont, Gascony, it was with the intention of spreading their passion for French cuisine and of imparting their wisdom and knowledge to students of all ages and abilities.

Through a strictly hands-on cooking experience the two chefs – one a professional English chef with a passion for French cookery and the other a French chef with over twenty five years experience of Gallic cuisine – showcase the best of Gascon cookery, and they do it in such a way that French cuisine becomes simple, accessible and enjoyable for all.

Whether you’re an aspiring professional chef or a complete beginner we can promise you that your time at The Gascony Cookery School will be both rewarding and inspiring. David and Bernard’s passion for French cuisine combined with The Gascony Cookery School’s idyllic setting in the heart of Gascony will ensure you a truly unique experience of French cookery in France.Whether you cook or not, our philosophy and warm welcome extends to all who visit The Gascony Cookery School. Come dine with us, come stay with us or simply drop in to say ‘hello’! Our life here at The Gascony Cookery School is all about family, friends, great food and even better wine, and we cannot wait to welcome you all here to be a part of it.