Morning

To make the most of your time at the Gascony Cookery School we like to serve breakfast for 8.30am which consists of a traditional French affair of local breads, croissants from the local village of St Clar and homemade preserves. There are also cereals, yoghurts, fruit and a good helping of coffee, tea and orange juice available.

Then it is straight into the kitchen for a 9.00am start with an introduction to or re-cap of knife skills with David, which is then followed by your first session in the village Auberge with Chef Bernard. Here you will start to work with one of the key meats of this region: duck. You will learn how to section and prepare for your own duck confit.

Afternoon

After lunch you will again be in the hands of Chef David for your afternoon session where you will learn about deboning, stuffing quail accompanied by a Calvados sauce. For the evening’s dessert you will be preparing Pears in Puff Pastry to practice your skills in latticing and braiding pastry work.

Evening

You will be taken on a tour of The Wine Museum in the evening followed by dinner at Bernard's Restaurant, where you will taste the wonderful dishes you have prepared that day.

Morning

Following breakfast at 8:30am we will make our way to Fleurance's local market where you will be provided with a shopping list, a basket and spending money. The purpose of this activity is to familiarise you with the regional produces in this area and to also teach you how to distinguish fresh ingredients. The items on the shopping list will be used over the next few days.

You will then continue on to the nearby Roman town of Lectoure where you will lunch in a local café before returning to the cookery school for the afternoon cooking class.

Afternoon

You will prepare Duck À L'Orange and pork leg stuffed with local Agen Prunes at the Auberge. This is then followed with the preparation of Gâteau Basque with Crème Anglaise that will be the perfect for dessert for tonight’s dinner!

Evening

This evening David and Vikki will be having dinner with you, while they teach you about food presentation at the same time. We hope that you will learn a lot from this day's activities and a fun and informative evening with your hosts.

Morning

Following breakfast you will join Bernard at the Auberge and on the menu today is; Mousse Au Citron, goats cheese wraps finished off in the pan, a lesson in jointing lamb to make noisettes and then stuffing and tying them. You will also prepare a homemade mayonnaise and to finish the morning you will be taught how to make a Pièce Montée, a traditional French wedding cake. Lunch will then be taken at the Auberge.

Afternoon

You will be taken on a tour of the region starting with a visit to the Water Mill in L’Isle Bouzon, followed by Armagnac tasting at the Château de Cassaigne and finally a tour around the beautiful 13th century cellars of Château Mon Luc housing thousands of bottles of sparkling wines.

Evening

You will spend the evening at the Auberge enjoying the fruits of your days labour.

Morning

After breakfast you are straight into David's Kitchen to commence your last full day of tuition. The day’s session will move through many different skills; you will start with a Prawn Mousse using gelatine, move onto pastry making for the ornate French Raised Game Pie, then tunnel boning of duck leg with lemon grass and ginger stuffing, finishing this full morning off with a Frangipane Tart for dessert. Lunch will be served at the Auberge.

Afternoon

After lunch you will have a tour of the Gramont Honey Museum, the largest in Europe. It is an interesting attraction that allows you to witness first-hand the journey of honey from a bee to the jar. You will also have a chance to visit the Château de Gramont which is one of just only six national monuments in the Midi Pyrenées.

Evening

You will be invited back to the kitchen early evening for any questions you may have and a recap on your newly acquired skills. Then it’s some time to relax before your last dinner of the week which will comprise of the fabulous dishes you prepared that day.

Sadly, the cookery school has come to an end!

Breakfast will be served as usual, until 10am and we ask you to kindly vacate your room before 11am.

À bientôt!