Black truffle wORKSHOP
As an additional mid-winter event, my husband, Walter, and I offer a special Black Truffle Cooking Extravaganza, a unique hands-on week of class devoted to the wonders of the fresh black truffle - the rarest and most exotic ingredient in French cuisine.
The workshop opens on Monday evening with a truffle dinner at Chanteduc, our farmhouse in Provence, in the heart of France’s foremost truffle-producing region. On successive days we accompany participants on a truffle hunt; and tour one of the world’s most important – and still artisanal — truffle suppliers, where just breathing the fragrant air is a rarefied experience. Truffles will magically appear in almost every dish prepared during the course, and students will have the opportunity to understand the mystery of the black truffle in the kitchen and at the table. Menus focus on complementary wines, particularly the prized whites of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Wine tastings and discussions throughout the class assure guests of a new understanding of one of the world’s rarest gastronomic joys.
All instruction is in English. Recipes are geared to the home cook, and are suitable for the novice as well as experienced cooks seeking more challenges. Guests are supplied with personalized embroidered aprons as well as detailed recipe booklets featuring some 50 cherished recipes, both for students to take back home with them.
The class is limited to 10 participants. The course begins with dinner on Monday evening and ends after lunch on Friday.
Truffle class schedule
MONDAY EVENING: Welcome truffle dinner -- Patricia cooks for you!
TUESDAY MORNING: A Vaison-la-Romaine market visit, followed by hands-on cooking class and truffle lunch.
TUESDAY EVENING: Hands-on cooking class followed by truffle dinner.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: An authentic truffle hunt with dogs, followed by a sumptuous lunch in a regional restaurant famous both for its truffle dishes and its extraordinary cellar of Rhône Valley wines.
THURSDAY MORNING: A visit to the truffle supplier to the stars, a wine tasting, and another unforgettable restaurant lunch, truffles of course.
FRIDAY MORNING: New-season olive oil tasting; the final cooking class, and our farewell truffle lunch.
Wednesday and Thursday evenings are free for students to explore the region on their own.
The fee for each student is $6,000. The fee does not include travel expenses to Provence or lodging. (See our recommendations of where to stay in and around Vaison-la-Romaine, which will also be sent to enrolled participants.)
See a week's sample schedule from a previous class.
