Newsletter Uzès 2013

Uzès trip - July 12th - 19th 2014

After we leave crowded, colourful Marrakech, I jump on a plane, fly to Marseilles and from there drive to Uzès in the South of France, half an hour from Avignon. My culinary tours business started in Uzès in 2006 and it is still our most chic destination. Uzès is one of the most beautiful towns in France and is famous for its outrageous Saturday market bursting with fresh produce - local Pelardon goat cheeses, tellines (baby pippies), Cevennes mountain lamb, olive oil, vegetables, wine - musicians, clothes, jewelry, pottery. Everyone seems to be in a good mood, the weather is warm and the mushrooms are wild.

We are based in a Mas (Provencale farmhouse) and spend our days learning how to cook pissaladière, stuff courgette flowers, bake flat tomato tarts and stew rabbit with anchovy, artichokes and Pastis. This year we started working with a new guest chef who taught us how to make macarons - harder than you think. We also introduced a new, very interesting visit to a truffle grove - Uzès is famous for its black truffles. We visit vineyards, eat in the best restaurants in the area, learn how to make goat cheese at the farm and do shopping trips to buy Provencale fabric and see how it is printed.

This year we got to know the new owners of the Mas we stay in with a wildly diverse crowd of gastronomads, ranging from those who slept till midday to those who wanted to be in on absolutely everything, taking notes, cracking jokes and just loving the sun-drenched cuisine that is the Languedoc-Rousillon. 

You can get more information on France by reading my book ‘French Toast’ and have a look at what happens clicking on this link - 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M72I34KgMJU