Escape to Uzès in July 2022

I have an announcement to make... we are going to Uzès next year!! I've put together a new culinary tour based in my French home town – for the first time in ten years. I will be there from June till the end of September 2022 and my 6 night Uzès tour is scheduled for 1 - 7 July 2022. Please don't spill the Syrah on your espadrilles as you read this – you'll need them for walking across the Pont du Gard. Having not been in Uzès since October 2019, I can now see the light at the end of the Covid tunnel. Life is returning to a new normal in France, my house was rented all summer to European holiday makers, and I plan to sleep in my own bed next summer. We will be based for the week at Boutique Hotel Entraigues in Uzès, enjoy the market, have cooking classes in my home, trail around vineyards, visit Aix-en-Provence for food, fashion & cooking, eat farm feasts and of course, go out with a bang on the last night with an evening to remember.

In a nutshell:

Uzès is in the Occitanie region of Southern France, 30 mins from Avignon and Nimes and the sun shines 300 days a yearIt's famous for the Roman Pont du Gard bridge, goat cheese, wine (largest producer of organic wines in France) and being a designated art and history townThe cuisine is high-spirited but simple, focusing on preserving the taste and texture of seasonal, fresh ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, saffron, peppers, anchovies, olives, olive oil and wild herbsTour dates are 1 – 7 July 2022, the price is NZD 6,599 per person (based on twin share)Full details are on the website now.Uzès is the perfect destination for a culinary week – I speak the language, we'll stay in one hotel for the duration (making day trips to the surrounding area) and the medical care in France is excellent. As with all my other tours, I will already be there and will arrange a pick-up from the train station at Nimes at 3pm on day one. This will give time for a swim and a walk around town before the welcome dinner at my place. So, dust off your passport and if you're ready for a European adventure in 2022 chez moi, please fill in the booking form to register your interest or get in touch to find out more. I'll be taking deposits in the new year.

Uzès Cooking Classes 2022
As I will be in Uzès all summer, I'll be teaching cooking classes in my home in the centre of town. I primarily do them on the markets days – Wednesday and Saturday, but can do other days by arrangement. These classes are pure enjoyment, partially because you get to cook and eat but also because you are fully immersed for a day in the life of a Southern French town. People in this area are witty and happy and inundated with a choice of hundreds of different wines and olive oils. They take all this for granted and it is only when they see the sparkling eyes and genuine gratitude of visitors that they become aware that not everyone is lucky enough to wake up in the morning and eat a bread that is mostly holes – fougasse. My classes are from 9am to 2pm, so if you are travelling around that part of the world next year, make a detour and come and spend half a day with moi. It's hot but guess what? My house has air-conditioning on all three floors and anyone who wants to lie on the cool tiles, can. More info on my Uzès classes is here.

Celebrating my latest book... Shed Couture

My new book on fashion and clothing 'Shed Couture' is available now at all good bookshops. A perfect Christmas gift for your fashionable friends! And I'd love you to join me for my online book launch on Tuesday 16 Nov from 7 - 8.30pm with the Auckland Executive Club. All welcome (you don't have to be a member of AEC, although as they are a female only organisation this event is just for us ladies). Book online here.

That's all for the moment. Fashion and food are mysterious, irresistable and alluring. They are not just garments and it is not just a salade Nicoise – they are art, beauty, history, memory and above all joy.

Peta