Learn French Cuisine in a Week

French Cuisine Week in Wine Country!

It's All About Eating Well!

Saturday, June 28th – Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Chef Laura Neulot and Patty James This Intensive French Cuisine 5-day hands-on course is a delightful immersion into French culture through the French way of cooking. During the course, you will learn to prepare and share with the other participants, one savory French meal each day.

Throughout the week we will also teach kitchen practice such as proper use and care of knives, how to choose pots and pans, and many more helpful tricks and hints.

Laura and Patty’s enthusiasm for cooking and nutrition is energizing and so much fun! Don’t forget to bring your aprons, for this is truly a kneading, mixing, tasting, sautéing hands-on course, priced at $ 1,000 per person.

PLEASE NOTE: This course can be paired with private French classes by qualified French tutor, contact us.

Saturday June 28, 12:30 pm– 6:30 pm. Bienvenue.

When you arrive, you will be welcomed by your hosts, Patty James and Laura Neulat, with a sumptuous cheese platter and wine tasting. Patty James’ kitchen at the school feels like home and is the perfect setting to learn how the French look at cuisine.

We will talk about the history of French cuisine and introduce you to French etiquette. Among the other topics, we will discuss the different types of cheeses, how to pair them with wine, and how to use them in the meals. You will be given a glossary of French cooking terms.

Learn the secrets of cold and hot sauces, how to prepare basic seasonings for salads, how to use condiments, and MORE!

You will do a hand made mayonnaise and remoulade sauce.
You will learn to thicken sauces with a “roux”, a “beurre manié”, and egg yolk.
You will learn to prepare fish and poultry stock.
You will learn to sauté, steam, braise …
You will learn about marinades ….
You will do black and green tapenades
You will do the first steps to a perfect paté.

At the end of the day, an apéritif with home made amuse-gueules will be served in the garden, the perfect starter for a dinner in Sebastopol.

Sunday June 29, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm. Brunchez!

Our Sunday starts with a lively visit to our Sebastopol local farmer’s market where we’ll choose together fresh ingredients to prepare our brunch. By visiting the market, you will discover the importance of using local and seasonal products.

Learn the basics, salads, soups, vegetables, and paté…
You will also learn to prepare crêpes that we will enjoy with home made local preserves. Menu of the day:

Various French salads
Vegetable quiche
Leeks quiche
Soupe à l’oignon
Vegetable velouté
French crêpes with home made preserves
Coffee, tea, or a glass of French wine.

Monday June 30, 9 am – 3 pm. French cuisine made easy

A simple and tasteful everyday meal atelier is a perfect introduction into a French house and into French culture. We will discuss the evolution of everyday cooking, and compare menus from the 19C with today’s. (what..?)

Learn to use your imagination to create your own variations of a basic French menu. The sequence of a French meal, the do’s and dont’s. Menu of the day:

Various Crudités (raw vegetables)
Chicken breast in mushrooms sauce
Gratin Dauphinois
Thin apple tart
A glass of red wine

We will enjoy the meal together after preparing it.

Tuesday July 1, 2 pm – 8 pm. Bon Appétit!

Dressing the table and enjoying a meal, wine pairing.
For out last evening together, we will replicate a delightful French dressed dinner. We will step into the shoes of a French couple who has invited friends to come over for dinner. Menu of the day:

Cheese soufflé
Salmon in bacon robe
Fennel compote
Salad with classic vinaigrette
Seasonal fruit clafouti
A glass of white wine

A visit to a local winery can be organized in the morning, before the class, those interested must book at the same time of booking for the course.

Wednesday July 2, 10 am – 3 pm. Sweet tooth day!

This French pastry atelier will teach you the basic recipes of French pastry and how to use them in your kitchen.

You will learn to prepare the French Quatre-quart, meringues, the pâte à choux (used for éclairs), crème patissière, pâte sablé, and more.

A bientôt!

Included in the program:
Cheese platter and wine party
Visit to a local market
A Sunday Brunch
An everyday meal
A fancy meal
A pastry class
A glossary of French cooking terms
An e-booklet with the recipes

Patty is available for private events including corporate cooking and team building classes, motivational lectures and menu development. To check dates and availability or get more info:

Learn to Cook Testimonial

"Just wanted to write you a quick note to let you know how much we all loved the Summer Cooking Class. Everyone there was so nice. They were a really awesome group of people, and I think that's a good part of what made the class so great!

We really learned a lot. I'm so happy my mom liked it as she is a hard one to convince you have to eat right - meaning food with no preservatives, etc. At least this helped. Thanks for making the class such a wonderful experience. This is exactly what I was looking for. I didn't want something where everything was white flour and white sugar based. We are really going to use these receipes.

I hope you have another class next summer. Tell everyone we're jealous that they'll be taking part II in January."

Susan Arreola

Classes are now canceled and will be updated soon.

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