Culinary vacations / cooking holidays in Europe: Cooking classes in South West France, study traditional French cuisine with short cookery courses & French pastry classes in English for beginners, home cooks. Residential culinary programs in Gascony, close to Bordeaux, Toulouse.
Le Gargantua: Located in Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine in the Gascony region, just 1.5 hours north west of Toulouse and 1 hour drive south east of Bordeaux, Le Gargantua provides hands-on cooking classes and patisserie classes taught in English to students from around the world. Courses take place between February and November.
All our cooking holidays are full board, and you will be accommodated in our guest house, Le Gargantua, for the duration of your course.
Surrounded by glorious sunflower fields, our guesthouse is located in the tiny village of Anzex, just a couple of minutes drive from the pine forest of the Landes de Gascogne, and 10 minutes away from the pretty market town of Casteljaloux.
Known as "the Garden of France", the landscape of Lot-et-Garonne is quite unspoilt, with wildlife and nature preserved and thriving agriculture. Enjoying a very pleasant climate, mostly dry and sunny, the surrounding colours are the ones of wheat and sunflower fields, vineyards, and the deep green of the pine forest of the Landes de Gascogne.
• The Gastro Academy at The French House Party is a high-calibre residential French cookery school near the beautiful city of Carcassonne, in the Languedoc-Roussillon area of South West France.
• Carcassonne is only 50 miles from Toulouse which has an international airport. Ryanair also fly directly to Carcassonne from the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and Paris Beauvais international airport.
• Gastro Academy provides all-inclusive cooking holidays for individuals and groups from around the world. Cookery classes, taught in English and French, are suitable for anyone passionate about food (from beginners to experienced cooks).
• Our culinary vacations combine superb accommodation (with swimming pool, tennis court & boules pitch), top-quality food, and award-winning Michelin-star French chefs as tutors.
• Recommended in the book “The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life”, we offer scheduled French cooking vacations through Spring, Summer & Autumn, and also tailor-make cookery holidays for groups of 6 or more food & wine enthusiasts, culinary students, hospitality professionals and seniors.
Testimonial: ‘We chopped, braised, stirred, blended and peeled but, most of all, learnt loads in a few days. If you’ve ever been to a house party, this one will top the lot..The French House Party is an exceedingly well-run company..the attention to detail is simply superb’.
- Hilary Scott, Reading Post
Located in the heart of Paris, Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts provides quality education in the fields of French Cooking and French Pastry to local and international students from around the world - from secondary vocational education to continuing education for professionals.
We offer intensive cooking and pastry programs taught in English that include internships. In addition, we provide week-long training courses in specialized areas of French Cuisine and French Pastry / Breads, half-day pastry courses, and customized cookery courses for professional cooks, pastry chefs, bakers and caterers.
On successful completion of your training, including the internship, you will be awarded a Certificate of Successful Completion, from Ferrandi and the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
At Ferrandi, it is our philosophy is that theory is best integrated when it is accompanied by hands-on practice. This is why 70% of course hours on our Intensive Professional Programs are spent in the kitchen or lab.
With top-notch learning facilities, our pedagogy is based on hands-on practice, individual and team work, and personalized guidance by qualified instructors, who all have significant, top-level industry experience with Michelin-starred chefs and other prestigious employers.
Gastronomicom International Culinary Academy is a leading culinary institute with a state-of-the-art school in the South of France, and offers a range of culinary arts certificate & diploma programs to international students from around the world.
Our culinary programs are taught in English at a one star Michelin Level.
Located in Agde, a lively town in a beautiful Mediterranean seaside area in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, our courses include cooking and pastry hands-on classes, practical work experience (internships) and French language courses.
Students receive a French Gourmet Certificate or Diploma on completion of their program.
Our ultimate goal is that our students improve both their skills and knowledge of the food, beverage and gastronomy of the region and France, and the French language, but will also enjoy visiting the region, with its historic cities, varying and beautiful landscapes, and the most productive wine region in the world.
All of our teachers boast years of experience at prestigious, high-end Gastronomic Hotel-Restaurants.
Former students have come from the U.S., Canada, France, UK, Holland, Germany, Spain, Norway & many more. Gastronomicom International Culinary Academy also has a school in Miami, Florida.
Testimonial: "Since I went to France over 3 years ago...I have accomplished everything I expected from myself. Thank you for opening the school and giving me the opportunity to learn and embrace the south of France in such a fun way!"
- Daniela
• Improve your cooking prowess with an intensive culinary arts course taught in English or French by world-renowned chefs!
• Ducasse Education is a top culinary and pastry school that provides short and longer-term cooking programs to locally-based students, French students, and international students.
• Our two schools are Centre Formation Alain Ducasse, situated in Argenteuil, a north-western Paris suburb, and Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie, in Yssingeaux in south-central France.
• At Ducasse Education, you get to learn from top level chef instructors in hands-on classes (maximum of 12 students). Our courses also provide unique professional experience within a French restaurant.
• Ducasse Education was founded by Alain Ducasse - the legendary award-winning chef & restauranteur, whose restaurants had a total of 21 Michelin stars in 2014.
• Our four fully-equipped professional kitchens offer students the opportunity to improve existing skills or to develop new cooking techniques.
• Dedicated to training, they are the dream kitchen of any cook, and the ideal tool for performing creative, quality cooking.
Student Testimonial: "This program satisfied my needs, I learned the techniques that I'm looking for, I worked in a different way with excellent chefs and they gave me their knowledge in the best way" - Paschalis Paschali, Practicing Chef
• Founded in 1984, the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie (ENSP) provides quality pastry and baking arts education to both prestigious chefs and students from all over the world.
• Situated in Yssingeaux in south-central France, ENSP has been recognized by top pastry professionals worldwide as France’s leading school in pastry and baking arts.
• The school is owned by Yves Thuries and Alain Ducasse who are highly-influential chefs in the culinary world today.
• With almost 30 years of solid experience in transmitting best practices and skills, our programs are delivered by a team of highly skilled professional instructors in a top notch environment utilizing state of the art equipment and upscale ingredients.
• Our classes are limited to 12 participants maximum with one aim in mind: Total success of our students.
• At the end of our programs, we deliver a certificate which is highly recognized by worldwide professionals.
• In addition to our baking arts and pastry arts programs, we provide continuing education for professionals, as well as tailor-made short programs that can be taught either on our school or at the clients' premises.
• Located in Kerrouet, 1 hour from Rennes, in the Brittany region of North West France, French Dining School provides short cookery courses in French, European and Scandinavian cuisine.
• Menus will vary depending on markets and the season but in general the class will undertake food preparation for full lunch or dinner each day for a maximum of five days.
• Course features include starter, main course and dessert with wine, expert guidance on specialist areas including seafood, cheeses, meats, sauce preparation, wines, the vegan option, organic cooking and the use of knives and kitchen equipment.
Cooking Classes in North-West France:
- Taught in English
• Five day Cooking Courses
• Small Cookery classes
• Hands on cooking experience
• Modern European cuisine classes
• Visits to the best food markets in France