Soirée Bretagne

How about celebrating "la Chandeleur" on Thursday 3rd of February (only a day late)and spending a few moments admiring the stunning landscapes of beautiful Brittany? There are so many intriguing traditions to learn about and delicious recipes to explore! Have you heard of our legendary Bécassine? Well she comes from Brittany too! There is no better excuse to then go to the kitchen and spend the rest of the evening tossing and eating pancakes. Heaps of them! and heaps of French and fun as always. We'll let you know all about it soon!

ONLY 1 or at a push 2 PLACES LEFT FOR NEXT THURSDAY'S EVENING - 3rd February 2011 from 6pm

France on your doorstep 14th-16th January 2011!

This is your chance to prepare your next visit to France and enjoy what is second best to it: this year’s London France Show!
Come and join us at Earl’s Court. We'll be on stall 277 opposite the far end of the French Market.
There will be food and wine to taste and buy, French people promoting their regional specialties, representatives from regional tourist offices, leading French travel experts and retailers of French goods.
You’ll be able to take advantage of special offers on holidays whether it is a short weekend break or something more adventurous: cooking, sailing, golfing or painting. Come and get inspired and informed!
You can also meet estate agents, developers, mortgage providers and other professionals who will advise you for free about available French properties
And last but not least you’ll even be able to practise your French…. with us!
Visit The France Show. This is your chance to prepare your next visit to France and enjoy what is second best to it: this year’s London France Show!

“Noël en Provence” revisited…

Another memorable workshop to discover how the Southern part of France celebrates Christmas!

This very unique fashion of celebrating Christmas inspired both by religion and magic explains the origin of the traditional Christmas “log” as a counterpart to the English plum pudding, the making and the meaning of the "mendiants" and the "fruits déguisés" as well as the importance of the many little characters that people the Nativity scene in true Provençal style: the shepherds, the fishmonger, the miller, the poacher, the old couple, the knife grinder, the water carrier, the milkmaid, the pumpkin carrier, the baker, the huntsman, the lumberjack, the musicians, the village happy man (as opposed to the village idiot!), l’Arlésienne and many others gathered in the “crèche” year after year. People add little “santons” (provençal for little saints), year after year, buying them or creating their own even. Stories and songs surround these local handmade nativity scenes and form one of the most vibrant and original tradition.

Artists specialise in the making of “santons” and reach fame as Maîtres Santonniersand there are international festivals and exhibitions of their work in cities such as Arles. Find out more about it by following la crèche provençale.

Paris again... a treat as always!

Another episode of Paris autrement had us all gather at our usual haunt Carrefour de l'Odéon, chattering in French for hours on end with our Parisian friends over delicious meals.

The whole week-end, with the French capital celebrating the arrival of the Beaujolais nouveau, was packed with action as usual and very much under the sign of food. It was complete with an evening at the theatre appropriately named Les Bouffes Parisiens.

Sunday lunch took place at Le Procope where we ate in style as all the other "citoyens" did. We took moments sampling the Beaujolais nouveau in its organic version at La Dernière Goutte rue de Bourbon le Château, discovered the mythical café of La Palette  rue de Seine, visited Les Deux moulins café down rue Lepic in Montmartre where the film of Amélie Poulain was shot and we were served delicious pastry by a girl whose name wasn't Amélie. There were heaps of oysters at each street corner outside cafés and restaurants announcing Christmas and new Year Eve's "réveillons" and pâtisserie shop windows that made you feel guilty just to look at them!

The stroll through the Quartier des Beaux Arts was a surprise for someone like Richard even who has visited Paris many times. We managed to discover unusual places once again, chatted to people on the way and learnt about various ways of visiting Paris in the future, parking safely and economically.

We also spent a few memorable moments in a little bistrot Boulevard Richard Lenoir... 
Feeling a little peckish (!) after a couple of hours' walking all over l'Ile Saint-Louis, paying a visit to La Maison Berthillon, French Mecqua of ice cream, having a look at Nos Ancêtres les Gaulois restaurant's very ethnic menu, inspecting the crooked courtyards of the Marché Saint Paul and the quaint little Square of the Marché Sainte Catherine crossing the stunning Place des Vosges on our way to Bastille, we entered a café nearby (we'll let you find it all by yourself). We sat down and began to soak the whole ambience in; the place was warm and friendly with a provincial feel to it.  There were banners advertising the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau in the windows, barrels by the counter, straw on the floor. Two young children walking around attracted our attention to one of the barrels on which sat two rabbits and two miniature hens happily munching and pecking side by side. Nice way of entertaining children whilst waiting for the order to come through we thought.  The whole place felt quite unusual, surprisingly rustic but very relaxed and welcoming.  Suddenly to our amazement there was the sound of a cockerel singing and that wasn’t my mobile phone ringing!  People looked totally unperturbed and carried on eating as a magnificent bird flanked by a couple of hens took a few steps between the tables.  They were obviously regular customers. Quite a sight really… and what a symbol too, that proud French cockerel ruling the place!

We were lucky to enjoy a mild autumnal weather as we walked for miles as usual. We hopped onto buses and caught the metro to keep our schedule and even the “funiculaire” all the way up to le Sacré Coeur where we enjoyed the breathtaking view over the capital...

No better way to get to know Paris we believe and so does anyone who joins us…. Enjoy a few photos and keep an eye on the calendar for our next visit to Paris in April 2011!

A day of French cuisine at Comberton Village College November 6th

“La tarte des soeurs Tatin” or the art of turning a catastrophe into a world-famous culinary masterpiece!

The name of this apple turnover dessert was taken after that of two French sisters who ran a family hotel in rural France by the Loire River in the 19th century. 
Stéphanie the eldest was famous for her cooking but was not the brightest of people. So the story goes, she dropped the apple tart on the kitchen floor!) she put all the ingredients back upside down into the dish and hurried it back into the oven where it caramelised. She then served this improvised dessert warm and covered in cream. All the guests went mad for it.

At our workshop in Comberton Village College in November we rounded up a day of French cooking by attempting this now world famous recipe.  We stopped short of dropping our attempts on the floor before baking them!  See participants comments below:

• Friendly, informative, helpful tutor.
• Quiche very good and tarte Tatin superb!
• Very pleasant atmosphere all day.
• Altogether it was a fun day.

Join us there next March for more culinary adventures...

In the meantime, have a peep at a video and watch the Tarte Tatin film from Jamie Oliver's website.

Paris autrement - Food lovers' tour of Paris

Join us for our upcoming trip to Paris in November. Enjoy a long weekend of discovery, sampling the myriad of gastronomic delights in some of the city's finest locales. 

"The Way to France has a very can-do and confidence boosting attitude to language, and I found my schoolgirl French returning, and that I was really enjoying the fact. I also really liked the way that the weekend was not a package – you decide on transport and the dates (I added an extra day) and the sort of hotel and price bracket you want. They will help you sort out a hotel, but all you actually pay TWTF for is the guided programme and the incidental French tuition. Everything else, you sort out to your inclination and budget." Kate P. from Cambridge

Save money by booking early. The tour itself is fantastic value at only £125 per person for the whole weekend and includes language tuition related to gastronomy as well as a full schedule of activities organised and chaperoned by our team (details below). As always we will give you all plenty of opportunity to explore on your own and don't forget you decide where you stay, for how long and how you prefer to get there. Early birds will get the best prices, so book your place now and start to dream of your trip to Paris in the autumn!

OUTLINE

Friday 19/11/10

• 18.00: meet and greet at our favourite bistro, our “head quarters” near Odéon. You will share a meal with the other participants and our team. We will also take a look at the programme of activities for the week-end, so you can best plan your stay.
• 21.00 onwards: “digestive” stroll to the River Seine through Saint-Germain des Prés

Saturday 20/11/10

• 09.00 -10.00: coffee morning at Odéon and preparation for the day’s outings
• 10.00 – 13.00: Visits
• Lunch: en route… place tbc
• 14.00 – 17.00: Visits
• 17.00 – 19.00: your own time
• 19.30: Special group dinner

Sunday 21/11/10

• 10.00: meeting for coffee (and optional croissant) at Odéon
• 11.00 – 13.00: Visits
• 13.00: Lunch time: attendance optional, yet preferred to review overall workshop as a group! Please confirm.
• 14.30: your own time

DETAILS

• Price for the workshop is £125 and includes programme of activities / useful addresses & documents / 15 hours French conversation / guidance and coaching.
• A deposit of £60 is required to secure your place. Detailed programme available upon reception. Full amount payable a minimum 2 weeks prior to departure.

ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL
We also recommend you BOOK now to save money on your travel arrangements and hotel booking. To give you some options, we recommend booking at least 30 days prior to travel on Eurostar to ensure return rates as low as £69 per adult, pending availability. Note we cannot offer travel arrangements as we are not an agent, yet we know from experience of regular trips to Paris, that deals are to be had the earlier you book. We can however, help you with booking your accommodation, for a small additional fee, if you are not confident using your French. Below are some suggestions of local hotels:

• Hôtel St Pierre 4 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine, 75006 Paris. Tel : +33 (0)1 46 34 78 80
• Hôtel St André des Arts 66 rue Saint André des Arts, 75006 Paris
• Grand Hôtel des Balcons 33 rue Casimir Delavigne, 75006 Paris : +33 (0)1 46 34 78 50
• Odéon Hôtel 3 rue de l'Odéon, 75006 Paris : +33 (0)1 43 25 90 67 

Excerpts from recent article in Cambridge Local Secrets:
Another expedition to make you purr is a gastronomic weekend in Paris (Nov 19th –21st) organised by a Cambridge firm - The Way to France. There are two parallel programmes running through the weekend, and you decide each morning which bits of either you fancy, and chop and change accordingly. Between them they will take in street markets, a guided tour of the Musée du Vin, Saint-Germain des Prés pâtisseries, kitchen equipment, Ladurée macaroons, chocolate Place Trocadéro, Berthillon ice cream in L’Ile Saint-Louis, oysters, butchers and bakers. As for meals during the weekend, it is not the intention to go for top dollar feasts (though you could if you wished), but to have excellent and interesting meals at affordable prices.

I have myself been on a trip organised by The Way to France (on gardens, actually), and during last trip to “Another Paris” the participants were absolutely charmed and delighted by the hidden Paris they were shown – the little arcades, the tucked-away squares, the idiosyncratic, independent shops in back streets.

Terres du Sud HUGE success!

Our newest event celebratated the southern regions of France. This variation of our popular themed "French on your plate" workshops, was very much enjoyed by all participants! Rather than tell you about it ouselves, we have included quotes from everyone who came last Thursday to Cooks Barn, near Cambridge. Francine and Christine of Made in Provence, want to thank Martin Straus of House of Strauss, who joined them at this latest workshop which combined southern food with some of his fine wines. Our thanks also go to Chris and Ros of Cook's Barn for their hopsitality. As always, their wonderful showroom made for a perfect setting. A special thank you also to Pascale who has recently joined The Way to France team. You can enjoy all her photos on our Facebook page!

"Thoroughly enjoyable evening.  Look forward to another evening" 

"I feel like doing a course on wines now! And I will cook those recipes"

"Thank you for letting me speak English … occasionally!! Merci!"

"Have you branded this / trademarked this idea?  It’s very good… You should do this! (if you haven’t already)"

"Keep it going"

"What a great evening and a great group of people.  Merci beaucoup!"