Discover Burgundy "le pays de Colette" on October 13th

How about joining us once more on our next "French on your plate" workshop at Cook's Barn in Bottisham? A few hours in our company will make up for a few evening classes or complement them pleasantly. Let's go to Burgundy this time, let's discover Colette's homeland through her beautiful prose. Let's set our eyes on its valleys, its forests, its vineyards, its rivers and canals. Burgundy enjoys a semi continental climate suiting a wide variety of high quality produce, hence its gastronomic reputation which makes it a perfect choice for our workshop. The Bourgogne region is one of France's most celebrated wine region. Its renowned mustard de Dijon is equally famous. Its history is fascinating, deeply embedded in its architecture and its culinary specialties and wines celebrated all over France and beyond. We promise not to serve you its most typical dish "Escargots de Bourgogne" but we will definitely have a go at preparing "Boeuf bourgignon" with your help, as a main course. We'll complete this with a "Gratin dauphinois" and an automnal mixed salad whose dressing will remain a secret... as usual. But not only will you learn about France and have a beautiful meal but your comprehension and use of spoken French will literally improve overnight. A glass or two of a nice variety of wine always helps of course but so does the company and the fact that you will keep your hands busy chopping, peeling and stirring. You'll soon forget you're doing all that ... in French! Come along! Places are limited.

C'est la rentrée!

We are back, back home after a holiday, back to school, back to work, back to real life... That is how the French feel just now for "c'est la rentrée"! Everywhere, on every other page of magazines, on the posters that line the walls of every town or village, outside or underground, on the radio or on television everyone is reminded of the fact that "la rentrée" is taking place reinforced by the sight of trees shedding their leaves around us, the smell of apples and log fires and the puddles under our feet.

To a French person the word "rentrée"is as mysterious and rich in meaning as the word "terroir" can be. In both cases five or six English words, at least,are required to describe the concept. This is unusual as it's usually the other way round between our languages. This may well justify spending a whole weekend exploring the topic. Why not join us at Madingley Hall on Oct 21st and find out what it is all about? We'll do our best to give you an insight into that very French phenomenon.

So it is "la rentrée" for us all at The Way To France too here in Cambridge. We had planned to go and spend a weekend in a château in Mayenne, near the loire Valley, this month, but the visit has been postponed to next Spring. Instead we transported ourselves there in a different way for the theme of our latest "French on your plate" workshop at Cook's Barn last week was "Les Pays de la Loire". We discovered a wealth of treasures both architectural and natural in that valley of châteaux and vineyards and watched a film showing the area from above. In 2000, Unesco bestowed upon the Loire Valley region and cultural landscape the prestigious title of "World Heritage".

Having "walked" in the footsteps of François 1er, Leonardo de Vinci, Rabelais and Joachim du Bellay among a few historical figures we mentioned the equally famous local celebrities, the Tatin sisters, creator of the equally famous Tarte Tatin. That led us to the study of a few regional recipes such as a scrumptious "gratin d'aubergines au Port-Salut", an equally delicious "poulet de Loué au miel" and the unavoidable Tarte Tatin. We took that opportunity to scrutinize the French language and discovered in the process the countless expressions that derive from culinary terms or food names. What a surprise! or is it? It is such an observation that prompted us to devise such courses in the first place.

Having studied our menu carefully we moved to the kitchen and gave Christine a hand with the preparation of the meal. Every dish was something to write home about, we sliced the Port-Salut, which by the way is a local chees, poured honey and lemon onto the chicken, juggled with apples and made every possible mistake to finally produce a very remarkable Tarte Tatin. You remember that according to the legend lots of mistakes should be made... We didn't go as far as dropping it on the kitchen floor though!
What a delightful evening that was. We kindly invite you to join our next regional exploration to Burgundy, next month on October 13th. Remember that numbers are limited so book now to avoid disappointment!

Learn French in a Château this September!

Join us on our next trip to France for a truly unique experience. This marks a historic moment for The Way To France, no pun intended! Our latest "From the land to the table" workshop will run from the 23rd to the 25th of September 2011 and is set in a in truly a unique setting - a real life château!

Our group will be welcomed by our hosts, the owners and residents of La Mazure, who are themselves promoters of France, the French language, culture and history. Located near Laval in the Mayenne, La Mazure is nestled in a forest just outside a quaint village in the northern part of the Pays de la Loire, a region famous for its food and drink and of course its castles!


The Mayenne is a beautiful and relatively untouched region of France and is only a couple of hours from the English Channel!

Participants will learn French and stay in The Château de la Mazure, to learn about local traditions and gastronomy, while visiting local curiosities. Rarely do visitors have an opportunity to get insights into daily castle life. We really are grateful to the le Marié family for helping us to make this such a personal and hospitable weekend.

Treat yourself to a wonderful weekend in a château where you will be able to immerse yourself in language & culture and of course we will make sure you taste as many of the local delicacies as is physically possible in 3 days!

The programme will include:

• A visit to Laval historic city centre & market  
• A personalised tour of the Le Château de Craon with the owner and resident of the castle
• Tasting the local apple and pear tipple at the Ferme du Pressoir 
• An excursion to l’Abbaye Notre Dame de Port Salut better known for it's cheese 

Participants will learn about local cuisine by making it themselves and enjoy a slice of history on their plate. At the same time learning French in a convivial atmosphere while discovering local traditions and recipes.

Price includes:

• 3 nights half-board at the château 
• Breakfast and dinner including wine
• 2 and a half days of French tuition and visits

£500/person 10% discount/person for 2 sharing a room

Price does not include additional meals or travel

Full details & information sent upon receipt of deposit

Numbers are limited, so a deposit of £150 is required with each individual booking

Balance due no later than the 15/ 09/ 11

Call 01223 46 14 45 or email to book your place TODAY!

Fête de la musique à Paris 21 juin 2011

Just back from celebrating the 30th Fête de la Musique with a head full of sounds and lights and an urge to move to the beat! Another magical visit to Paris! We were fortunately spared the showers promised by the weather forecast and walked for miles as usual, all around the Latin Quarter, the islands,  the Marais and the right bank without an umbrella! The music festival being on Tuesday this year we met on Sunday night.  We gathered for dinner at the Carrefour de l'Odéon in company of a few Parisian friends. We had the pleasure and privilege of welcoming Thirza Vallois, the expert on Paris, who delighted us with anecdotes and unique historical insights. We explored the narrow streets leading to the river, the quaint little Place Furstenberg where Delacroix had his workshop.  The square appears in so many films and yet it is very easily missed by tourists.  However our little group could in no way be looked upon as a bunch of tourists led by a tour operator, rather lovers of Paris in company of a few Parisian friends having a last drink at La Palette before catching the last métro.

And that's where the first evening ended.The next two days were dedicated to discovering yet other less known parts of the French capital such as Les Arènes de Lutèce, la Place de la Contrescarpe, Quai de la Tournelle and Quai Montebello with a visit to the mythical Shakespeare and Co second hand bookstore and we enjoyed being for a few moments in the very place where Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce amongst others spent time. Meeting up with new members of the group we walked in direction of l'Ile Saint Louis where we enjoyed our tradional ice cream from the Maison Berthillon.  The destination of our walk, Place des Vosges provided us with a cool green haven from where we could admire the pink shades of the magnificent houses surrounding the square.  Dinner was taken in the very bistrot, in the Latin Quarter, that Verlaine and Rimbaud used to visit but where, more recently, Woody Allen shot some scenes of his latest film "Midnight in Paris".  On Tuesday a short visit to the Passages parisiens at the back of Palais Royal was equally unusual. After a short rest under the arcades of the Café Marly overlooking the pyramid we got ready to enjoy a long musical evening... The visit would not have been complete without a cruise on the river Seine and what better night that the night of Fête de la Musique to do so.  We spent hours Place Dauphine that night where Vincent Delerm followed by French Rock stars performed, walked up rue Mazarine to the beat of drums and went home very, very late once more! Such an experience that was for us all!  We are ready to go next year but there will be other visits before that, so keep an eye on this blog to find out.

 

“Paris sera toujours Paris…”

Now comes the time after these months of practising your French in the comfort of your own place to hop onto a Eurostar train,  find yourself in the streets of Paris for a weekend or even longer and experience the real thing...  You can either join our little group for la Fête de la musique next June and you already know all about that or go later in the summer by yourself or with friends.  Should you wish to prepare for this why not join one of the two courses at Madingley Hall in Cambridge, run by Francine about the very theme of Paris.
 
The first weekend will take place on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of June: “Paris est à vous” and will dwell on the relationship between English people (famous or not past or present) and that includes you as well of course, and the French capital.  The second one at an Intermediate level will take place early July (8th, 9th and 10th) and will present an exploration of Paris “on foot” and offer lots of ideas for a visit with a difference! Contact Madingley Hall for details.

And if you are not quite ready to pack your bag yet but are interested in the discovery of the “real” Paris then there remain but one piece of advice for you: the reading of the most thrilling series on the subject: “Around and About Paris” by Thirza Vallois.  Thirza takes you by the hand literally and walks with you through narrow streets or large boulevards, across quaint little squares or majestic ones, over all the bridges there are, pointing out at everything there is to see, telling you stories out of History, mentioning names and anecdotes. 

Whether History is your subject or not you will be transported and totally fascinated.  Her books are now on line and she provides maps of “walks”.  The paperback version is available on amazon and make sure to put it in your bag next to your passport and your ticket prior to your next visit!

Paris pour la fête de la Musique!

Time does fly and here comes the moment to enjoy "Another Paris" with us again... How about joining our little group on our next trip to Paris on June 21st 2011? 

We plan to meet our Parisian friends for dinner on Sunday the 19th June in the evening at our favourite haunt in Saint-Germain des Prés. You will have an opportunity to practise your French and choose activities you'd like to do during the trip. 


Along with many pleasant outings and there will be a wide selection of free concerts all over Paris to enjoy.  We can welcome a couple more people.  Eurostar tickets are still at a reasonable price with just over a month to go before our trip, but hurry up, this is a popular time to go to Paris!

"Au pays de la lavande" workshop - last few places left for next Thursday 5th May!

Join us for our last "Food on your Plate" workshop before we take a short break over the summer!

Christine from Made in Provence will be with us to share some culinary delights her region has to offer. This time we will learn just about all there is to know about Lavender.

As always the evening will include French tuition throughout, cookery demonstrations all topped off with a 5 course meal complete with accompanying wines and special Provençal goodie bag. 

It's a fantastic opportunity to brush up your French, learn vocabulary related to the recipes you will discover as well as enjoying a good old fashioned meal with friends of The Way to France, all for just £60!

The menu is as follows:

1. Amuse-gueules served with vin de Muscat
2. Assiette de crudités
3. Ratatouille niçoise
4. Tomates provençales - vegetarian option available upon request
5. Gâteau au citron et à la lavande

Contact us now on 01223 46 14 45 or by email to book your place for next Thursday 5th May from 6pm at at Cook's Barn, near Cambridge.