7 Day Gourmand's Delight Cooking, Wine-Tasting & Michelin-Star Dining, Southern Loire, France
Cooking & Wine-Tasting Holiday in France
This gourmand’s delight features lots of hands-on cooking, exploring local sites and villages, artisan food makers, lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant and a cycling tour along a dedicated bike path through vineyards along the Loire River. Start on Monday, wrapping up Sunday and savour the full breadth and variety of every flavourful moment in-between. Loire Kitchen at Circle of Misse isn't just another cooking school, we create dedicated and intimate packages from that focus on your desires as a traveller. We share the best of what this gorgeous region has to offer during an amazing week-long experience.
Meet the instructors
Read more
Highlights
- 5 half-day cooking sessions
- Visit an artisan food maker and farmer's market
- Michelin-Star lunch experience at Le Restaurant Fontevraud
- 4 hands-on cooking demonstrations (dessert/starter/cocktails)
- 6 three+ course dinners including all beverages (wine, waters, etc.)
- 5 multi-course lunches (including a scenic picnic)
- 6 nights accommodation with daily breakfast
- Welcome wine-tasting
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Poitiers–Biard Airport (US$ 34 per person)
Tours Val de Loire Airport (US$ 40 per person)
Nantes Atlantique Airport (US$ 62 per person)
Accommodation
Facilities
- Environmentally friendly
- Garden
- Lounge
- Smoke-free property
- Bicycle rental
- Free parking
- Free Wi-Fi
- Internet access
- Library
- Parking lot
- Wireless internet
Accommodation is on site, so your comfortable bed is but a couple of flights of stairs away. The well-appointed double bedrooms all feature a toilet and shower room tiled in classic French patterns. The first floor rooms offer views of the adjacent church tower and farmland, the top floor rooms offer sweeping views of the river and surrounding farmland of the valley.
Program
Day 1
Arrive late afternoon/early evening on your first day to a tasting of local wines and then join Chef Aaron in the kitchen to prepare dessert before sitting down for a delightful three-course meal. Relax with an after-dinner drink in the lounge or library, then off for a pleasant night’s rest in your charming and cozy ensuite room.
Day 2
After a farmhouse breakfast of local bread, pastries, yogurts, cereals and other delights the next morning, you’ll head off for a tour and a shopping trip to the farmer’s market in either Saumur (Saturday) or Neuville or Montsoreau (Sunday). Located in beautiful, inspiring surroundings, all these markets offer an abundance of visual delights, treats to sample and opportunities to explore history and culture.
You will also be given time to wander around, have a coffee and daydream. You will return to Misse and lunch on the goodies you picked up. After lunch, the group will menu plan for dinner and dive into a series of cookery sessions where you learn techniques and then prepare dinner. You will have an early evening break to freshen up and catch your breaths before sitting down together to enjoy your efforts.
Day 3
After breakfast this morning, the group will gather for a cooking session focusing on lunch dishes which you’ll then enjoy together. After lunch, you’ll visit deepen your knowledge and appreciation of local products by visiting a local producer of nut oils, cheese, snails, mushrooms and/or a vineyard, depending on the season, for a tour and tasting. The group will return to Misse in time for you to go for walk, chill in the library with a book or simply hang out with a glass of wine, before you enjoy a three-course dinner.
Day 4
After breakfast today, the group will have a cookery session where they will tackle a complex dish or technique that fits with your interests. After lunch, you’ll visit a chateau or fortress town such as Chinon or Villandry. If you have a car, you’re also welcome to have the afternoon off to explore on your own. The group will gather again in the kitchen early evening and learn some new cocktail making techniques. Sip your libations while watching and/or participating in some hands-on demonstrations of some ‘small plates’ that you’ll enjoy as part of an ‘Apero’ (French tapas) dinner party.
Day 5
After breakfast, the group will do a cooking session focused on a specific aspect of French cookery that hasn’t been covered such as pastry, fish/seafood, mother sauces, etc. and prep a dish for tomorrow’s dinner.
Then the group will then head out for a gourmet lunch at the Michelin-starred Le Restaurant Fontevraud and spend the afternoon after the 4+ course meal casually exploring the gorgeous and inspiring Fontevraud Abbey, the resting place of Richard the Lionheart, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II and Isabelle of Angouleme, and famous as both an Abbey and a prison. The group will return to Misse for a relaxing evening with a light dinner.
Day 6
Today, after breakfast, you'll embark on a bicycle tour through the vineyards along the Loire on a dedicated cycle path between Saumur and Chinon. You’ll take a leisurely pace, visiting a vineyard and other sites along the way, enjoying lunch and a fun-filled afternoon on this very scenic route. Loire Kitchen happily provides vehicle support for anyone not wishing to cycle. The group will return for a cooking technique demonstration, followed by dinner.
Day 7
The next morning after breakfast, the group will have the final cooking session, followed by lunch and then farewells.
Included excursions
- Visiting Farmer's Market, offering an abundance of visual delights, treats to sample and opportunities to explore history and culture
- Tasting and tour of a local producer of nut oils, cheese, snails, mushrooms and/or a vineyard, depending on the season
- Visiting a chateau or fortress town such as Chinon or Villandry
- A gourmet lunch at the Michelin-starred Le Restaurant Fontevraud and exploring the gorgeous and inspiring Fontevraud Abbey
Instructors
Aaron Tighe
Aaron is the C-of-M's executive chef. He comes from a family of restaurateurs and has been cooking professionally since his late teens. He has enjoyed a diverse career having worked as a violinist and conductor before embarking on a career in new media, working as an internet or “dotcom” evangelist. He has worked in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the USA. Cooking, wine tasting, and writing about food have remained a constant throughout. He has been writing and blogging about food since the late 90s, starting with pasta, and has continued with contributions to many sites.
Location
Located in the small farming commune of Missé in the most southern part of the Loire Valley, the house rests on the verdant banks of the Thouet River, a tributary of the Loire. Ancient Gallic for “tranquil,” the Thouet forms an oxbow (circles back on itself) here, forming the Cirque de Missé (Circle of Misse), thus the name. The house has fantastic views of farmland, cows, and pheasants. Further down the road, you’ll find vineyards as it is a part of the Anjou wine region.
This location provides dozens of pleasant walks along the river and outstanding hilltop views of the Thouet Valley. Comfortably secluded, although the châteaus and castles of the Loire Valley including Chinon and Saumur are a short drive away, the Thouet Valley exudes peace, relaxation, and contemplation. Add to that the medal-garnering vineyards encircling the area, the beautiful and abundant produce, award-winning goat cheeses and other renowned culinary specialties, and you have the perfect place to eat, cook, and feast the senses.
Built on the grounds of a 12th-century abbey, the house stands next to the Church of Saint-Pierre, on the trail used by Breton and Norman pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela. The original bell-cote, sitting in the shadow of the more modern 17th Century bell tower, is visible from the lane leading to the house. The pilgrims' route, now part of the Thouet valley bicycle trail and the French national hiking route, GR36, runs from Ouistreham on the Norman coast to Bourge-Madame on the Spanish border.
Food
Meal highlights
- Breakfast: local bread, pastries, yogurts, cereals, and other delights
- Lunch: multi-course and scenic picnic
- Dinner: Three+ course including all beverages (wine, waters, etc.)
- 1 Michelin-Star lunch experience at Le Restaurant Fontevraud
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
- Soda
- Alcoholic beverages
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Lacto-ovo Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Organic
- Raw food
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Pescatarian
- Seafood
- Whole food
Things to do (optional)
The biggest megalithic burial site in the region, consisting of seven dolmens, lies just up the road from Circle of Misse at Taizé.
Just a little further on, sits the beautifully quirky Chateau of Oiron. Now a contemporary art museum, it served as the inspiration for several scenes in the fairy tale Puss in Boots and was home to an eccentric who collected many strange items to fill his cabinet of curiosities. The church at Oiron, also worth a visit, is a jewel of gothic and renaissance architecture.
A half-hour from Circle of Misse, the historic city of Saumur dominates the Loire with its imposing Castle, offering the visitor a true taste of Loire architecture, fine wines, and culture.
Chinon, home of the French author Rabelais, the ruins of Chinon castle, and a prized red wine is also half an hour away. A stroll down the wonderful tiny streets of Chinon reveals a wealth of restaurants, cafes and smart shops. In the 15th century, Chinon castle was the residence of Charles VII, the Dauphin of France. It is the place where Joan of Arc came on March 8, 1429, to recognize the Dauphin and to urge him to declare himself king and raise an army to liberate France.
In the 11th century it was the primary residence of Henry II. He, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their son King Richard I “The Lionheart” and Isabelle of Angouleme, wife of King John “Lackland”, were buried at the nearby Fontevraud l’Abbaye. Snugly in château country, Fontrevraud l’Abbaye serves as a perfect jumping-off point to many of the most famous châteaus and vineyards of the Loire region. Châteaus include Azay-le-Rideau, Chenonceau, Ussé, Langeais, Montreuil-Bellay, Villandry, and their accompanying towns and cities. Vineyards include those of: Bourgueil, Saumur, Anjou, Chinon, Thouarsais, Vouvray, Savennières, Touraine, and Haut-Poitou.
What's included
- 1 Michelin-Star lunch experience at Le Restaurant Fontevraud (subject to COVID-19 restrictions)
- 4 hands-on cooking demonstrations (dessert/starter/cocktails)
- 5 half-day cooking sessions
- 5 multi-course lunches (including a scenic picnic)
- 6 nights accommodation
- 6 three+ course dinners including all beverages (wine, waters, etc.)
- Breakfast each morning
- Complimentary Loire Kitchen Apron
- Complimentary Loire Kitchen Tote-bag
- Farmer’s Market visit
- Recipes and folder
- Visit to an artisan food maker (cheese, nut oils, mushrooms, and/or a vineyard)
- Welcome wine-tasting
What's not included
- Travel to France
- Transport to Circle of Misse
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Poitiers–Biard Airport
55 km
Transfer available for additional US$ 34 per person
Tours Val de Loire Airport
86 km
Transfer available for additional US$ 40 per person
Nantes Atlantique Airport
110 km
Transfer available for additional US$ 62 per person
Arrival by airplane
Paris – Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
This is the default choice for transatlantic and long-haul travelers. As the second largest airport in Europe, it has regular flights from/to almost every major city.
On arrival at CDG airport, you can:
- Hire a car at the airport terminal
- Take a high-speed train (TGV) direct from Terminal 2 to Saumur via Tours (St Pierre des Corps). Loire Kitchen team can advise you on which station to come to when you book your travel. Please note that the minimum recommended transfer times from the plane to the train is 80 minutes (Terminal 2) and 90 minutes (Terminals 1 and 3).
Paris Orly Airport (ORY)
Paris Orly Airport (ORY) is the second airport in Paris. There is a direct bus service to Paris Montparnasse, from where you can catch high-speed trains (TGV) direct to Tours (St Pierre des Corps), then change for Saumur.
Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE)
Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE) is the nearest International airport. It is served by flights from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. There is a train service from Nantes, centre city to Saumur.
We arrange pickup of all guests at Saumur or Thouars station. Saumur station can be reached from Paris, Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and Nantes airport.
- Saumur: included
- Thouars: Included
Arrival by car
Driving is an excellent option if you want to fill the car with food and wine to take home. There are ample opportunities to visit wineries, cavistes, and food stores. The organizer will send directions and GPS coordinates.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 20% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.