Holiday itinerary
Relaxed and informal lessons will teach you everything you need to know to make melt-in-your-mouth brioches, berry and apple tarts, croissants, macaroons, breads, barvarois and many more sweet treats. By the end of the week, you’ll have mastered the tricky art of mille-feuille and know how to turn light, crispy and airy choux pastry into delicious éclairs, croquembouche, Paris-Brest and Saint-Honoré.
Classes are taught in English by experienced and passionate pastry cook Marlène whose enviable skills have been passed down through the generations of her food-loving French family. The course features plenty of tuition, with at least three hours of lessons on four of the seven days. Each evening you’ll enjoy your creations and those of your fellow chefs when they are served as part of a delicious three-course meal.
As well as baking lessons, guests also take a trip to a local pâtisserie in nearby Casteljaloux where there is a chance to sample its pastry treats over a cup of coffee. As well as a great treat for anyone with a sweet tooth, this is the time to find inspiration for your own pastry creations and experience the tastes and textures you’ll be striving for in your own bakes.
On another morning, you’ll take a trip to an artisan chocolaterie in Nérac, where you can sample its age-old and latest recipes and take back some handmade local chocolate to use in your pastries. There will also be time to enjoy the beautiful river town of Nérac, take in its castle and soak up its rich tradition of great food and wine. Guests can also visit the fortified town of Vianne, a glass-making centre and one of the few bastides left in France.
With long lunches and leisurely breakfasts you’ll find you also have plenty of time to relax on this French pâtisserie holiday. You’ll find you finish baking in plenty of time to sit back and relax with an aperitif before dinner, chill-out with friends or soak up the evening sun in the house’s gardens.
On the final day of the French pâtisserie holiday, guests enjoy a free day to further explore the towns, markets, history and gastronomic delights of the Lot-et Garonne area. You may decide to take a walk or cycle in the countryside, head to one of the area’s many vineyards or experience the luxurious thermal baths and indulgent treatments on offer in the nearby spa town of Casteljaloux.
Suitability
- These pâtisserie courses are suitable for all levels from complete beginners to experienced cooks
- Minimum age 5 (under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult)
- Your hosts are British and French so all cooking classes are taught in English
Travelling Solo?
- These short cookery breaks make great singles holidays and singles are welcome to join an existing group and there will be NO single supplements for solo travellers and you will have your own private room for no extra cost
Non-Cooking Guests
- Non cooking guests are welcome to share a room with a cooking guest and prices for the non-cooking guest will be discounted accordingly, please see our ‘costings and extras’ tab for prices
- To book with a non-cooking guest, email or contact us via live chat (click on the ‘start chat’ link at the bottom of this page) or call us to check availability
French Pastry Course Start Days
- Courses are available throughout the year
- Holidays run from Sunday to Saturday
- Courses last for 6 nights/ 7 days
- If you can’t find the date you are looking for or you'd like to arrive on another day of the week, please email us and we’ll do our utmost to get availability for you as quickly as possible
French Pâtisserie Holiday Itinerary
The itinerary is for guidance only and is subject to change depending on the group’s needs and wishes but is typically as follows:
Day 1 - Arrival day and dinner
- Check into your room any time after 4pm, take your time to explore the house, gardens and local area
- Around 7pm you will enjoy a welcome drink and canapés with Marlène, who will talk you through your pastry lessons
- Around 7.30pm, enjoy a 3-course dinner with wine with the group
Day 2 - Pâtisserie visit and 1st cooking class
- Enjoy a leisurely French breakfast before sampling some classic pastries over a cup of coffee in a pâtisserie in the nearby town of Casteljaloux
- Marlene will also show you round the little market town so you can soak up some of the south-west charm
- After indulging your sweet tooth, return back to the farmhouse for a lovely lunch made by your host and cook Marc
- After lunch, at around 1.30pm, head to the kitchen for your first French pastry lesson
- Around 7pm, enjoy an aperitif followed by a delicious dinner and the pastries you learned to cook that day
Day 3 - 2nd cooking class in the morning, 3rd cooking class in afternoon
- Enjoy a leisurely French breakfast before heading to the kitchen to start baking
- After stopping for lunch, finish off your pastries before taking some time out to relax for the rest of the afternoon
- Around 7pm, enjoy an aperitif followed by a delicious dinner and, of course, the pastries you learned to cook that day
Day 4 – Visit to a local chocolaterie, stop for coffee in Nérac/Vianne, 4th baking class
- Take a relaxed breakfast before heading to an artisan chocolate factory in Nérac
- Sample the shop’s wonderful creations and pick up some chocolate to use in your own recipes back in the kitchen
- Stop for coffee in the romantic river town of Nérac and visit Vianne, a beautiful fortified town
- After lunch, meet in the kitchen for your fourth pâtisserie baking session
- In the evening, enjoy aperitifs, a three-course meal, free-flowing wine and, of course, the delicious pastries you made that day
Day 5 – Fifth and sixth baking lessons
- After breakfast, enjoy your fifth pâtisserie lesson in the kitchen
- Stop for a leisurely lunch before returning to the kitchen to put the finishing touches to your creations
- Relax in the gardens, enjoy an aperitif and sit down to a three-course dinner with ample wine and the wonderful pastries you created that day
Day 6 – Free day for exploring the local surroundings
- After breakfast, your day is free to explore the local area
- Go for a walk in the countryside, explore a local vineyard or head to one of the local towns
- You may want to spend the day at the luxurious spa and thermal baths in Casteljaloux (your hosts can drop you and collect you free of charge)
- Lunch is provided for anyone who wishes to stay at the house
- Meet up in the early evening for an aperitif before your farewell three-course dinner
Day 7 – Departure day
- After breakfast guests are asked to say check out of their rooms by 10.30am
About Your Cook
- Your host is the easy-going, fun and friendly Marlène, who lives at the house with her British husband Marc and their 2 children
- To read Marlène's story of how she came to set up her cooking school, click here
- Marlène is French but teaches her classes in English
- Marlène’s philosophy is that food is central to life, cooking comes from the heart and meals should be full of flavour and not too difficult to prepare
- Not only an accomplished French cook learning from her own mother and grandmother from an early age, Marlène has taught many visitors to France how to cook for several years and she also occasionally operates a restaurant from the farmhouse
- Marlène has a passion for pâtisserie and is keen to pass on her skills and techniques learned over the years and passed from generation to generation of her family
What Will I Learn?
- Courses concentrate on French pastry baking
- Marlène prefers to teach without measuring when possible, instead she uses techniques and taste to help you learn the skills to prepare pastries using your own interpretation
- You’ll learn to make pastries including éclairs, religieuses, fruit tartlets, mille-feuilles, bavarois, tarte tatin, Saint-Honoré, macaroons, croissants, pains au chocolat, bread and brioche
Want To Specialise?
- If you’d like to specialise in any particular type of baking, perhaps working with chocolate or cake decoration, please request this prior to booking and we will aim to accommodate that for you
Sample Pastries
- Brioche
- Chocolate or coffee éclairs
- Religieuses
- Fruit tartlets using seasonal fruits
- Mille-feuilles
- Bavarois
- Tarte tatin
- Macaroons
- Breads
- Éclairs
- Pain au chocolat
- Croissants
About The Accommodation
- Your accommodation is set in the small village of Anzex in the Lot-et-Garonne region of France, just an hour from Bordeaux
- There are a total of 4 twin/double guest rooms all with private bathrooms
- If you are travelling solo, there will be NO single supplements for solo travellers and you will have your own private room for no extra cost
- All rooms are tastefully decorated mixing traditional French style with modern comforts
- Rooms have a mix of exposed stone walls, wooden floors and sloping ceilings with exposed oak beams
- The house is surrounded by wonderful gardens where you can eat outside or relax on the sun loungers
- Accommodation is included for 6 nights / 7 days
- Check in any time after 4pm on day 1 and check out by 10.30am on day 7
- Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the house
- Your hosts have dogs and a cat that are not allowed in the guests’ designated area
Free Time In France
- This French pâtisserie holiday is packed with sweet delights but in your free time on your arrival and departure days you may want to explore the local area
- The Lot-et-Garonne is known as the Garden of France, in your free time explore the unspoilt landscape, nature and wildlife, wander around the local villages, the sunflower fields and vineyards
- Your hosts will give you lots of information on what activities are on offer in the local area such as the local nature walks, horse riding, bicycle hire, local markets and more
- It is recommended to have a car to fully explore the area and you may find you wish to stay on for a few nights to get the most out of your trip!
Indulge your sweet tooth and learn classic techniques for creating delicious French pastries on this relaxed and fun pâtisserie holiday in the beautiful south-west of France.