Wednesday 20 Mai
Today we had our cooking class with a local chef. We started our morning nice and early (9am) with the landlady, Christiane. She took us to the market here in Lavardac to buy the ingredients for our dinner.
The lesson was perfect, she showed us the tricks the locals know. Tricks like how to spot the best fat white asparagus (a local treasure) and how to tell if it is in good shape or not. She also chose organic and explained how to tell if it is in fact pesticide free (it has a single black mark on the stem at the bottom if it is in fact organic).
We also got to purchase fish, vegetables and cheese, tasting all the way.
It would not have been an authentic experience without the French grandmothers elbowing in on the action, never fails. The menu was squash and comte cheese toast in a simply dressed salad, thinly sliced salmon wrapped around white asparagus spears in a light mustard vinaigrette, rouget filets on fresh vegetables, and finally a simple dessert of cherries and strawberries in cognac with vanilla ice cream.
It was rewarding buying all of the products at the market.
, 
, 
We got home and as we had a few hours to kill Michael and I decided to eat a roasted chicken from the market. Afterwards we headed on a local walk, ended up in a cemetery where two snakes (I kid you not) came out of a tomb and started chasing me, I screamed like a girl, Michael laughed… I did not get a picture of the snakes, was too busy being a girl, I did however find a photo of this grave marker with Michael’s new pet name for me…
, 
The chef showed up at about 3pm and the class was on its way. He was a fun guy and between Christiane, Gillian and myself we were able to translate, as he did not speak English. Everyone got hands on; the chef was very patient with the newbies. I could have started pouring wine but chose not to for the sake of concentration…
Videos Here:
At about 6:30pm, after working straight through, we were done. We sat on the lawn and had a Lillet Blanc with the chef and the homeowners. The meal was designed so we could plate our own dish, place next course on stove, go eat and then come back and repeat the procedure until the courses were all done. It worked, and we all loved it. Christiane and Michel brought two wines the chef recommended and then brought a bas Armagnac for after dinner, such wonderful hosts.
We are going to the chef’s restaurant on Friday to cook in the kitchen and then sit and eat with the chef. He is doing a tasting of the local foie with sauternes and Armagnac to follow of course.
Chef Jean-Noël Prabonne * Le Relais de La Hire * 47 600 Francescas * Tel : 05.53.65.41.59 * http://www.la-hire.com/
