A chance meeting with Adeline led me to discover her cookery workshops at L’Atelier Fait Maison and last week, I took all of our gîte guests from our three gîtes, who were here for the Easter break, along to a macaron making workshop.
I have known Adeline since we came to the Charente and it was obviously fate that brought us back together because these cookery workshops are just ideal for our foodie fan guests wishing to replicate a taste of France once home again.
Adeline is quite happy to come to the gîte or to work out of the professional kitchen at Autour du Feu in Angoulême. The showroom setting was fabulous – we all enjoyed perusing the barbecues and the kitchen was a perfect “get-together” professional space. We all agreed it had a touch of the “Bake-Off” kitchen feel.
All the equipment and ingredients are provided which is perfect for our holiday guests as all they need to do is to turn up!
What is on offer?
Workshops can be tailored to your needs and cover a range of themes – Celebration Cakes, the art of preserving and pickling, croissants, macarons – even a tarte tatin!
Adeline, was born here in the Charente and she has trained with top local chocolatier Nicolas Bichon. She provides a step by step recipe which is yours to keep, demonstrations of technique, top-tips and much personalised support along the way.
We learnt how to pipe correctly, how to test if our macarons were ready to go in the oven and how to ensure the mixture was properly combined. Also, what to look for to judge success.
What makes this experience so special?
Not only are you gaining new skills but these workshops really are a true taste of France and of our beautiful Charente.
Adeline’s recipes are in French and this is such a great way to access the language and to have an immersive experience. Do not panic though, the workshops are bilingual with translation every step of the way.
In our macaron workshop, we made lemon curd which was a different technique to the traditional way in which we were all taught – you learn something new every day!
It was a great shared experience and we all had so much fun – there was lots of laughter! (Often at my expense as my macarons were a bit wonky with a bit of the special “touche anglaise”)
Who might like this cookery workshop?
This appealed to our current house hunter who is looking to improve her French and to immerse herself in French life. She learnt lots of new vocabulary and she was thrilled with the end result!
It appealed to our holiday makers who were looking for something slightly out of the ordinary whilst here on holiday – one of whom had NEVER baked before and does not cook at home at all.
College students with French exams – we often have families who bring their children who are studying French prior to their exams. This is a perfect opportunity to gain confidence prior to those oral exams and to hone new skills.
It is perfect for groups of friends too – we had an all female group recently who were looking for fun group activities.
How to book?
When you reserve your holiday with us at La Grue Gîtes, ask for details and we can help you to make the necessary arrangements.