Featured holiday Cookery holiday in Bordeaux France

This itinerary assumes a departure from London for three nights on a Friday. There tends to be a very early morning flight or a lunchtime flight. The flight times do vary according to the season. You are collected by car from the airport or you may choose to have a hire-car for the duration of the holiday, returning it to the airport at the end. The rest of the day is at leisure to settle in to the hotel, explore the region, go for a walk in the grounds, swim or perhaps do some shopping or sightseeing in nearby Bordeaux. On the first evening we include a 5-course menu for dinner, accompanied by 2 glasses of wine, mineral water and coffee.

After a leisurely breakfast, prepare for your first hands-on cookery lesson, The Saint-James Style. This is for up to 10 people and takes place from 09.30 until 1.30. After an initial presentation about the world of gastronomy you learn the ropes of gourmet cuisine with the Chef as you prepare a three-course meal, with chosen recipes from the Saint-James gourmet restaurant. This includes a hands-on course with the preparation and tasting of a starter, a main course, and a dessert prepared by the head Pastry Chef, along with a glass of wine and coffee. The afternoon is then at leisure to rest and relax or to explore. Own arrangements for dinner.

Again after a leisurely breakfast, you join the group for your second cookery lesson, a Themed class that takes place from 11 am to 2.30 pm. The Themed class is for up to 10 people and it focuses on a specific product or ingredient. The ingredient changes each week. You practise professional techniques that make it possible for you to reproduce these dishes at home. There will be the preparation of a starter, a main course, on-site tasting of the two dishes, a dessert prepared by the head Pastry chef, a glass of wine and a coffee. Themes may include ingredients such as wild salmon, scallops, lamb, duck and sea bass. The rest of the afternoon is then free to explore or relax.

If you are on the 3-night break, depending on the timetable, you may have most of the day at leisure until a transfer in the afternoon from the hotel to catch the British Airways flight leaving at 18.45 hrs from Bordeaux. If you are staying for 4 nights or more perhaps, then this whole day is at leisure and it is worth having a hire-car to make the most of the region, perhaps visiting nearby Saint-Emilion, or the splendid vineyards of the Médoc. Le Saint-James can also arrange for a wine tasting for you. Own arrangements for dinner.