Tea at the chateau is an essential.
We went off to the Loire near La Mans for a lovely overnight on Tuesday.
For 2 days at Chateau de la Barbée
The family residence of Xavier et Mary (former Vogue model) Pochez.
Dinner time in front of the fire
With candle light and only Loire vallée wines bien sur
Mary plans to start cooking classes including a stay au chateau. Miam
Her velouté de fenouilie will be always on the menu I hope.
Richard's divine room. Bear wanted to swap but he wasn't having it.
So atmospheric.
At lunch the next day we pitched in and made foie gras en papillote
I'll be making this chez moi very soon.
The perfect accompaniment - an excellent Chinon red.
At last the wild boar with cranberry sauce and wild mushrooms, cepes. No, we did not shoot it.
To finish a Bourdelais tarte of poached pears.
Post-lunch the obligatory march around the property though we didn't make it to all 1,200 acres...
Our hosts relaxing by the moat.
Bear wanted to stay on at the chateau. It suits him but he was easily persuaded to settle for a jar of home-made fig and orange confiteur. Me too. I hope Mary opens her cooking classes soon. I love being a student.
Simply divine!!
ReplyDeleteOh to be in your shoes...
Lovely loely lovely..Looks autumnal ..here winter wonderland already..not quite wondcerland..grey..
ReplyDeleteAlways love your tea cups..
So beautiful! You're living a dream, my dear. When I took my daughter to Paris last spring we did a cooking class and it was the highlight of the trip. To take a cooking class in such a beautiful chateau is over the moon! C'est magnifique! xox
ReplyDeleteLooks like you could be turning into a very good sous chef in the not too distant future, after all these cooking lessons. What a fabulous 2 days you have spent in the Loire.Vallee.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely - love the look of those foie gras papillotes. foie gras tastes good wrapped in just about everything. My favourite treat so far this year has bee foie gras stuffed figs. But I haven't yet ventured to cook foie gras for myself!
ReplyDeleteIt looks perfect! I am envious, of course! I'm going to repost this on my blog NoNoJulia (nonojulia.wordpress.com) once I figure out how to do it.
ReplyDeleteYou china cup painting is fantastic!!! If they ever mange to open up, this place is going to be such a success! Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI loved the china, the plate was darling...food looked yummy too....
ReplyDeleteI would love to do this, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this lovely post.
Brunie
ahhhh to travel in France meeting great cooks with great recipes!!!
ReplyDeleteI was on a diet of no sugar or carbs after our Thanksgiving holiday... Then I read your blog and saw that pie. I can now have my pie and not eat it too. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDon't I look a right treat?
ReplyDeleteFabulous post.
That painting of the tea cup is superb too.
Love the lighting in that third picture.....and everything else about it......I can feel myself walking toward the Chateau......love this entire post.....and LOVE your pretty drawing of tea cup!
ReplyDeleteFabulous petit vacance Carol! I could imagine myself there (with Bodhi the dog gambolling in the leaves) and curling up in front of le feu avec un the anglais :)
ReplyDeleteA dog was missing Big Time!
DeleteCheck out my Christmas present...
Deletehttps://www.dropbox.com/s/uy4d39fmuifjxap/FNT2_1%20copy.jpg
You were treated like royalty, I see...Quite a unique & lovely setting in which to be a student...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure life would be better if only we all had a moat! I think I'd be cooking roast boar, and making my own jam if only I had a moat. What a wondrous place you went to Carol, to continue the theme, of course.
ReplyDeleteBonsoir ma chère amie,
ReplyDeleteUn petit séjour qui me semble bien agréable... Des cours de cuisine dans un cadre exceptionnel... C'est le top du top !...
Et quel régal !
Merci pour tes jolies photos... Lorsque tu feras le foie gras, j'arrive et je t'apporte aussi le mien !
Gros bisous ♥
I so want to take cooking classes in France. This looks simply divine in every single way! What a grand time you had!
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