I thought that it was about time to show you some food as this is a food blog! After arrival on Friday we met Robert Abraham and talked through our activities for the first session of the Gourmet Explorer Course, and was presented with a lovely recipe pack with basic instructions.

Dishes would include Carrot Veloute, Roasted Langoustine, Guinea-Fowl, Tartare of Salmon and Chocolate Fondant, all these would introduce the guests to a number of cooking techniques.

Before all of this was to start, we needed to visit the local market in the town of Revel, so we set of first thing in the morning to search out our ingredients.

I LOVE cheese and the merry chappy above invited us to have a go at using a traditional cheese wire and when we returned, have a go at mixing the Aligot with a ‘raft paddle’, it seemed like one at least.

Our first chef tutor Robert is no spring chicken but boy, can he cook. He has over 50 years of cooking experience, his sauces were AMAZING as were his skills and techniques which we were going to learn over several days.

As expected, the market was an abundance of fabulous produce including beautifully presented fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese and stalls cooking local specialities such a Aligot (Potatoes, Cheese & Garlic, creamed with a large paddle).

After our trip round the market we headed back to start cooking for real.

Each day we typically have 2 x three course meals to prepare, one for lunch and one for the evening, except when we are visiting a local restaurant to take a break. There is always cheese to finish so there is absolutely no chance of going hungry!!

The meal is always accompanied by wine, each course has a perfect match for the 1st three days selected by Robert, and excellent choices they were too.

The first cooking session was ‘relatively’ simple but the food was delicious, we started to learn plating techniques and how to build on flavours in sauces. I am not going to let you into the secrets, as this is a ‘window’ into what is an amazing experience if you want to enhance your cookery skills.

………………..Until next time……..L8ers………………..