Come cook with Robin in the Tarn!
Healthy, delicious and simple recipes
to inspire your home cooking.
No special cooking experience needed!
October 3rd-6th, 2013
Robin serving lunch under the fig tree
The kitchen where the cooking course takes place.
La Terrasse de Lautrec, home to Robin’s cooking weekend. All participants stay here.
Venue: La Terrasse de Lautrec
An elegant and charming small hotel in the center of the scenic French village in the beautiful department of the Tarn
http://www.laterrassedelautrec.com/
The hotel has a magnificent and historic terrace garden with lovely views over rolling hills and farmland.
Wifi throughout; swimming pool; en suite bathrooms;
Free street parking nearby for those who rent a car.
Cooking class participants May 2013
The Cooking Classes
Robin leads all the cooking classes.
The workshop is conducted in English.
Group Size: About 7 participants
The dishes & recipes are based on his cookbooks, Delicious Dishes for Diabetics and Healthy Eating for Life (publication date January 2014, Constable & Robinson) plus recipes from his blog, http://robin-ellis.net/.
The focus is on healthy, delicious food based on Mediterranean cuisine. This is friendly, home-style cooking—not complicated or professional chef style.
No special cooking skills are assumed.
Photos of the last workshop (May 2013): http://tinyurl.com/Robin-sCookingWorkshop/.
Most of the cooking will be hands-on by all participants.
The group will prepare the lunch and dinner meals together under Robin’s guidance.
Kitchen clean-up help will assist.
Excursions
Morning outings to local open-air markets including the Friday market in Lautrec and the Saturday market in Castres.
There is a hot air balloonist offering rides from Lautrec: www.ballade-en-ballon.com (Extra cost! Weather-permitting!)
Non-cooking Partners/Friends/Spouses
The price of the workshop is based on each participant having her/his own private bedroom. However all the rooms can accommodate two people (some double beds, some twin).
You may bring a spouse, partner, friend, traveling companion who doesn’t wish to cook for a meal supplement.
Arriving Early, Staying On
If arranged in advance, it is possible to arrive at La Terrasse earlier (indeed most people arrive the day before the course starts) and stay on after the workshop finishes. Contact the owner, Dominique Ducoudray, directly to arrange this (she is fluent in English): d.ducoudray@wanadoo.fr
Lautrec
Lautrec
Lautrec is a medieval bastide–a fortified hilltop village with a population of about 1700 people.
Additional photos of La Terrasse and Lautrec: http://tinyurl.com/LautrecWorkshop
It enjoys the official recognition as Un des plus beaux villages de France [one of the most beautiful villages in France].
http://www.lautrec.fr/tourisme_en/index.php
The village is a step back in time with wonderful architecture, pleasant walks with lovely vistas. The church dates back to the 14th century. A lovingly restored working windmill sits on the hillside with a spectacular view from the summit towards the Black Mountains and the Pyrenees.
Lautrec has a charming café-bookstore, Café Plum, a small grocery store, a bakery, a butcher’s shop, an antique store, a pharmacy, post office, several hairdressers, and a few gift shops featuring local culinary delicacies including l’ail rose, pink garlic (the local specialty) and gift items using pastel bleu (the dye that once made the region wealthy).
L’ail rose, pink garlic, a specialty of this village
Dates & Scheduling
Tentative schedule (based on the previous workshops, but subject to change):
Thursday afternoon, Oct 3rd, 2013
The workshop starts about 4pm with “Welcome” refreshments in the beautiful garden at la Terrasse and group introductions.
Then it’s off to the kitchen with Robin to prepare supper. Dinner together at around the table at La Terrasse.
Friday, Oct 4th
We buy our lunch ingredients at the Friday open air market in Lautrec and return to the kitchen to prepare our meal.
Late afternoon, cooking with Robin.
Dinner out together at a local restaurant.
Saturday, Oct 5th
Morning excursion to the lively Castres Saturday open air market to buy provisions for lunch and dinner.
Kitchen class at 11am with Robin followed by lunch.
Afternoon cooking class with Robin to prepare a special dinner in the main dining room of La Terrasse.
Sunday, Oct 6th
Cooking with Robin, preparing Sunday lunch, the final celebratory meal!
Monday, Oct 7th
Departures after breakfast (by 11am)
(Note: This schedule is subject to alteration.)
Getting to Lautrec (in the Tarn) southwestern France
Flights
The nearest airports are Toulouse Blagnac and Carcassone (about 1 hour 20 minutes drive).
Toulouse is served by British Air, Air France, KLM, Alitalia and Easy Jet amongst others.
Toulouse Blagnac is an excellent airport as the city is home to France’s aerospace industry. http://www.toulouse.aeroport.fr/en
If you are traveling from north America, you will need to change planes in London, Paris, Barcelona or similar European hub city.
Carcassonne Airport (served by RyanAir [no frills] http://www.ryanair.com/en) is about 1h20 drive to Lautrec. Ryanair runs no frills flights (usually the least expensive alternative) to Carcassonne from: Brussels Charlerois, Cork, Dublin, East Midlands, Eindhoven, Glasgow, Prestwick, Liverpool, London Stansted and Porto.
Castres-Mazamet Airport also has a small airport with a limited service from Paris and other French cities. Airlinair is the main regional airline.
All the airports have rental car agencies on site.
The nearest train station is Castres. From the station it is about a 15 minutes drive to Lautrec. Taxis and rental cars are available.
Private Ground transportation from the airport or train station to Lautrec can be arranged for an extra fee.
Handicapped access: Unfortunately the hotel venue is not suitable for anyone with mobility problems. There is one flight of stairs to the bedrooms and no elevators or lifts. There are stairs to the demonstration kitchen as well.
Workshop Cost:
1100 euros
(In US dollars: $1440; in Sterling: £930)
Payment can be made in euros, dollars or sterling by bank transfer or check.
What’s included: accommodation for 4 nights, continental breakfast, all lunches & dinners, wine, teas & coffees.
All cooking tuition with Robin and excursions.
What is not included: Your travel costs to Lautrec.
A deposit of 25% secures your place on the workshop.
The balance is due one month before the workshop, i.e. September 3rd, 2013
Should you need to cancel before Sept 3rd, the deposit will be returned if your place on the workshop is filled.
(In that case, a handling fee on 50 euros will be charged.)
The deposit is not refundable after Sept 3rd 2013.
To book a place, fill out the registration form below and
return with your deposit (25% of the fee).
For further info, contact Meredith:
meredithwheeler1@gmail.com
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Registration Form: Cooking with Robin
First name:
Last name:
Coming with a friend/partner/spouse? Yes/No
Home Address:
Postal Code:
Phone number(s) (with country code):
Email address:
How did you hear about the workshop?
Do you have any food restrictions, i.e. things you cannot or do not eat? If so, please note them.
If you have any queries or special concerns, please add them here.
Emilie Lapham, friend of Leslie Purple 633 East Gravers Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038 USA
emilielapham@gmail.com
I heard about this wonderful workshop from Leslie Purple who is on the waiting list. We would love to do this together! Please let me know if there is a space and I will send a deposit. I hope to be a part of the experince! I am a Poldark fan too!
I could not get form to work so it is here.
Hoping to be there in October, Emilie Lapham
It’s looking like this October workshop is full–but we are maintaining a waiting list. If there is the demand, hope to do another workshop in the spring.
Dear Robin,
I have just discovered your website or life-style site as I am going to call it from now on! What a wonderful part of the world you live in. Congratulations on your book and your fantastic website. I have book-marked it!
I love the Mediterranean – the climate, the food, the people – andI renewed my love affair with Greece in early May with a weeks walking holiday on Naxos, Paros and Santorini, Going out to a local taverna in the evening is as much a highlight for me as the walking.
I would love to come on your workshop next Spring so fingers crossed that it will run.
Wishing you every success.
Best wishes,
Helen Hargest
Stratford-upon-Avon
Dear Meredith and Robin, I would love to attend a workshop in spring of 2013 if it is after May 3rd. I know I could arrange for a group of 5-6 friends from Philadelphia. Please let me know it you would consider this. Leslie Purple
I was pleased to hear you are still considering a Spring cooking workshop and hope I am on the list. So very sad to hear about Angharad Rees, however this news brought back so many fond memories of Demelza.
[...] Cooking workshop [...]
Hello,
I’d be interested in attending a Spring cooking workshop. Your recipes look delicious.
Hello Robin,
I would just like to wish you good luck for the workshop. You will be a great success I am sure. Hope we gets some pictures and recipes from it on here – please?
Thanks Sophie-Jane. Reminds me at the moment of first nights in the theatre. It’ll be a lot more enjoyable, Thursday, than those dreaded occasions.
I remember drying (forgetting the words) on the first night of Murder at the Vicarage at Salisbury Rep.(1965). I was the vicar and I was supposed to say grace at table. Simple you’d think–make something up, you’d think. Silence…!
Hello Robin,
My wife Marie and I are very much looking forward to the workshop in May. Reading some of the previous posts, it seems we may not be the only people coming from the Philadelphia area? …small world, this!
Philly seems to be featuring you are right, Chris! Two of the Bravehearts were also from Philadelphia. Looking forward to meeting you both in merry May…
Dear Ross, oops Robin, I was a kid growing up in the north central part of the US (Minnesota) when Poldark hit our tiny home. Since that time I have dreamed of visiting Cornwall and now this spring it is finally going to happen. I rented a cottage right next to Doyden Castle. OMG!!! I’m rewatching the series (for the hundredth time) and just ordered Making Poldark. Now I see this! OMG! Cooking class in Lautrec!! There are so many dreams to fulfill. Life is short…. I hope to be one of the lucky ones to someday experience this.
Hello Shelly and welcome! Wonderful time to go to Cornwall. You mentioning Doyden Castle brings back happy memories.
Dear Robin,
I am Shelly’s sister, Debra. We spent many Sundays waiting anxiously for tne next episode of Poldark. Shelly sent me the info about the workshop yesterday. It only took a few moments for me to say Absolutely to coming in October. I’m hopeful that there are still spots for the 4 of us!
Shelly and Debra–looking forward to meeting you in October! A few places remain on this autumn cooking holiday in southwestern France….
Robin, Can’t tell you how excited we are! I’m heading to Cornwall next week and its all because of YOU!
PS How many spots are open? We’ve been talking it up like crazy and no takers….yet!
So pleased youir second Cookery workshop was a success Robin. Thanks for posting Meredith’s lovely photographs for those of us not lucky enough to be there in person. One day perhaps…!