A holiday with a difference - Learning to cook the Breton Way!!!
Jacquie & Jean-Michel invite you join them for a relaxing Breton cooking holiday in rural Brittany and take a break from the stresses and strains of modern life. Step back into a gentler time where you will be hand picking the freshest ingredients from our garden and preparing wonderful French cuisine in a beautiful setting. Immerse yourself in the sights and scents of rural Brittany and enjoy balmy evenings eating al fresco with good company and good wine. Here at Feuneteun Velen your Breton cooking holiday will help you to enhance your cooking skills whilst having fun in a warm and friendly atmosphere.
During your cooking holiday in Brittany we will be sharing with you the experience of real country life in a typical Breton village. This will include, aside from the cooking, harvesting seasonal fruit and vegetables from our ornamental kitchen garden, collecting fresh eggs from our neighbour’s free range chickens and relaxing in the grounds of our 19th century farmhouse. Our courses can be residential by staying in the Chambres d'Hotes at Feuneteun Velen or non-residential if you should wish to arrange to stay in accommodation elsewhere.
Your base for your cooking holiday in Brittany is the small picturesque village of Kerfany-Les Pins which overlooks the Aven-Belon estuary in a relatively unspoilt part of Finistère where the forest turns to welcome the ocean. This is a truly rural setting, a place of mystery and legend in Brittany.
Our 10 metre by 6 metre kitchen,
originally a barn, has many original features including an old stone
kitchen fireplace, traditional open oven and a stone sink called an
évier. We have endeavoured to retain the full character and atmosphere
of a traditional Breton country kitchen whilst incorporating every
conceivable modern day appliances you would expect in a contemporary
kitchen, plus a few you would not expect…... like my stainless-steel
cement mixer and spray-gun!!! Having arrived on Monday afternoon and had chance to make new acquaintances over a leisurely evening meal, your holiday will start with a visit to the vibrant market in the nearby town of Möelan-sur-Mer on the Tuesday morning. At the market you will choose fresh produce for the week ahead where Jean-Michel will offer you advice on what to look for when choosing meat, fish and vegetables. You will have some free time to soak up the atmosphere of market, relax with a coffee at a pavement café and do a little shopping. On returning to Feuneteun Velen there will be an informal chat about kitchen and knife safety to ensure everyone's well being in the kitchen before the fun of cooking can commence. During your holiday we will be cooking a wide variety of food from down to earth traditional country fare, the lighter Mediterranean influenced Provençal cuisine and a little Haute Cuisine which is guaranteed to impress your friends. The course will include food presentation, sauce-making, preparing and cooking fish and meat, sausage-making, delicious pastries and classic French puddings. Don’t worry if it’s not perfection, we have a saying here: “The first one is always for the dogs”. Each day we will be preparing lunch and a three course evening meal with an additional cheese course. There will be two hour breaks at convenient times during the day, which will allow you time to relax a little and enjoy your surroundings. You will also have a free afternoon on Thursday to explore the surrounding countryside. |
As part of the course you will also be tasting wine, courtesy of our good friend Thierry Quilfen, and matching wine to each meal we produce. Other highlights include a visit to a local cheese producer, a cider press and a meal out on us at Thierry’s restaurant. Weather permitting we will also be picnicking in the glorious Breton countryside with some of the delicious food that you have prepared.
On the final day of your holiday we will be sausage making and you will get the chance to make a French sausage or, if you prefer your very own sausage to try at the farewell barbecue on the Sunday evening when Jean-Michel will amaze you with his skills and prove that almost anything is possible with a gas barbecue.
Six Day Breton Cooking Course
600€/£540 per person
Non-cooking Partner/Friend
275€/£250 per person
Six Day French Cooking Course
Special Offer for Party of Six
550€/£495 per person
Prices for the cooking holiday includes daily lunches and a three course dinners with wine and cheese, excursions, tea and coffee and a copy of all the recipes you have made and a few more we didn’t have time to show you. If you would like to bring along a non-cooking friend or partner they will be able to share in the enjoyment of the meals that you have cooked and join us on the excursions.
Accommodation is charged separately as our rooms are varied. This gives you the option of staying in alternative accommodation nearby if you have any special requirements or wish to rent a gite for your family. Just let us know your accommodation needs and we will do our best to find somewhere suitable for you to stay nearby...