Chocolate & French Courses in France

I spent a week in October at Chateau de Matel and it was one of the best experiences that I have had on a cooking holiday. I took the beginner French and chocolate course. I came with no experience in either French or chocolate making and learned a great deal.

The French class was excellent. The instructor made a big effort to make the class fun while very informative. Having come with the knowledge of only a few well know French words I left with some basic vocabulary and a thirst to learn more.

The chocolate course was the highlight of my stay. I learned a great deal and will be making chocolate treats for my family and friends as soon as I get home. We were taught some basic techniques that will allow me to make some very impressive candies with tools that everyone should already have in their kitchen. We also used moulded the chocolate into various shapes and made sculptures that would impress anyone.

I would highly recommend a stay at Chateau de Matel for anyone interested in French, especially if you would like to work with chocolate.

Dave Hefflin

Glasgow Scotland

French Language & Chocolate Making course at Ecole des Trois Ponts
	The convivial atmosphere in the kitchen puts everyone at ease for learning, indulging in every conceiveable type of chocolate & having a great time. A hands-on experience with personal attention and a maximum of 10 per class. High quality teaching by your chef. Complete beginners through to gourmet chefs feel at home with lots of sampling opportunities at the end!
	Dare to try chocolate making and a range of chocolate desserts? See how easy & fun it is with a course dedicated to chocolate preparation and use in : gateaux, fondant, pralines, truffles, biscuits, bonbons and more. A real chance to develop your artisitic side and your taste buds. You'll also find a lot more people accepting your dinner party invitations! An enthusiastic, talented teacher, Chef Alain, with his artistic flair and high technical qualifications, teaches you in a relaxed setting and leads you on a creative adventure that will teach you the basics, improve on them, and encourage you to use your imagination in the creation of chocolate presentations. Chef Alain since gaining his title as Best Pastry Chef of the Year has taught for internationally-reknowned culinary schools as a pastry chef. 5 mornings of French Language group classes - 6 max per group 4 afternoons of chocolate making classes Classes are given in French and English. Preparations: chocolate gateaux and other desserts using chocolate as a base, chocolate fondant, banana /chocolate truffles, almond biscuits, chocolate sweets made for 31st Dec, pistacio diamonds, artisitic creations. Methods: recipe creation & preparation, chocolate decoration & covering, chocolate moulds, assembling techniques (simple & rapid). Subjects Covered: learning to control the temperature of chocolate, eggs/chocolate & other subjects, art/creativity with chocolate, chocolate humour! More photos

Comment 2006 : I spent a week in October at Chateau de Matel and it was one of the best experiences that I have had on a cooking holiday. I took the beginner French and chocolate course. I came with no experience in either French or chocolate making and learned a great deal. The French class was excellent. The instructor made a big effort to make the class fun while very informative. Having come with the knowledge of only a few well know French words I left with some basic vocabulary and a thirst to learn more. The chocolate course was the highlight of my stay. I learned a great deal and will be making chocolate treats for my family and friends as soon as I get home. We were taught some basic techniques that will allow me to make some very impressive candies with tools that everyone should already have in their kitchen. We also used moulded the chocolate into various shapes and made sculptures that would impress anyone. I would highly recommend a stay at Chateau de Matel for anyone interested in French, especially if you would like to work with chocolate. Dave Hefflin Glasgow Scotland