Happy Birthday To The Iconic Patricia Wells!
The happiest of days to the wonderful Chef / Cookbook Author Patricia Wells, who turns 80 years old today! Alex and I took this photo at Patricia’s Provence home – we were celebrating our wedding anniversary, and we took one of her incredible week-long cooking classes!
Patricia and Walter own a home in Vaison-la-Romaine, which they used to open up several weeks a year for cooking classes – here is a look at this classic french home…
We spent 5 days with Patricia, Walter and ten other participants, a terrific group of women who shared our passion for food and adventure. Every day involved cooking, exploring, and sharing our dishes with each other…
Here we are with Patricia, posing in front of the Julia Child’s stove – a gift from Julia:
I posted separately about Julia Child, and it’s interesting to hear Patricia’s stories about her friendship with the legendary Chef and Author – and it’s pretty cool to actually COOK on Julia’s provencal stove…here is a closer look at it:
What is so much fun about the cooking class is that it takes place at their home – which they call Chanteduc – located in the shadow of the french village Vaison la Romaine, near Avignon – here is what Vaison looks like from Chanteduc:
More on Vaison in a moment. Patricia and Walter’s wrote a memoir that is full of stories of the life they have built together in Provence, and when you spend a week cooking with them, you see what a terrifically happy couple they are. Here is Alex getting some instruction from Walter:
And I got instruction from Patricia – she exhibited a TREMENDOUS amount of patience working with me!
Harvest Time!
Another great aspect of the class involves harvesting. Patricia has an amazing garden that provides much of what you will cook with – as Alex found out when she was sent out to harvest eggplants:
Alex needed to pick enough for all of us, which meant she had to really get in there…and I was happy to document the process:
After cooking together, you eat the food in a group setting – a wonderful way to savor the work that went into the meal. Here we all are on the Chanteduc terrace – what a great way to enjoy our food!
Here is a look at the fresh eggplant dish Alex prepared, along with several others in the group, using a variety of fresh vegetables and olive oil…yes, there was enough for everyone!
Another dish we prepared was Langoustines over Quinoa…
What makes the experience so memorable is that Patricia and Walter are fully engaged and enthusiastic about the week – a real celebration of food, wine, travel and cooking…
It was one of our favorite vacations ever, and we learned things that influence our cooking to this day. Check out Patricia’s website for a bunch of great stuff!
And of course, while you are there you have so much fun exploring the provencal countryside!
Welcome To Vaison la Romaine!
When you attend the cooking class, you will want to stay in Vaison la Romaine, which is located less than a half hour from Avignon, the main city in this area of Provence…and you can take the bullet train from Paris to Avignon in under three hours…here is Alex frolicking on the Vaison streets…
Here is how the village describes itself: “Located in the Haut-Vaucluse region, near the main motorway running through the Rhône area and the cities it serves, Vaison-la-Romaine is lucky enough to be situated between the Alps and the Mediterranean.”
“The town lies nestling in lush, fertile countryside and invites you to share in its heritage, celebrations and commercial activities, along with its well-preserved authenticity and lifestyle.”
And boy, that is all true – it is a beautiful, medieval town that we are about to explore together…
This is the view from our hotel room window. There are several small inns located within the old section of town, and outside our back window, you see the ruins of the fortress that once protected this town from outsiders….
The town itself has a more modern section, seen here from our front window – just after an afternoon rain left us a perfect rainbow…
The old town, where we stayed, is a series of classic cobblestone pathways that lead to shops, restaurants, fountains and more….
To celebrate Patricia on this day, here are a few of her recipes I’ve made over the years!
This is a traditional provencal sandwich she made called “bathed bread” AKA the “Pan Bagnat!” Here is the recipe!
I also love Patricia’s recipe for Pistou:
Here is that terrific recipe – perfect for winter!
Patricia also collaborated with the late great Jöel Robuchon, which resulted in the greatest pomme puree of all time – see the recipe here!
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Happy birthday Patricia!
Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food
I remember your wonderful visit! You know my favorite thing about visiting France? Eating outside.