French cuisine is famous for its silky sauces, delicate pastries and unapologetically buttery classics — which is precisely what makes it such an exciting cuisine to recreate with plant-based ingredients. In this Vegan French Cookery Course in southwest France, you’ll learn how to prepare elegant French dishes without meat, dairy or eggs while still achieving the richness, depth of flavour and finesse that define great French cooking.

But this course is about far more than simply veganising a few French recipes. French cuisine is built on technique — how flavours are layered, how sauces develop complexity, how ingredients are treated to coax out their best qualities. Once you understand these foundations, something interesting happens: you don’t just learn to cook French food. You become a much better cook overall.

Some classic dishes veganise easily with a few clever substitutions; others require a deeper understanding of flavour and structure. By learning how French cooking builds richness without relying heavily on spices, you’ll develop skills that transform the way you cook vegetables, sauces and plant-based dishes in any cuisine. Many students find that once they understand how to veganise French cuisine, adapting recipes from around the world suddenly becomes much easier.

Group size is small, typically 4, maximum 6, so you’ll get plenty of individual attention. Workshops take place in my kitchen, my workspace and the centre of my foodie world which our guests always appreciate. We’ve had air conditioning installed, so you don’t have to worry about summer heat.

You’ll make on average 6 dishes per day which will include:

• Pastry dishes such as Vegetable Quiche, Pissadeliere (A cross between a pie and a pizza)
• Savoury dishes such as Galettes (buckwheat pancakes), Chestnut & Mushroom Bourguignon, a variety of Pâtés, vegetable gratins, French Onion Soup with a very cheesy crouton and the classic southern snack of Panisse
• Side dishes such as Cheesy Croquettes, Baked Green Beans & Petit Pois, Gratin Dauphinoise and Petit Pois a la Française
• Classic desserts such as Chocolate Mousse, Crème brûlée, chocolate tart, and sumptious Gateaux.
• Vegan cheese.  Well, we are in France after all!

This cooking holiday will be all about using the freshest, locally sourced ingredients.  That means of course that we may need to alter some of the dishes we cook in order to take advantage of what’s available.

This course can be booked with or without accommodation.  Often we don’t have enough rooms to accommodate everyone, so we’ve teamed up with an excellent local b&b a very short walk away which means that everyone who wants a room can have one.  All our rooms are single occupancy with en suite bathrooms unless you book with someone you want to share with.  You are welcome to share your room with someone who isn’t doing the course, and they are welcome to join us each day for a light breakfast.  However if they want other meals, there’s a supplement to pay at the time of booking of €250 .  There is no supplement for people doing the course.  There’s more detail on our accommodation page, but if anything isn’t clear, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you like the sound of this holiday but the dates don’t work for you, we may be able to run it at other times, especially if you’re a group. Get in touch to start a conversation

Included

• 5 nights accommodation at Le Cheval Blanc (for residential bookings)
• 4 days of cookery workshops in our air conditioned kitchen
• All Meals (We provide a simple meal on the first evening, a light breakfast every morning, lunch forms part of the workshops and you’re welcome to eat what you’ve made for dinner)
• Transfer to/from local railway stations (Caussade (Tarn et Garonne) or Lexos)

Not Included

• Airport transfers, although these can be arranged at extra cost. We can also tell you how to get here by train from the airport.
• Additional activities during free time
• Alcohol in addition to what is provided with the meals

Please note that this holiday is normally non refundable, so we strongly suggest you take out holiday insurance at the time of booking. However we are happy to transfer your booking to someone else at no charge. Full terms and conditions are here.