For the really, truly dedicated amateur chef, l'École des Chefs
Relais Gourmands is the ultimate culinary learning experience!

L’Ecole Des Chefs Relais Gourmands is more of a one-on-one cooking program than a cooking school despite the "école" in the name. It is an innovative internship program that allows a single (or occasionally a couple) to work side by side with one of many of the world's greatest chefs who have opened their professional kitchens to amateur cooks with a desire to learn and a true passion for fine food. We followed Leonard Homer, a 20 year veteran amateur chef from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, through his internship with world famous chef Jean-Andre Charial and owner of 2 Michelin Star restaurant and hotel Oustau de la Baumaniere in Les Baux-en-Provence, France.

l'École des Chefs Logo and intern name embroidered on the "whites" provided each student Photo +.		Intern Len Homer with his wife Betsy outside the charming Provençal Mas that is one of the annexes of Oustau de la Baumaniere in Les Baux-en-Provence. Intern Len Homer with the "Foie Gras" dish he prepared (see close up photo below).
Len receiving applause from Master Chef of the Ousteau de la Baumaniere kitchens for a very successful "Foie Gras Flip".
Click photos with light blue borders to see larger version.
© 2002 photos Peter D'Aprix

A rare and unusual experience awaits for those fortunate enough to attend a L’Ecole Des Chefs Relais Gourmands program with any of the participating chefs. W e have written announcing the program before but have now experienced it first hand. Jean-Andre Charial, the wonderful two star chef at Oustau was an excellent choice for Leonard Homer. He is an amateur chef whose passion has led him, with his wife in tow, to purchase an apartment around the corner from the main produce mart in Baltimore and, with the same object in mind, an apartment in Paris just around the corner from the oldest and best street market (Rue Mouffetard) in that city. He is a member of an intense food club in Baltimore where each member takes it in turn to prepare a full dinner for the rest of the membership on a regular rotation. He has already taken many fine cooking schools classes such as a class with Jacques Pepin, one with Ann Willen, attended the La Varone cooking school and others. But he said this experience with Jean-Andre Charial has taken his culinary education to a whole new level.

Wife Betsy told us that she can never give him a gift, because anything he ever needs he gets for himself long before she can buy it for him far less save it for a birthday or Christmas. But when she heard about this program, for the first time was able to get him something before he even knew about it himself. The intern and wife and even family all stay at the hotel. While the chef of the family finds nirvana in the kitchens, the rest of the entourage can play, sleep, shop, tour, ride horses, swim, bake in the Provençal sunshine, go to the beach, have massage and beauty treatments in their rooms, take fabulous hikes, whatever strikes their fancy.

Len and Betsy arrived a few days early before the start of the program expecting to just kick back and enjoy this fabulous spot. They did not realize if was French Mother's Day, a time when every restaurant in France is filled to capacity and the kitchen is expected to serve the entire seating capacity with at least a five course luncheon meal all at the same moment! Chef Charial thought it might be interesting for Len to see what kind of organized chaos this caused in a professional kitchen. Len was ecstatic! While the Oustau de la Baumaniere kitchens are excellent, they are due for renovation in the winter of 2002 and are not as spacious as they will be, so Len had to find a niche to witness the process.

He found the staff to be warm and welcoming despite the craziness. Chef Charial speaks English fluently but since he runs both the kitchen and the hotel, he is not always available, but several of the young chefs, some from the USA, all pitched in and helped translate. Alain Burnel, Master Chef, spoke enough English that with visual demonstrations the learning proceeded quickly. His first night, Len assisted with the preparations for his own dinner, then ran out to his table, whipped off his whites and joined his wife to enjoy his hard work!

Len told us what he really loved about the program was the flexibility. He did not need to learn the basics. He can chop, julienne and sauté with the best of them. But with this program, especially with the relaxed affability of Chef Charial, he could personally fill in the gaps in his own technique by assisting where ever he felt the need.

At Oustau he was able to observe one of the chefs developing a recipe for the new menu, help create a stuffing for a duck and help create a vegetable dish as well as picking up hundreds of tips, short cuts, new products and techniques. We personally tasted the duck with honey sauce and a lemon-olive confit that Len had worked on and found it delicious. He also feels that all of his friends would find this unusual one-on-one approach to learning new techniques invaluable. Chef Charial even took Len and Betsy for an olive oil tasting tour of a couple of the finest producers in Provence. Chef Charial has been welcoming passionate amateur chefs into his kitchens for the last 15 years. The L’Ecole Des Chefs program is an easy fit for him. He likes to make his kitchens an international experience. But not all chefs in France can do this although most of the top kitchens have professional "trainee chefs" from all around the world. So an intern of this culinary program must choose carefully if language is a problem. But there are many participating chefs in the US and if you speak French even to a limited degree, most of the communication is visual. This is also a program for those who are advance amateurs, not for beginners.

The nice thing about L’Ecole Des Chefs Relais Gourmands is that there are many choices of fine participating chefs in so many countries. In total, the experience for Len was a great success and took him into new and exciting areas. In his own words, "This experienced lived up to all my expectations, but I also took the bull by the horns and actually developed my own program. I singed up for 2 days and they were so relaxed here that I actually spanned 4!". (We must note that such a flexible time frame probably will not be a typical experience. Every chef will be different).

Internships are individual or can be shared with a friend or spouse, but no more than two people. Programs are offered year round and scheduled based on the availability of the chef. Two and five day programs run from $1,250 to $2,250 USD per person. Restaurants extend special discounts for interns that wish to dine in the restaurant during their internship. Relais Gourmands that have the double distinction of Relais & Châteaux with guest rooms offer preferential rates for accommodation.

Internships are available in the following countries: In Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland; in the USA: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Virginia; and in the rest of the world in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Japan and South Africa.
Just be aware that not all French chefs speak English although many have young chefs that do.

For a full coverage of Oustau de la Baumaniere the hotel click here
For a full coverage of Oustau de la Baumaniere the restaurant click here

To order a brochure please call toll free: "L'École des Chefs Relais Gourmands", 1-(877) 334-6464
or
visit the web site at http://www.ecoledeschefs.com .
The culinary program is part of the Relais & Châteaux Group of hotels and restaurants.

For a link to the Relais & Châteaux Group of hotels and restaurants own site, click on the button left.