Cook & Eat

Welcome to L’Art de Bien Manger

L’Art de Bien Manger, that’s not just cooking but after all the spirit that goes along with it.

L’Art de Bien Manger culinary retreats and private events celebrating the art of French cooking and feasting.

Experience French country life with its local traditions and dive into historic recipes, all in a unique setting, an 11th century chateau on the banks of the Saône river.

Private Events

Upcoming culinary retreats:

Le Chateau
70360 Chemilly Haute Saône
France

cook@lespoissonchats.com

Do it with grace, eat it with taste.

Cooking Nostalgia at the Chateau

Escape to the heart of the French countryside for an unforgettable culinary experience. Hosted in a charming small castle, our retreats and private events are designed for intimate groups of up to 8 participants — ensuring a personal and immersive experience.

Book a Culinary Retreat

Join for three days of cooking and feasting at the castle. Discover historic recipes, cook with seasonal local produce, and dine like royalty in a setting steeped in history and charm.

Private Bespoke Events

Prefer something tailor-made? Privatise the castle for your own exclusive culinary gathering. Whether it’s a celebration or simply a desire to indulge, we’ll craft a bespoke experience around your tastes — from cooking and feasting to exploring local arts, antiques, fine wines, and eau de vie.

Retreats

Bespoke Private Events

A rare and refined escape for lovers of food, culture, and the French art de vivre.

The Vibe

Sharing food traditions is at the heart of my culinary retreats.
Above all, my goal is to make your stay a truly wonderful and memorable experience. If you happen to improve your cooking skills along the way — tant mieux! (all the better).

My approach to cooking is joyful and playful. This isn’t a competition of pros with tweezers in a lab kitchen — we’re creating a genuine art de vivre here. We cook and learn with all our senses, immersed in the beauty of the moment.

And if you’re more of the eating-and-drinking kind, here to savour the results rather than dive into the process — you are most warmly welcome too.

exploring French seasonal dishes,
historic recipes and most of all,
having a really good time together

But most of all, there are stories, intervals of our lives shared, a touch of the soul. That’s the Art.

Philosophy

L’Art de Bien Manger starts with the produce, the love put into growing and tending to the ingredients, the care put into sourcing, the lien between human, work, soil and harvest, resulting in a deliciously sustainable local and seasonal cuisine. L’Art de Bien Manger, this is an ode to the good, true and beautiful, not in its immediate superficial light (though a pretty dress really is of importance), but in a much deeper sense as the expression of how we appreciate ourselves in treating our environment.

It’s setting a beautiful table, lovingly selecting the best linen and porcelain, flowers, glowing in the soft and charming light of candles. It’s animated discussions, tales whispered over the fireplace, laughter in the garden. It’s finding our own beauty to mirror the beauty of what surrounds us.

L’Art de Bien Manger, this isn’t a goal but the way to take you there, the quintessence in the alchemy of cooking. And this is what we nurture during my retreats. There is cooking, lots of it, and wine, and champagne. French dishes and dishes from where I come from and new breeds. There’s food history and the history of feasting, there’s splendid tables and starry dishes. But most of all, there are stories, intervals of our lives shared, a touch of the soul. That’s the Art. 

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  • 2023 Culinary Retreats at the Chateau

    And here we go! One-day Retreat on Saturday 9 September 2023 Four-days retreat from Thursday afternoon 14 September to Sunday morning 17 September 2023 It is a long story. Full of anticipation. Of heartbreak and the “coup de foudre”. Of going forward because forward usually is the only direction left. It’s a long story for…

  • Marrons Glacés

    Quiet November days, the air is clear and glassy, cutting my breath when I go outside in the morning to open the gate. I made marrons glacés this week, that’s chestnuts cooked in sugar syrup and of course it’s got rum in it too. They’re a little treat and I eat them with my mocca…

  • Another Autumn at the Castle

    And so autumn has come. I hear the wind rustling through the foliage outside as I write, it may grow and become fierce and fiery over the next days. The garden sits still, ready for the cold months to come, with big heaps of branches and leaves for the little animals to crawl into and…

  • A Classic Tarte Tatin

    I do make various kinds of tarte tatin with my guests over the summer, salty versions mostly, because it’s such a French classic. Apples around here are usually just coming in season when we close the castle for guests, so in summer I use tomatoes, or eggplant or courgettes. Merci Sue Neuenschwander for the most…

L’Art de Bien Manger

Hosting bespoke culinary retreats in France

Location

Le Chateau
70360 Chemilly Haute Saône
France

Booking

+33 615 67 92 58
booking@lespoissonchats.com