When we received our itinerary for our trip to Burgundy I almost wept with excitement. We had been booked in for a family cooking lesson, making macarons at the Jeanne D’Arc Cookery School.
The Jeanne D’Arc Cookery School is the brainchild of Noemi Brunet. In fact Jeanne D’Arc is more than a cooking school, it is also an ever so stylish guesthouse situated in the very beautiful Saint-Fargeau, close to all the shops, château and restaurants. For more about the stunning guesthouse, and wow it is beautiful, check out the lovely Ting’s post.
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We all love cooking and I have always wanted to learn how to bake macarons. But we had no idea just how incredible it would be. And that is down to Noemi.
The whole trip was a holiday of a lifetime; we experienced so many one-off experiences. Met so many wonderful people. It is hard to quantify exactly what our favourite experience of the week was. Yet we were all in awe of Noemi, she is the most humble, natural person I have ever met. And incredibly she lives in a château! But you would have never have known. She has that French air of elegance and beauty about her that made us all feel so at ease.
This was not any cooking lesson, Noemi had learnt to make macarons from a master,  Pierre Hermé. As we arrived we all chatted over coffee, whilst Noemi explained how the afternoon would work and split us into 2 teams. Noemi had translated the recipes into English for us, and explained each part of the process.
Chris and Jack made ganache whilst Joe and I made the macarons. One day I will  recreate the recipe, but for those that just can’t get macarons right, it is all in the temperatures and proving time. It has to be exact, and you must have a thermometer to get the temperature perfect.
There is something incredible about Jeanne D’Arc Cookery School. It is not necessarily the first thing you would think to book when on holiday in Burgundy. But if you are planning a trip to the region, where better to learn to make macarons than in a beautiful Gite in France, in the kitchen of the house where Jeanne Of Arc once lived? It gives me goose bumps just thinking of it.
We spent the most wonderful afternoon baking.  The boys concentrating harder than I though possible, both so committed to getting the recipe right.  We chatted about life living in one of the most beautiful villages in France, and also living in a Chateau.
Whilst the macarons were proving Noemi gave us a private tour of Chateau de Saint Fargeau, where we got to see a little of life behind the scenes, before returning to bake, finish and then devour the delicious macarons. We then packaged up the remaining macarons to take for desert and said our goodbyes to Noemi.
If you have stumbled across my page wondering whether to book a cooking lesson at Jeanne D’Arc Cookery School? Then all I can tell you is this is one of the memorable things I have ever done. It was almost overwhelming. Yes, it was a simple afternoon, maybe it was the historical weight behind the location, the fact we all felt so at ease with Noemi, seeing the Chateau through her eyes? I can’t put my finger on exactly what it was, all I can say is it is a day I will never ever forget. And sometimes the simple things in life are the most precious.
I think this is one of the most wonderful things you did – well for me anyway. I would love to do a family cookery lesson with my three. They would love it! Love the licking the fingers too!
Karen it was all wonderful, but yes I agree it was just such a wonderful day, I just know you would all love Noemi x
I would love to do this. Our Ellie is 21 in October and I have been looking at having a cookery lesson in Sorrento. The boys look as though they really enjoyed it too . Fabulous pictures Sarah, the kitchen looks amazing. A real #mycapturedmoment xx
Lisa I would thoroughly recumbent it, we all loved the whole experience and you would LOVE Saint Fargeau x
What beautiful photographs. I would love to learn how to make macarons – although I have to say I always think they are going to taste better than they actually do! #MyCapturedMoment
Victoria they tasted incredible, although I do love Macarons xx
What a fantastic idea!! I would love to do something like this and to do it in France really is amazing. I’ve never tried macaroons as they always look so hard but doing it in that setting would make all the difference. So nice to see your boys getting stuck in! xx
Hayley they felt so easy with the help of an expert, I am going to try them out soon myself so fingers s x
Wow absolutely loved your post. Those photos look like they are straight from a glossy magazine and although I’m not one to eat those delicacies you’ve got my mouth watering. #mycapturedmoment
Ah thanks Helena xx I just loved the whole experience it was incredible and they tasted amazing x
This looks incredible! We were debating whether or not to book a cooking class while we’re in Madeira next month, but I think this has just made up my mind 🙂 xx
Oh Suzanne go for it I can honestly say it was an incredible experience and something I would love to do again x
What a fantastic idea to get the whole family involved. If only more places in the UK would offer family cookery lessons, I would definitely be there. Love the picture of Jack licking the spoon. I don’t think I have ever eaten a macaroon let alone made one. Fab pictures as always x
Tracey they are divine, I love them, and it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon x
This looks so absolutely perfect! And I take it you got to eat them all afterwards? Divine! I love your photography, and I love that your boys are so into the experience. #MyCapturedMoment
The boys loved it, they do like baking though and are quite good in the kitchen but they tasted incredible too so we were all just a little proud x
Hi Sarah, what a wonderful experience your afternoon must have been, and how engrossed your boys look! The history of the Gite must have added to the whole experience too, making it much more of an experience than it would have been making them in a modern day kitchen and a cookery school.
Fab photos as always.
xx
Debbie you are right it was the whole thing, Noemi, the gorgeous gite, the history it was just incredible x
Ah Sarah what an absolutely amazing experience!! And something completely different for you and the boys to do together. Aren’t we lucky that we get these fantastic opportunities?
Also, you pictures are fab and so vibrant. I love them!
Thank you so much for linking up with #MyCapturedMoment xx
Ah thanks Heledd I know we are so so lucky, all these wonderful experiences and people x