Taste Unlocked: Food & Thought

Published by Tuesday, June 26, 2018 Permalink 1
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Taste Unlocked: Food & Thought

France and Italy’s relationship through time, wine & food

PROGRAM FOR 4-DAY MASTERCLASS TASTING WEEKEND IN CHARTRES

with Jonell Galloway and James Flewellen

4th to 7th October 2018
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Course Overview

FRANCE AND ITALY ARE TITANS OF EUROPEAN culinary culture. The nations of today are inheritors of rich culinary traditions that are the result of millennia of interweaving relationships between the peoples who inhabit these lands. This is a process that predates even the Romans and continues very much into the 21st century.

Over this four-day weekend, we explore the culinary and vinous relationships between France and Italy from Roman times through to today. We will look at what each nation has gifted the other through various lenses, including food, drink and culinary culture.

The masterclass involves sumptuous feasting, tutored wine tastings, and intellectual discussion. Bring your taste buds, something to say and a willingness to learn!

 


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DR JAMES FLEWELLEN is a biophysicist, wine writer and educator based in London. He learned his trade in taste during his doctoral studies at Oxford University, leading the university’s blind tasting team to victories in numerous international competitions. Since then he has completed his WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine and Spirits and written a Gourmand award-winning guide to blind tasting. He is a judge for the International Wine Challenge and gives regular wine education tastings in London, bringing his scientific expertise to bear on questions of high taste.

JONELL GALLOWAY grew up on Wendell Berry and food straight from a backyard Kentucky garden. She attended Le Cordon Bleu and La Varenne cooking schools in Paris as well as the Academie du Vin. She ran a cooking school in France, and owned a farm-to-table restaurant, The Three Sisters’ Café, with her two sisters in the U.S. Jonell is a freelance writer who has worked for the GaultMillau guides The Best of France and The Best of Paris and CityGuides, amongst others. She has collaborated on many projects including Le tour du monde en 80 pains with Jean-Philippe de Tonnac in France, At the Table: Food and Family around the World with Ken Albala, Ma Cuisine Méditerranéenne with Christophe Certain, and André Raboud: Sculptures 2002-2008.


Contact Details

The course takes place in the Rue Saint-Pierre, Chartres, France, in a beautiful converted 11th-century chapel.

This map shows the masterclass venue in relation to central Chartres. Note the cathedral in the top of the map. The train station is just off the map, to the top left. The venue is located at a curve in the road, has a small courtyard in the front and a turret.

Chartres is easily accessible from Paris by train. There is also plenty of car parking in the city center. For further details on how to travel, please get in touch.

Our email address is: info@tasteunlocked.com.
Feel free to contact us for any reason.

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Course Schedule

DAY 1 – Thursday
ARRIVAL afternoon / evening

Arrival into Chartres
Please let us know if you would like to be met at the station and shown to your accommodation.

6:30 PM COCKTAIL
We meet at 1 Rue Saint-Pierre over a local Loire sparkling wine for an informal introduction to the weekend ahead.

7:30 PM DINNER
A home-cooked meal prepared using local ingredients and heritage Beauce recipes. Each course is paired with wine sourced from the Loire Valley. After dinner, the evening is free for a walk to see the medieval city center and the light displays of the cathedral.

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DAY 2 – Friday

11:00 AM – 12:15 PM CULINARY INSIGHTS 1: La Cucina Povera
Meet at 1 Rue Saint-Pierre for our first culinary insights discussion of the weekend. In this session, Jonell will lead an exploration into the culinary links between France and Italy, focusing in particular on how frugality has inspired innovation in food production and cooking. All guests are invited to contribute to the discussion if they wish.

12:30 PM INTRODUCTION TO WINE TASTING
James presents an informal introduction to wine tasting, paving the way for the skills we’ll need to taste and discuss wines over lunch. We’ll discuss aromas, flavors and structural elements such as acidity, alcohol, sugar, and tannin as well as covering what makes a “good” wine and how wines interact with food.

1:15 PM LUNCH
We continue our discussions over a meal paired with wines from around France.

2:30 PM FREE TIME

7:45 PM DINNER AT 1 RUE SAINT-PIERRE
Meet at 7.45 pm for dinner at 8:00 pm. Jonell will prepare a home-cooked meal bringing to mouth-watering fullness our theoretical discussions from throughout the day. James will select wines to match with each course, further illustrating the interplay between wine and food.

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DAY 3 – Saturday
Morning FREE TIME / GUIDED MARKET VISIT
The morning is free for you to enjoy Chartres. You are very welcome to join Jonell for a guided tour of the market as she sources ingredients for the weekend’s meals.

12:00 PM GUIDED TOUR OF CHARTRES CATHEDRAL
We meet at La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres – one of the medieval wonders of the world – for a guided tour conducted by Malcolm Miller. Malcolm has been leading tours at Chartres Cathedral since 1958; there really can be no better guide to this astonishing building.

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM LUNCH
We return to 1 Rue Saint-Pierre for a light lunch

2:30 PM FREE TIME

5:45 – 7:45 PM WINE TASTING & CULINARY INSIGHTS 2: Franco-Italian links via wine

Convene at 1 Rue Saint-Pierre by 5.30 pm. James leads a discussion on the relationships between France and Italy through wine. We’ll look at historical influences of different French and Italian peoples on winemaking technology and traditions as well as how France and Italy influence each other in the 21st century. All accompanied by a tutored wine tasting!

8:00 PM DINNER AT RESTAURANT SAINT-HILAIRE
At 7.45 pm we walk down to noted local foodie establishment Restaurant Saint-Hilaire. There we will be treated to a three-course set menu of classic, innovative French cuisine using only local products, with each course paired with Loire Valley wines – the perfect setting to continue our wine tasting discussions.

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DAY 4 – Sunday
Morning FREE TIME

12:00 PM LUNCH AT 1 RUE SAINT-PIERRE

1:30 – 2:30 PM CULINARY INSIGHTS 3: La Cucina Moderna
Following lunch, Jonell leads our final session of the masterclass, focusing on how the cuisines of both France and Italy have evolved and influenced each other in the 20th and 21st centuries – particularly as technology and the politics of a post-WW2 Europe have led to greater affluence and global influence of these two great nations.

The afternoon is available fortravelingg onwards, or for exploring Chartres in more detail.

PRICE

€945, including meals

Early booking price of €855 if (non-refundable) deposit of €300 if paid by August 7th.

Otherwise, deposit is due by August 30th.

Remainder due by September 21st. We can also take installments if needs be.

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