Perfectly Provence-ial
By Sarah Baicker
Photos by Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley
Karen Mitcham-Stoeckley, executive chef of the Eagle’s Nest restaurant in Louisiana, Mo., is a Francophile—she loves French people, French landscapes and especially French food. That led her to create The Provence Experience in France, which she describes as part bed-and-breakfast vacation, part cooking school and part group tour.
“Time and again, research shows that one of the biggest gripes people have about tours is being paired up with people who just aren’t their style,” says Mitcham-Stoeckley. “Strangers who might go to bed way too early, for instance, or drink too much.”
So she started The Provence Experience for groups who already know each other—families, friends, business associates—and who want to experience the food and culture of France firsthand.
The weeklong Provence Experience begins on a Sunday afternoon. Staff members pick the group up from a nearby airport or train station and whisk them away to Maussane-les-Alpilles. There, they stay in a 17th-century millhouse, Moulin de Greoux, and begin each day with a traditional French breakfast. This is followed by a trip to a local market, farm or winery, where guests shop for ingredients for that evening’s class. Guests tackle a new recipe each day and create the very meal that they’ll enjoy later.
Up to 20 people can attend the program, but only eight to 10 can participate in the cooking classes. Mitcham-Stoeckley admits that it’s a small number but stands firm, insisting that this works best for everyone, especially for couples where one partner wants to cook and the other to relax. The residence is located at the foot of the Alpilles mountains, near historic French and Roman villages, world-class golf courses and boules ball courts; non-cookers are free to enjoy these nearby attractions or the mill’s fabulous pool.
Mitcham-Stoeckley and Patricia Bachrach, an expatriate who has lived in Provence for more than 16 years, are the primary instructors. The program also hosts a number of guest instructors, such as Philippe Theme and Jean-Pierre Novi, classically-trained chefs from nearby restaurant Riboto de Taven. At week’s end, class members receive a binder full of recipes they’ve created and tasted during their week in France, all easily replicated here in the United States.
“When you return home,” says Mitcham-Stoeckley, “you don’t just have these great memories to reminisce about, but you’ve also got some great recipes—even menus—for entertaining friends.”
So far, Mitcham-Stoeckley has booked three groups and is already reserving spaces for 2007. Though Provence Experience weeks are limited to April through June and September through early November, exact dates are up to the groups themselves; Mitcham-Stoeckley estimates that they’ll host about six groups each year.
For more information, including pricing, visit www.theeaglesnest-louisiana.com
