The trifecta of a French experience, in my mind, includes the countryside, the food and wine. But when you add a touch of Julia Child, even just the soil she once walked on, the sights she saw from her Provence home, La Peetch, the French experience surpasses even my wildest dreams.

A couple of years ago (2015), the Provençal abode that Julia and Paul Child built in 1965 and made their home on the property of Simone Beck and her husband’s land went up for sale. Quickly purchased and placed on Airbnb for vacationers and lovers of all-things Julia Child in May of 2016 to enjoy (albeit at a hefty price for one night – currently at upwards of $600), the owners are now offering a 5-day cooking school – titled The Courage Cooking School. As it states in the above image, the goal is for the vacationing cooks who will live, cook and dine at La Peetch, to walk away with the skills to cook without the need for recipes. In their words,

To teach ANYONE, and yes we mean ANYONE to cook from the hip, meaning from intuition and joy (rather than following a recipe). It is country French cooking in a country setting, and all sessions take place in the famous kitchen. And OF COURSE our menu is classic French, and inspired by the food of the times when this house was occupied by culinary greats.

Classes are offered from February to June and September to November (6 people each week), and while the 2018 classes are full, there is still space avaialble for your trip to France in 2019.

The new owner of the property Makenna Held (who purchased the property sight unseen), currently studying cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, shares in her interview with Food & Wine, that while there is much inspiration drawn from Julia’s love of Provence and the home she enjoyed until 1992, students will not be cooking from her well known cookbooks.

With a full price tag of just under $4000 for the full week experience (including accommodations), while there are many cooking schools offered throughout the French countryside and in Paris, perhaps this approach and destination is something you will want to remember as you make future plans for travels to France.

Learn more about attending The Courageous Cooking School or simply renting La Peetch here. And enjoy a tour of La Pitchoune (La Peetch) below (view all of the images from the vacation rental here).

~View more FRENCH-INSPIRED posts from TSLL’s Archives and below:

~Putting on the Ritz: Cooking Classes at the Ritz Paris

~Where to Stay in France While Traveling: A Variety of Luxurious Options

~2017 TSLL French Week Round-Up

All images of La Peetch vacation rental via Airbnb