Eat Like a Local
When you travel to France one of the best things is to experience French cuisine like a local. These memories will stay with you for a lifetime. I for one am always amazed at how when I see a photo of a past meal it takes me right back to the remarkable experience I had while visiting Provence. It’s because food has a way of connecting us to those memories; the smells, the colors, the taste – it’s a sensory scrapbook!
When I created Jackdaw Journeys I knew that food would play a major part in each of our tours, whether it’s in a cooking class, a meal, or at the several food markets we visit food plays a starring role.
While in Vieux Nice we experience a guided market tour with cookbook author and fabulous chef Rosa Jackson. She will be your guide in the market and build our meal around the season’s best produce, fruits, fish, poultry, meats, and of course cheese and wine. Then it is back to her kitchen for a cooking course where everyone takes part in preparing a perfect authentic Niçois lunch.
I had the opportunity to talk with Rosa about her background and she shared how her life journey brought her to France and to her love of Provence.
From Canada to France
Rosa grew up in Western Canada in Edmonton, but her family decided to spend a year in Paris when she was a child. She learned to speak French and she was immersed in the culture and the food. It was so different from what she had tasted in Canada and when she returned home, she started experimenting in the kitchen. Her family returned for a second year in France she started to hone her French cooking skills. After university, she worked as a food writer for a newspaper, in Canada. It was only a few years into this job that her heart took her back to France. She gave herself six months to give it a go, and ended up staying almost 30 years!
Taking holidays in Nice, she fell in love with the culture, the colorful atmosphere, and of course the food. Some of the local dishes, the Mediterranean cuisine, the produce, it was all so incredible. She started doing food tours and cooking classes and it very quickly became a year-round business. Rosa now runs Les Petits Farcis and we are delighted to partner with her on our tours.
Try a Recipe at Home
In our last cooking class Rosa shared with us this delicious recipe: Socca and sundried tomato hummus. Try it out in your kitchen, then join us to experience French cuisine like a local, en Provence! You will have many opportunities to experience the sights, smells and tastes of French food, and experience hands on cooking of an authentic French meal in Rosa Jackson’s kitchen.
Email me hello@jackdawjourneys.com or, visit our Itinerary page for upcoming dates and to book your spot!