JUST THE FACTS
Louviers, France–The sophistication and glitz of Paris abruptly shift to the sleepy and rustic when we arrive at this Norman town.
We get dumped at the almost empty train station of Val de Reuil to travel to Louviers. Even our hotel is deserted. When we arrive, the front door is open with our room keys on a tray for anyone to take.
What made us leave the glamour of Paris for this one-horse town? Food. But not just any food: a gourmet meal that will outshine anything we've eaten in Paris.
American cookbook author Susan Herrmann Loomis, famous for her autobiography On Rue Tatin, is welcoming us into her home where she'll make us and nine other guests a meal as tantalizing as the ones found in the book which tells of her life as a transplanted American in a small French village.
Her house at One Rue Tatin is instantly recognizable from the book jacket, complete with iron table and chairs in a cobbled courtyard.
Herrmann Loomis is also teaching seven of her guests a six-day cooking course; we've hitched along for the first night, when Herrmann Loomis hosts the welcome dinner. After that, the class has to cook for themselves.
Appetizers and aperitifs are served in Herrmann Loomis's huge country kitchen.
It's the first time everyone has met, but what could be an awkward situation becomes a pleasant evening of interesting chat and genuine laughter.
And of course, food.
Sampling the variety of amuses bouches around the kitchen island while sipping a lovely white wine from the Cotes de Provence is the perfect icebreaker.
We savour slices of French country stick bread topped with fresh garlic and sea salt or cured goose breast with slivers of fat, and taste cups of frothy garlic soup.
These appetizers are delicious country fare. Herrmann Loomis tells us that almost all the ingredients come from within a five-kilometre area.
"You can't get fresher food than this," she says. After the appetizers, she leads us into the dining room, where a huge wooden table is set with dainty china and heavy silver.
Over the main course of braised Guinea hen with citrus, talk turns to American politics, with the tasty meal and lively discourse accompanied by a glass of Beaujolais crus from Chenas.
During the salade du jardin, the discussion moves to health-care horror stories. Who said politics and polite conversation don't mix?
Herrmann Loomis intersperses the dialogue with tips on French cuisine and local customs. She loves to impart her knowledge about cooking and how to shop and choose the best produce.
She says she's "committed to organic," and even more committed to sustainability.
"I want families to farm," she says. "We have to keep families on the farms and it's a political decision on how you spend your food dollars." After a leisurely three-hour feast, we depart with full stomachs, minds – and hands. We have been given folders listing tonight's dishes, as well as select recipes to try at home.
I'm sorry to be leaving these new friends and to be missing out on a great opportunity to learn Herrmann Loomis's culinary skills.
Winifred Thomas, a 63-year-old retiree, emailed me about her experience at the end of the week: "Herrmann Loomis is not only a wonderful cook but a very good and patient teacher. She is anxious and willing to share everything she knows, is delighted by our triumphs and amazingly understanding when things don't go so well. She has little control over is the dynamics of the random group that literally appears at her doorstep. We all felt lucky that we worked well together and enjoyed each others' company."
Our brief experience cost 100 euros – not cheap even by Paris standards, but worth it.
After all, we got to dine in a private home and eat a meal prepared with the freshest of ingredients by a host whose expertise made the experience the highlight of our travels.
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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
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