Cook
in
France
Jim Fisher (chef/owner)
Tel: 0033 (0)553 302405 Bombel, 24290, St Amand de Coly, Sarlat, Dordogne, France (GPS: N45° 01.915/E001° 15.295)
Tel: 0033 (0)553 302405 Bombel, 24290, St Amand de Coly, Sarlat, Dordogne, France (GPS: N45° 01.915/E001° 15.295)
About Us
Jim Fisher is an English chef and jointly runs Cookinfrance with Lucy, his wife of 22 years. Jenny, their fifteen year old daughter ("I'm nearly sixteen!"), goes to the renowned College of Catering and Hotellery at nearby Souillac.
They live in a converted barn in the rolling Dordogne countryside with Crookshanks, their tabby cat.
Jim tells their story...
Eight years ago I had a secure job, a modern house on a safe street in a nice provincial English town and my eight year old daughter went to a progressive school. I lived the quintessential cosy suburban life. So comfortable was this life that I actually couldn't wait to get out because, for me, it wasn't really a life at all: it was dull existence.
Jim Fisher was a self-taught chef before reaching the semi-final of BBC Masterchef..
So, I did what most men do at the approach of the big "four-oh!" - I looked around for something new and challenging. Holding down a very secure and responsible job for the last seventeen years left me feeling somewhat exposed by the prospect of finding a new one, but I did have a card up my sleeve: I had become a self-taught chef.
Needing some gauge as to my competence in the kitchen, however, gave me the idea of entering the BBC Masterchef competition. One of the judges was personal hero Rick Stein who's first comment on seeing and tasting my winning dish was nothing other than, "Wow!"
Fresh from Masterchef, I went on to win the £5,000 1st prize in the Rick Stein/Radio Times sea fish cookery competition with an original dish.
Building on experience...
As a consequence of all this, I was invited to work under the popular TV chef at his Seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, where I learnt many aspects of the restaurant trade. Cooking for 120 covers every lunch time, with even more in the evening, certainly honed my cooking skills leaving me hungry for more.
A stint in the London kitchens of another TV chef, Alastair Little, extended my expertise. Here, I learned the benefits of cooking great food in a simple way - Alistair Little's own raison d'être.
I subsequently appeared on the BBC Food and Drink programme working alongside chef Tony Tobin of Ready Steady Cook fame, cooking for 150 guests at a charity dinner.
A growing desire to travel...
Now confident in my cooking we set up Wine&Dine, a successful enterprise specialising in cooking dinner parties for people in the comfort of their own home. In partnership with wine expert and former wine-buyer for Sainsbury's, Julia Jenkins, I planned, prepared and cooked the meal, demonstrating the various courses. Julia selected and presented wines to go with each course.
Meals were based on my love of traditional regional dishes, not only from British shores, but also the Mediterranean and Pacific Rim.
Though hugely successful, Wine&Dine eventually took second place to our growing desire to travel with a view to setting up a cookery school. We sold our home, then, armed only with a one-way ferry ticket, scoured Europe in search of a suitable venue for our cooking holidays.
Come and join us...
Eight years later, and now the proud owners of a converted 17th Century farm set amid the rolling countryside of the Dordogne, we invite you to come and learn to cook some great dishes and immerse yourself, for a while at least, in our little corner of rural France.
Prices
Prices start at just £120/175€ per person.
You can choose from our flexible range of one-day, two-day or three-day cooking courses, or come for our great value five-day/six-night cooking holiday.
You can choose from our flexible range of one-day, two-day or three-day cooking courses, or come for our great value five-day/six-night cooking holiday.
Courses and holidays can be residential or non-residential - it's your choice. Non-cooking friends/partners welcome.
A cooking holiday can be cheaper than you think - find out how much our great value cooking holidays actually cost - you'll be pleasantly surprised!
