Paint
in
France
A relaxed painting and drawing holiday in the Dordogne, France
Bombel. 24290, St Amand de Coly, Dordogne, France     |    GPS: N45° 01.915 / E 001° 15.295     |    Tel: 0033 (0)553 302405

The Chef on your Painting and Cooking Holiday in France

While one of you is painting, the other can learn to cook all that France has to offer with our experienced English chef, Jim Fisher.

He will guide and encourage you as you discover skills you never even knew you had. 

Here's a bit about him...

Jim remembers very clearly the moment he became interested in food: he was three years old, in a cake shop, and in the process of falling completely in love with a pure white birthday cake. But it wasn't just any cake: it was his birthday cake.

It looked so beautiful sitting there, covered in pure white icing with a cherry on top. It glistened and it called to him, and he wanted to marry it. Involuntarily, a finger reached out and disappeared into the soft white flank. Jim didn't want to taste the cake - that would have spoiled the surprise: it was the texture he needed to experience, and it felt exactly as he imagined it would!

Fortunately, the telling-off he received didn't diminish the growing ardour placed in him by that siren of a confection. Since then, Jim has become fascinated with food and cooking.

Watch with Mother...

Eyeball to worktop, he watched his Mother make all manner of tasty things. "Mum wasn't a particularly fantastic cook, and had to cater very unpretentiously for my Dad, who is one of those people who just eats to live. But she was very prolific and never lost her enthusiasm for food. Forever experimenting, she pushed out some highly memorable dishes over the years".

BBC Masterchef...

Now grown up, Jim's first job was as bar manager at the White Hart Hotel in Exeter. When the chef unexpectedly went sick, Jim readily stepped in and was soon at home cooking in the cramped kitchens.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to last and he took a long-term job unconnected with food, but Cooking, as a vocation, was calling to him...

By now, he had no idea if he could 'cut it' on the modern food scene, which is why he applied to go on the BBC's Masterchef, "I had absolutely no idea if I was any good or not, and the prospect terrified me, but I needed to get some tips from the pros".

A "Wow!" from Rick Stein...

One of his judges was personal hero Rick Stein, who's first comment on seeing and tasting Jim's winning dish was nothing other than, "Wow!". Jim was to meet his champion again when he went on to win the £5,000 first prize on the Rick Stein / Radio Times seafish cookery competition with his own original dish.

As a consequence, Jim was invited to work under the popular TV chef at his Seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, where he learnt many aspects of the restaurant trade. Cooking for one hundred and twenty covers every lunch time, with even more in the evening, honed Jim's cooking skills leaving him hungry for more.

Chef, Alastair Little...

A stint in the London kitchens of another TV chef, Alastair Little, extended Jim's expertise. Here, he learned the benefits of cooking great food in a simple way - Alistair Little 's own raison d'être.

BBC Food & Drink...

Jim subsequently appeared on the BBC Food and Drink programme working alongside chef Tony Tobin of Ready Steady Cook fame, cooking for one hundred and fifty guests at a charity dinner.

Now confident in his cooking, he grasped the nettle with both hands and promptly left his regular job, "To leave was like being sent into the wilderness naked".

Gourmet dining experience...

Jim 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 marketing director of Sainsbury's, Julia Jenkins, he planned, prepared and cooked the meal, demonstrating the various courses. Julia selected and presented wines to go with each course.

Meals were based on Jim's love of traditional regional dishes, not only from British shores, but also the Mediterranean and what has now become known as the 'Pacific Rim'. "Though hugely popular, Wine&Dine eventually took second place to my growing desire to travel with a view to setting up a cookery school. We sold our home, bought a caravan and a one-way ferry ticket, and scoured Europe for a suitable venue".

C'est la Vie...

Six years later, Jim and his family now run relaxed friendly hands-on cooking holidays from their magnificent converted barn in the Dordogne region of SW France. "I really do pinch myself every day. My life here is so full. The most amazing people from all over the world come on our cooking holidays.  The area we live in is peaceful and uncrowded, and life here is conducted at such a graceful pace. Don't get me wrong: I do miss some aspects of living in Britain - well, pubs, mostly - but, I wouldn't swap it for the world. Would I go back? Not on your Nelly!"

Speak to Jim Fisher about any aspect of your cooking and painting holiday in France on Tel: 0033 (0)553 302405, or email him for an online chat.

Painting holiday in France - your tutor, Gill Mitchell