Gourmet Food & Wine Tour with Vagabond Gourmet

Beginning of my Provence Journey

I joined my Vagabond Gourmet tour shortly after being picked up at the Avignon train station. Our destination was Oppede, a small village in Provence. I entered our accommodations, Le Petite Miracle, which was more like a compound of sorts, with rooms that were off a main kitchen with indoor and outdoor dining areas. I was greeted by Laura Schmalhorst and her husband Steve, who would be our hosts for the next week. Laura and Steve work the kitchen and the front of the house, respectively. They both traded careers as celebrity caterers for pastoral settings and the best food the regions of France, Italy and numerous other places have to offer. I came to learn that I would want for nothing, and even better, not have to pay for any meals over the next week. If you want to learn more about Laura Schmalhorst's background and her 15 minutes of fame as it involves Mick Jagger, you can check out her website at vagabondgourmet.com.

"If you want to learn more about Laura Schmalhorst's background and her 15 minutes of fame as it involves Mick Jagger, you can check out her website at www.vagabondgourmet.com"

The views from the terrace were of flowers of all varieties, Mont Ventoux and the vineyards just below the hill. Stunning would be an understatement. This was one of those travel experiences that clearly exceeds your expectations. I was off to my room, which was very comfortable and had a private bath. Guests continued to arrive throughout the day and late evening.

First Day on the Vagabond Gourmet Tour

Our first activity of the tour was dinner, which was a feast served on the outdoor terrace along with an endless glass of wine. As soon as our wine glasses were empty, Steve was there to refill them. Steve stocked up on white, rose and red wines from the local vineyards, all of which were excellent. We worked very hard that week to ensure that none would be left behind in the wine cellar. The weather in Provence is perfect for dining outdoors. In the summer months the weather can be warm in the afternoon (mid to high 80’s) but between 4:00 and 5:00 each afternoon, as Steve promised, the wind picked up and the temperature continued to drop steadily to the low 70’s or high 60’s. It doesn’t get dark until 10:00 PM and there was no humidity, which was a nice break from South Florida. My first day in Provence concluded with Chocolate Pot du Crème, which I made for the group under Laura’s supervision. Weather for sleeping is perfect, cool in the evening with no need for air conditioning. What will await us in the morning are fresh croissants and pastries which Steve picks up daily at the local boulangerie and patisserie, as well as yogurt, fruits, cereal and some sort of a breakfast egg dish that Laura will make.

Shopping at the Local Farmers Market

The local food markets, which rotate among different towns or villages each day, are not to be missed. After breakfast we head off to the market at Maubec. This is where the local people shop and you won’t see many tourists here. Just about any fruit or vegetable that is grown in the region and is in season can be purchased here. There must be something about the combination of the sun and soil in this region that produces some of the best fruits and vegetables that I have ever seen. You can get raspberries, blackberries, strawberries that look like they are on steroids and taste as good as they look. Another specialty of the region is the cavallion melon. These melons are the size of a small cantaloupe. I have never had melon this sweet and every one was consistently good. There is even a melon festival, which we unfortunately did not attend, and a melon statue in the region where these are grown. Beautiful squash blossoms were also common at the market. We bought a supply of fruits, soft cheeses, flowers, vegetables and rotisserie chickens for our lunch and dinner that day. You could also buy a rotisserie rabbit, if you were so inclined. Each of the vendors specialized in just a small variety of items. What they sold was the best quality and no one was trying to be all things to all people. Having filled our shopping baskets, we headed back to the house to prepare lunch.

Cooking in Provence

The good thing about the way this group is run is the flexible nature of the cooking activities. You could participate in cooking whenever you wanted or not at all if that was your preference. I chose to jump right in on the first day and was in the kitchen every day. I learned a lot that week from Laura, who used to serve Julia Child during her restaurant days in Boston. There were no disapproving looks if your dicing or chopping was not quite perfect. Laura keeps as cool as a cucumber in the kitchen and she truly loves being in the kitchen. She taught me how to flip a crepe in the pan without the use of a spatula. Pretty cool stuff to a foodie person.

Going to the market is a great experience and cooking what you just bought that day is even better. At our first group lunch together we feasted on the rotisserie chicken and roasted potatoes, the broiled squash blossoms on a baguette with goat cheese and capers. The squash blossoms are quite good and look great even after broiling. We enjoyed the fresh raspberries and strawberries accompanied by a light but flavorful rose. I came to truly enjoy having wine with a leisurely lunch but unfortunately my employer does not share that passion, so I have not been able to continue that after returning to work. Our meal ended with a peach tart, which I made, which was incredible. As a dessert lover, I played a role in making just about every dessert we had at the house that week.

The Chef’s Table at La Mirande

During our week with Laura and Steve, we made three great restaurant visits. The first was the chef’s table at the Hotel Mirande in Avignon. This is a grand hotel and the entrance is across the street from the Palace of the Popes. We were escorted down a narrow winding spiral staircase to what was the original hotel kitchen, with only a wood burning stove for cooking. The kitchen was set-up for us to participate with an apron and note pad at each seat. We were greeted by Chef Jean Claude Altmayer, who calls among his friends all the famous French chefs such as Alain Ducasse. The only way to describe him was- He was a hoot! No pretense here and he wanted all of us to have a good time. He started by looking for volunteers to behead three chickens. These were not alive mind you, but still had their heads and feet attached.

With our chickens now happily roasting, we moved on to our appetizer course, which was quail eggs in cream with sun dried tomato paste, cooked in a water bath. We also prepared the dessert course, which were individual molten chocolate cakes. After our preparations were complete, we took a tour of the modern kitchen and the wine cellar. After an incredible dinner, coffee was served on the outdoor terrace. We left satiated but comfortable. But wait, the evening was not over yet. We went on to a local park for a champagne toast with a view of the lighted bridges. A perfect end to a great dining experience.

Winery Tours

Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the wines of choice in this region and two of the wineries we visited had excellent wines. The first one, Roger Sabon, was the smaller winery of the two. There were no tasting charges in any of the places we visited and the wine flowed freely as we compared different vintages. The most impressive was Beaucastel. The grounds were stunning with the vineyard adjacent to the winery. There were flowers planted there that I have never seen before. Unfortunately we arrived at the end of the day late for our winery tour appointment but one of our fellow travelers, Debbie, poured on the Southern charm with eyelashes batting and a late day tour was suddenly arranged. Their cellar was the largest I have seen with huge bins that contained thousands of bottles. Every day they taste a bottle of wine from each year produced to understand how the wine is changing as it ages. You need a lot of wine to do that on a regular basis. We tasted our way through some very nice Chateauneuf du Pape's and other varieties, as well.

Edouard Loubet

One of our restaurant dining experiences was to have lunch at Edouard Loubet. Quite honestly, I had never heard of him before our lunch but you can equate him to the Emeril or Bobby Flay of the South of France. He is the youngest chef to obtain a Michelin 2 star rating. After our lunch, I will never forget him. We began our 3 hour culinary adventure at an outdoor table on a picture perfect Southern Provencal day in view of the mountains and the grounds of the restaurant, which are filled with lavender. What I liked best about the French restaurants that I have been to, with Loubet being no exception, is that you get small portions of really high quality food. I will say this right up front so I don’t have to repeat it multiple times, everything we had was outstanding! This place is a must visit splurge if you are staying in this region. We started with an appetizer of potato croquettes, chanterelle mushrooms and hearts of a sunflower. I had never eaten any part of a sunflower before, other than the seeds. We moved on to the fish course, which was served with a green pea sauce. The main course was rack of lamb and the servers brought two covered pans and then proceeded in dramatic fashion to remove the tops, with smoke billowing out from smoldering rosemary. Pretty impressive! Served along with the lamb were individual kettles of potatoes in a cheese sauce.

Dessert was a three course affair starting with a pre-dessert of chocolate soup with ice cream and an individual floating meringue. The main dessert was four individual crème brulee’s for each person, which included poppy, coffee, pistachio and classic crème brulee. The last dessert course was a tray of cookies and chocolates, with each of us having our own little row of these sweets. Twice during the meal Loubet came out to greet us. He was very personable, posed for pictures and took us on a tour of his spotless kitchen. Laura, our tour host, was in culinary nirvana and it was like she had just met royalty. While we left satisfied, we were not stuffed as later in the evening we all had room left for some home made pizza.

Sightseeing Around Provence

I describe my culinary tour to my friends as eating, drinking and cooking with a little sightseeing thrown in for good measure. Places that we saw included the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, which dates back to the 14^th century and is the biggest gothic palace in Europe. They had an audio guide which provided all the facts about the palace. On route to Edouard Loubet we stopped at Bonnieux, a beautiful town in the hills that was tourist friendly with shops and an outdoor market on the day that we visited. There were gorgeous views of the hillsides, some with homes for those fortunate few. We visited Senanque Abbey, founded in 1148, which is a must see for any photographer. This is a great photo opportunity as the abbey has long rows of the purple lavender, which the abbey harvests for sale.

We also journeyed to Aix en Provence one day, which is well worth the visit. I would describe Aix as part old city and part tourist shopping and dining area. The shops are a mix of up to the moment fashions, ceramics and craft items. Great pictures here as well. On the way back home we stopped at a modern supermarket to pick up a few things for the house. I won’t say this was one of the highlights of the trip but I did note that the cheese aisle was several times as large as what we have in grocery stores back home. We returned home for our 4^th of July celebration, which consisted of hamburgers and hot dogs (or as close as we could get) and the best bouillabaisse that I have ever had. Laura had the stock simmering over the course of a couple of days, with fish heads and all. I prepared a raspberry tart with a chocolate filling that was enjoyed by all.

The Fantastic Four

I have to make mention of the Fantastic Four, which included a group of us night owls. In addition to enjoying the food, cooking and sightseeing, I actually had fun on this trip. I stayed up late with my new friends Katie, Debbie and Evan. Katie and Evan were working with Laura helping to run the tour and Debbie was on the tour with her husband Frank. We played pool, drank some wine, listened to Katie’s docked IPod and had some laughs. Who knew taking out the trash could be so much fun! Thanks again Laura and Steve for making my Vagabond Gourmet experience memorable. I have a feeling that I will be traveling with you again.