Spring Gastronomic & Historical Tour of

the Loire Valley & Rabelaisie

May 21 - 29, 2025

Let’s travel to Loire Valley, France!

Dive deep into a gastronomic, cultural and historic experience of a lifetime! Join both Shelley’s Table and English Made In France on this small group culinary tour to the Loire Valley & Rabelaisie.

Called the Valley of the Kings, the Garden of France and the cradle of the French language, the Loire Valley is one of the most beautiful regions in France, perhaps even in the world. The Loire Valley is the quintessential UNESCO World Heritage site. Its mild, pleasant climate, noble architecture, stirring history, fine wine and food combine to make it the perfect expression of the French art de vivre and a microcosm of French culture. The Loire valley has also hosted great artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Calder, and Max Ernst. The luxuriant and abundant gardens and wild preserved landscapes are set in a Natural Parc (Loire Anjou Touraine) which is protected.

Our hosts in the Loire are mother and daughter team, Lesley and Coral Miles who own the beautiful Les Jardins Haute Couture manor house where we will be staying. It is nestled in lush greenery below the southern escarpment of the Loire, surrounded by fields and vineyards and is only a stone’s throw away from some of the world’s most renowned gardens, Chateaux and vineyards. La Couture boasts award-winning gardens and potager, stunning interiors that have featured in many magazines, heated pool and two friendly Dachshunds.

Lesley Miles, artist and Chef extraordinaire, her motto is 'you are what you eat'. She cooks everything from scratch, handpicking the best organic ingredients. She will share her techniques, specialties and experience as an artist and a chef.

Coral Miles is a landscape architect, garden and food historian, botanist and chef. Coral, who studied at Oxford University in England, is an expert on wild and medicinal plants, she loves foraging and cooking with flowers and herbs gathered in the surrounding meadows and woods. Coral's green fingers and plant obsession have led her to settle in the Loire Valley to create her award winning garden featuring a stunning potager and herb collection, which all serve as the starting point for the dishes cooked on site in the family restaurant. Her in-depth knowledge of the history of the Loire Valley, and of all the gastronomical know-how and dishes dating from the Middle Ages to nowadays, make her an indispensable guide and host for this unique trip!

Day-By-Day Itinerary:

Day 1: May 21st, Arrival & Haute Couture Gardens

Morning arrival at Paris aiport (Shelley will suggest flight) and transfer to fast train to St. Pierre des Corps (price not included. You'll be met at the train station by Coral and the driver.

After settling in to your bedrooms you can take the time to explore the stunning terraced gardens bustling with life, relax by the pool, or enjoy a cocktail in the bar.

The gastronomic candle-lit dinner will be occasion for everyone to get to know each other

Meals: Dinner

Day 2: May 22nd, Medieval Cooking Chinon

After breakfast we will head to the historic town of Chinon, with its Royal fortress overlooking the town and river, seat to the Plantagenet Dynasty in the 12th Century. Both King Richard the Lion Heart and his brother King John 'Lackland' (who later wrote the Magna Carta) lived in the historic fortress. We'll visit the Fortress and visit the exhibition that has been created to honor the 900 anniversary of Eleonor of Aquitaine's birth. The exhibition revolves around food in the Middle Ages.

We'll learn about the techniques to preserve fish in brine and alcohol with herbs and salt, smoked meats, potted meat such as rillettes and rillons, and see the great bread and fruit ovens used to dry the plums and apples and pears as well as to cook the the famous fouaces or fouées, a flat bread predecessor to the pita bread. These breads were a staple throughout the Middle Ages and were later immortalized in Rabelais famous book 'Gargantua' where two Kings go to war over these breads. Today they are still considered a great delicacy when stuffed with local mushrooms, garlic butter snails, rillettes or black pudding. We'll stop in the town square for a lovely lunch and a bit of shopping and then head back to Jardins Haute Couture for our Medieval Cooking workshop.

Starter: Loire River Salmon preserved in pear eau de vie with juniper, dill

Main course: Fouées stuffed with locally grown oyster mushrooms, garlic snails, and rillettes and rillons from our award winning butcher, served with a fresh watercress salad

Dessert: Famous 'poire tapée' (pears which have been dried whole in the traditional limestone ovens, slowly poached in Red Chinon wine infused with medieval spices and served with fresh goat cheese and honey ice cream.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Medieval Cooking

Day 3: May 23rd, Along the Loire

Meander in a UNESCO world heritage site, and meet the fishermen who keep the traditional flat boat fishing alive and the young dynamic chef who performs magic with a smile. After a wholesome early breakfast serving local french pastries and homemade jams we'll set off on our fishing adventure. We'll travel to the picturesque town of BREHEMONT to meet Romain Gadais, a professional fisherman and owner of the award-winning restaurant, Les Pécheries Ligériennes, who will arrange for us to go out by boat to get the catch of the day. After our boating adventure on the Loire we'll join Ambroise Voreux, the award winning TV celebrity Chef who trained with Michelin starred Raymond Blanc at the Manoir Quatre Saisons in Henley, back at his restaurant to discover his unique dishes. The restaurant prides itself on serving fish from the Loire river, fished daily. Ambroise reinvents these sometimes thought of as 'un-noble' river fish using contrasting textures, spices, interesting nuts and herbs.

After lunch Ambroise will show us aroud his kitchens and gardens and talk us though all the different processes of working with fish (filleting, curing, smoking, marinading etc). Then it will be our turn to join him in his kitchen for a cooking workshop, ending our time on the sunny terrace enjoying the fruits of out labour! We'll finish the day back at Jardins Haute Couture to relax and enjoy a light dinner of fresh baby pea soup from the garden followed by two delicious savoury tarts.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Lunch with Amroise Voreux

Day 4: May 24th, Sparkling Samur

After breakfast we will travel along one of the most scenic routes in the Loire Valley, driving along the river to the confluence of the Vienne and the Loire rivers. From the bridge we will see the medieval fortified church of Candes St Martin where St Martin died. We'll continue past the limestone cliffs, with their charming troglodytic dwellings and mushroom and wine caves. We arrive in Saumur, home to the French Calvary - the Cadre Noir - founded by Napoleon. We'll wander through the warren of medieval paved streets where the weekly market spreads out its colourful bounty. Each of you will be tasked with finding an ingredient to be used for the upcoming workshop and imminent picnic. We'll then head up to the Chateau to enjoy panoramic views of the Loire and the town of Saumur and tuck in to the local specialities, charcuteries and cheeses that will make up our picnic.   

After lunch we'll continue our journey trhough Cabernet Franc and Chenin vineyards, taking the scenic wine road to the famous cellars of Langlois Chateau winery. We'll delve deep into the limestone caves to learn about the Champagne and sparkling wine making process and enjoy a tasting of red, white and sparkling Saumur wines. We'll head back to the Jardins Haute Couture for a music concert followed by drinks and delicious apéro dinatoire with local artists and musicians.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: May 25th, Villandry Potager

After another delightful breakfast we'll head off to Villandry Chateau to discover the world’s most famous Renaissance potager (vegetable garden). Villandry is undoubtedly the most iconic garden in France when it comes to formal topiary and geometric boxwood designs. However its true beauty and originality lie in its ornamental vegetable gardens. It is a unique blend of medieval monastic planting, medicinal and culinary herbs, luxuriant abundant vegetables contained in a formal renaissance design.

We'll have lunch at the chateau’s restaurant, and then back to La Couture along the scenic route past the confluence of the rivers Cher and Loire for our second cooking lesson with Lesley. After harvesting the ingredients for dinner from the garden we'll put on our aprons and join residential chef Lesley in the kitchen for our Renaissance dinner workshop.

Starter: Pan fried St Maure de Touraine goat cheese served on a bed of Red chicory salad, dressed with griottes (local sour cherry) and walnuts for the garden.

Main course: Medallions de Porc, cooked in armagnac served with Pruneaux de Tours (lovely golden St Catherine plums, indigineous to this area, that used to be far more famous than the Pruneaux d'Agen) served on a bed of parsnip purée dressed with fresh mangetout peas and fèves.

Dessert: Raspberries in a jelly made from sweet white wine (coteaux du Layon)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Renaissance cooking with Lesley

Day 6: May 26th, Chinon

After a leisurely breakfast you will have free time to enjoy the pool and garden, have a massage (you will need to book in advance), or you can book an outdoor Pilates class with Local British osteopath Keith Bender, disciple of Pilates. If you have any chronic joint or back problems Keith will suggest some gentle stretching routines to prevent further problems.

Around midday we'll head off to the gastronomic restaurant les Jardiniers near Chinon, run by award winning chef Martin Bolares, winner of the Michelin étoile verte. All produce is grown on site in their enormous organic kitchen and flower garden that surrounds the restaurant.

Return to La Couture for a rest, then enjoy a cooking class given by Shelley Wiseman to creat our dinner (menu to be decided).

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Cook with Chef Shelley Wiseman

Day 7: May 27th, Fairytale Foraging

After a leisurely breakfast, equipped with our baskets, hats and secateurs we'll head off on foot to the neighboring village of Usse, home to the fairytale castle of 'Sleeping Beauty' (1.5 km walk along the river). Foraging along the way we'll collect wild sorrel and nettles, acacia flowers and elderflowers, dandelion leaves and various other medicinal plants. We'll have a picnic lunch by the river with great views of the Castle. We'll drive back to La Couture, and after a quick visit to the potager for a few extra ingredients we'll start our wild flower, herbs and spices workshop. Coral, who is an expert on medicinal plants, will show us how versatile herbs, flowers and seeds/spices are in cooking. They add color, flavor and texture, as well as numerous health benefit.

We'll learn how to use wild flowers and herbs in various preparations such as sorrel and nettle soup, flower vinegars, natural sparkling wines, acacia, wysteria and elderflower fritters, flower syrups and cordials for cocktails, mocktails, and desserts. We'll indulge in delicious cocktails, tuck in to the freshly made soups and savoury tarts served with dandelion salad and relish the honey scented acacia, wysteria and elderflower fritters for dessert.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cooking Experience: Cook with wildflowers & herbs

Day 8: May 28th, Azay le Rideau

You can't come all the way to France without having a proper tasting of the wonderful AOC raw milk cheeses! As this will be your last day, let's make the most of it. We'll head off to Azay le Rideau after breakfast, a fabulous renaissance town (yes another one!), where we will have a tasting of local cheeses from a fantastic cheese monger. The emphasis will be placed on the local Loire cheeses which are part of the goat cheese AOC, but other 'hard' and 'blue' cheeses will also be sampled.

We'll have lunch in a lovely gastronomic restaurant ‘Coté cour’. After lunch we will visit the world-famous Renaissance gem: chateau of Azay le Rideau and you will have some free time for a bit of shopping afterwards. Then we'll make our way back to Jardins Haute Couture for our farewell dinner. To stay on the cheese theme we will partake in the convivial and traditional fondue dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: May 29th, Departure Day

Today is your departure day. After breakfast at our manor house , we'll say goodbye until our next shared adventure.

What’s Included:

8 Nights Accommodation

You will be staying at Les Jardins Haute Couture which is a stunning manor house turned hotel that embodies both comfort and elegance.

Transportation

Transport to and from the hotel to your cooking workshops, restaurants and local excursions and visits planned during the trip.

Daily Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

All meals are included, whether it be the gourmet dinners taken at Les Jardins Haute Couture in the evening, or the lunch time meals in local gastronomic restaurants or picnics during our excursions.

Wine With Dinner

Delicious local wine will be offered to you with your evening meals at the Jardins Haute Couture Hotel.

Pool & Gardens

Free access to the heated pool and award winning gardens during your stay.

All Cooking Workshops (5)

All Excursions in Itinerary

What’s not included…

Airfare
TGV (fast train) to and from airport and St. Pierre des Corps
Wine at restaurants
Spirits & Cocktails (There is a fantastic bar on offer at the Jardins Haute Couture hotel with delicious spirits, digestifs and cocktails on offer. These will have to be paid for separately.)
Spa Treatments and/or Pilates Instruction
Optional gratuities

Available Packages

Double Room Occupation - €6900 cost per person

Luxurious double bedroom with ensuite bathroom for a coupe or 2 people sharing, either a double bed (couple) or twin beds (friends)

8 nights all inclusive

Transport to and from the Local TGV station of St Pierre des Corps – not to the airport.

All breakfast, lunches, picnics and dinners at Jardins Haute Couture Hotel Lunches in local restaurants, all excursions/visits to the chateaux and winery, music concert.

Five cooking lessons

Red, white & sparkling wine included at dinner.

Transport in an air-conditioned minibus to and from Jardins Haute Couture Hotel.