Through the Flower: An exclusive La Creuzette Painting and Cooking Holiday

Now open for reservations

Overview

Through the Flower is a doubleheader program: Painting the Summer blooms & Cooking from the summer kitchen garden. A wondrous and creative studio exploration of magnificent flowers in bloom with the ultimate privilege of visiting the magical atelier of the world famous French artist Claire Basler at the Château de Beauvier. Create your owns series of floral master-pieces with Louis Jansen van Vuuren in his well equipped French studio. Work on paper, linen, silk, porcelain and canvas in an exciting array of techniques including ink, aquarelle, acrylic, oil and pastel.

Guests who would be honing their culinary experience, will be taken through the potager and Local markets. Abundant seasonal produce will be our inspiration for delectable creations that we plate with flair.

Cost Breakdown

La Creuzette special interest programmes are carefully compiled to ensure that you have the ultimate, hassle-free luxury holiday experience. Our all-inclusive land arrangement means that everything aside from flights, train tickets, Schengen visas and personal expenses are taken care of as follows:

• €3 250 per person sharing
• Collection from Châteauroux train station on the 10th September and transfer to La Creuzette
• Luxurious accommodation at La Creuzette for the 5 nights / 6 days
• Full board accommodation (i.e. all meals with drinks, also at restaurants we visit)
• All excursions including entrance fees and gratuities
• Painting course, art materials, and instructions
• All cooking demonstrations and guest chefs
• Transfer back to Châteauroux train station at the end of the week at La Creuzette

A non-refundable deposit of €1 000 secures your booking with the balance due on or before your arrival at La Creuzette. A single supplement of €650 for the week applies for single occupation.

Itinerary

Day 1 (Tuesday, 10 September)

Collection from Châteauroux train station where the group will arrive between 12:00 and 13:00, and road transfer to Château La Creuzette, your holiday residence in Boussac village. We stop for a delicious lunch at the famous l'Escale Village. You arrive at your holiday destination in time for tea, coffee and mignardises (typically French confectionaries). Take some time to settle in, relax and explore the grounds. We meet in the dining room of the summerhouse at 19h30 for a glass of champagne followed by a four-course welcome dinner.

Day 2 (Wednesday, 11 September)

Breakfast will be served at 09:00 in the main dining room. After breakfast, the artists will start their first art session at 10:00 in the studio. A full day will be spent in the studio: Morning session 10h00 - 13h00. Afternoon session 14h30 - 17h00. The chefs will meet Hardy in the summer kitchen at 10:00 to learn some basic molecular gastronomy techniques and after a morning of great fun producing ‘el buli’ type dishes, we all (artists included) sit down to lunch that we will have created. Early afternoon the chefs visit a Nougat manufacturer to see how nougat is made (with an opportunity to taste of course). Later, once the artists have finished in the studio for the day, the whole group meets in the summer kitchen for our evening cooking demonstration, followed by dinner.

Day 3 (Thursday, 12 September)

Today is market day in Boussac. After breakfast, we take a short walk to the village to take in the fresh morning air and to browse the market stalls. Here you will find everything from fragrant soap from Marseilles to live chickens. The art guests will return to the studio at 10:30 for a full day of painting, while the cooking guests will forage for inspiration for our lunch menu with Hardy. Using the fresh ingredients selected at the market, lunch will be prepared and enjoyed at the long stone table in front of the La Creuzette summer kitchen. After lunch, Hardy and the chefs are joined in the kitchen by patissier Philippe Vacheyroux for an afternoon pastry-making session. Later, we all meet in the summer kitchen at 18h30 for a cooking demonstration presented by a guest chef. Dinner follows.

Day 4 (Friday, 13 September)

After breakfast, the artists will have another full day in the studio with lunch at La Creuzette. Hardy, and the cooking guests will leave for the Royal city of Bourges where we have scheduled a visit to the Monin factory. We enjoy lunch at 1 star Michelin restaurant, Le Cercle, preceded by a visit to their wine cellar.We will also visit the chef in the kitchen prior to lunch service. After lunch, we will have some time to shop for interesting ingredients at one of the large restaurant suppliers in the city and also to visit the magnificent cathedral. We head back to La Creuzette and later, we meet for drinks followed by dinner.

Day 5 (Saturday, 14 September)

Today we have the privilege of visiting the magical atelier of world famous French artist Claire Basler, at the Château de Beauvier. The cooking guests can either join the visit to Clair’s studio, or they can do a visit to an artisanal mustard maker and organic oil press in Charroux. Later, we return to La Creuzette where you will have some time to pack, before we meet for drinks, followed by our farewell dinner.

Day 6 (Sunday, 15 September)

After breakfast, the artists will have their last short morning art session while the rest of the guests enjoy a visit to the Chateau de Boussac (Boussac castle), which dates back to the 11th and 15th centuries. Now privately owned, the castle is filled with a superb collection of exquisite furniture, tapestries, art, and artifacts. Late morning we depart for Châteauroux from where the fast train to Paris departs.

Please note that this itinerary may be amended to accommodate suppliers, service providers and the weather.

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