Kathleen and Virginie In Provence in Rousset near Sainte-Victoire mountain During our stay in Provence, we reunited with Virginie from Virginie In Provence in Rousset, a charming village located just 25 minutes from Aix-en-Provence. Rousset is a typical Provençal village of around 5,000 inhabitants where you can find everything you need: bakeries, restaurants, local shops, the post office, and hair salons. Among all the local places we discovered, the restaurant Grand Boise w

A Provençal aperitif with a glass of pastis during a French immersion stay in Provence Discovering pastis during an immersion in Provence When you come to Provence, an entire world of new flavors and Provençal traditions will open up to you. Among the region’s most iconic specialties, I will invite you to discover the famous calisson from Aix-en-Provence, the delicious tarte tropézienne… and of course pastis, the emblematic drink of southern France. A true symbol of the Prove

Traditional bouillabaisse from Marseille My children love confit garlic, olives and fish soup. It often surprises my students when they come to our home, and we usually laugh about it together. At home, we love enjoying a good bouillabaisse from time to time. I do not cook it myself, but my cousin, who lives in Marseille, prepares it wonderfully well. She shared her traditional recipe with me and kindly agreed to let me share it with you today. I will also take this opportuni

Zucchini velouté at L’Éveil du Goût restaurant in Rousset Introduction: a well-known restaurant in Rousset Highly regarded for its gastronomy in Rousset, the restaurant L’Éveil du Goût is often fully booked. Several times, my students during their French immersion in Provence were unable to have lunch there because there were no tables available. I strongly recommend making a reservation at the beginning of your stay. A lovely terrace on the village square The village square

Virginie and Marcia in Aix-en-Provence, enjoying a Provence immersion experience My name is Marcia. I spent a wonderful week of immersion with Virginie. I would like to share with you an excursion that really left a lasting impression on me. That day, after breakfast and our morning lesson on the conditional tense, we headed to Aix-en-Provence. On the way, we had to stop for petrol, which was not easy at all. The refineries were on strike at the time. After exploring the beau

Lunch with a view over the bay of Menton During my immersion stay with Virginie in Provence, some days are dedicated to practicing French while discovering iconic places in the region. That Thursday, I wanted to surprise her… and invite her to lunch at Mirazur, a three-Michelin-star restaurant voted best restaurant in the world in 2019. We drove to Menton as part of the immersion experience, which allowed us to practice French naturally along the way. We left earlier than usu

Provençal cooking in immersion with a student Hello everyone, Today, I’d like to tell you about one of the most typical dishes of Provence: daube provençale . Here, everyone knows this culinary specialty. That doesn’t mean everyone loves it. My children, for example, don’t really like meat, so daube is not their favorite dish. I usually cook daube provençale when I have good eaters at home—especially meat lovers. I would be delighted to introduce you to this traditional recip

Provençal cake by Pierre Mahieu at Weibel When I was pregnant (which happened three times in my life, after all 😉), I cooked a lot. And especially… pastries. Sweet indulgence is part of my story. During my first pregnancy, I even considered creating a food truck to sell crêpes in Australia. At eight months pregnant, I went to Brittany to learn how to make authentic Breton crêpes. During my second pregnancy, I wanted to take the French pastry diploma (CAP pâtissier). I rememb

Colorful French macarons in Provence Learning French by baking macarons My latest student during his French immersion stay in Provence wanted to learn how to bake macarons. That’s exactly what we did. We took the opportunity to work on questions, verb tenses, and cooking vocabulary… Cooking is a wonderful way to improve your French. We had a lot of fun preparing the macarons… and doing a little “interview” in French while following the recipe. We hope you will enjoy this exp

Virginie in Provence enjoying calissons Hello! My name is Virginie, and I am a French immersion teacher living near Aix-en-Provence. Today, I decided to try something completely new: making an iconic Provençal sweet… the calisson. After searching through several recipes and reading a few tips, I thought to myself: let’s go for it. So here is my experience. The legend of the calisson of Aix-en-Provence But first… what exactly is a calisson? Legend has it that in the 15th centu

Anchovy Pissaladière, a Traditional Provençal Specialty How did it begin? My friend Cécile was born in Malaussène, a small village near Mont Ventoux. She knows Provence inside out and, above all, she is an excellent cook. Whenever I feel like learning how to prepare a new Provençal dish, she gladly opens the doors of her kitchen to me. It was in this spirit of sharing and passing things on that I discovered (or rediscovered) anchovy pissaladière. A bit of history Pissaladière

Virginie in Provence enjoying a madeleine A passion for baking, passed down through the family I love cooking, and I especially love baking. At one point in my life, I even considered earning a pastry chef diploma. Since my first pregnancy, my love for cakes has only grown… and today, it’s a passion I share with my children, who love getting involved in the kitchen. Today, I’d like to share with you a recipe for honey and lavender madeleines, inspired by Provence—simple to ma

The Provençal King Cake, also called brioche des Rois , decorated with candied fruits When people talk about galette des Rois in France, many immediately think of the puff pastry galette filled with almond cream, known as frangipane . This is indeed the most common version across the country. In Provence, however, the tradition is a little different. Here, we eat much less puff pastry galette and instead share a Provençal galette, also called brioche des Rois . The Provençal

Candlemas in Provence: traditions, crêpes and shared moments Like many families in Provence and across France, we celebrate La Chandeleur . It is an excellent (and official) excuse to eat crêpes. Where does La Chandeleur come from? On Monday, February 2nd, it will be time to make crêpes. Young and old alike know La Chandeleur, also known as Candlemas . But do you really know its origins? Two stories about its origin Candlemas, an ancient celebration linked to light and popu

Christmas log cake in Provence, a traditional holiday dessert The Christmas log cake is traditionally enjoyed on December 24th, during Christmas Eve dinner. This dessert is believed to have appeared around 1870, and several pastry chefs claim its origin. It seems, however, that many of them had the same idea at the same time: creating a rolled cake that resembles a log. Before the Christmas log cake existed, holiday desserts were often very rich and dense, such as mince pies

Hello everyone. My name is Julia. I come from England. Today I'm taking you with me to share my first experience in Cassis, a beautiful Provençal village. Accompanied by Virginie, we followed the coastal roads offering breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, to reach this little piece of paradise nestled between the green hills and the sparkling waters. Virginie and I in the boat in Cassis in Provence 1/ First visit to Cassis, a lovely village in Provence As I was say