Cooking on the Cote d'Azur - Les Petits Farcis

Mmmmm the smells of delicious Poulet à la Nicoise and strawberry tarts is wafting across the globe. I find myself running in the direction of thes wonderful aromas. The source? Les Petits Farcis, a wonderful short-term cooking class being offered in Nice, France by Rosa Jackson.

Ooh la la! It brings tears to my eyes to think of the pleasure of eating beautiful food in a beautiful place........... Eating good food is not only delicious to the palate, but healing to the soul.

If you are interested in learning how to make some delicious French dishes Rosa teaches friendly, hands-on half-day and full-day sessions year-round in the historic center of Nice sur la mer Méditeranée.

One of great joys I always experience when I travel to France is shopping at the markets. You can share this joy with Rosa! As part of her cooking classes, after shopping with her at the famous Cours Saleya market, students prepare a four-course meal in her beautifully renovated 17th-century apartment, two minutes from the market and the beach.

For those who want to savor some of the freshest and most tempting food in the world without spending time in the kitchen, she also offers market tours, gourmet food walks and an olive oil tasting with lunch in a restaurant.

Nice has its own international airport so it serves as a starting point for visitors to Provence and northern Italy, it is ideally placed for this type of flexible class.That's not the only reason why Rosa chose Nice, however. The city's unique history - it was part of Italy until the 1850s - has given it a fascinating cuisine that borrows from Italy while remaining distinctly French (Nice has its own version of pesto, for instance). Students will recognize some classics of Provencal cooking, such as ratatouille, but will also discover less familiar dishes such as tempura-style zucchini flowers, or fresh strawberry tart with homemade strawberry jelly.

A typical schedule I learned is

• Market tour with hands-on cooking class, four-course meal and wine,
  9.30am-3pm.
• Market tour, cooking class and lunch with wine, followed by an
  afternoon gourmet food walk, 9.30am-6pm.
• Market tour, gourmet food walk, olive oil tasting and restaurant
  lunch with wine, 9.30am-3pm.
• Afternoon gourmet food walk with tastings, 3-6pm.

Full details, including prices, are available on the website www.petitsfarcis.com. Rosa Jackson can be reached for interviews by e-mail at rosa@rosajackson.com or by phone at (33) 6 8167 4122.