Patricia Wells is pleased to offer a select series of cooking classes in her Paris cooking studio. Located on the charming Rue Jacob in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près on the Left Bank, the carefully restored artist’s atelier is designed for cooking and appreciation of the gastronomic bounty of Paris. This five-day movable feast in a comfortable, English-language environment, is designed to bring guests into Patricia’s private food world.

Guests cook with the best produce, fish, poultry, meats, cheese and breads to be found in the Paris markets. Each day's program offers something different: the prepared menus shared around the atelier table, the insider's guide to Paris’s markets and boutiques, wine and oil tastings, visits to a baker, and a meal in one of the city’s top restaurants. All instruction is in English. Recipes are geared to the home cook. Guests are supplied with aprons as well as detailed recipe booklets that are theirs to keep.

The class is limited to 7 participants. The week begins with class on Monday morning and ends after lunch on Friday. The fee is $5,500 and includes all visits, tastings, and lunches. Note that there will be some walking involved, though not more than 15 minutes. The fee does not include dinners or lodging. (A list of recommended hotels is available on this web site and will also sent to enrolled participants.)

As an additional mid-winter event, Patricia and Walter Wells offer a special Black Truffle Cooking Extravaganza, a unique hand’s on class devoted to the wonders of the fresh black truffle - the rarest and most exotic ingredient in French cuisine.

The workshop opens on Monday evening with a truffle dinner at Patricia and Walter’s farmhouse in Provence, in the heart of France’s foremost region of truffle production. On successive days Patricia and Walter accompany participants on a truffle hunt; and tour with them through one of the world’s most important – and still artisanal — truffle brokers, where just breathing the fragrant air is a rarefied experience. Truffles will magically appear in almost every dish prepared during the workshop, and students will have the opportunity to understand the mystery of the black truffle in the kitchen and at the table. Menus focus on complementary wines, particularly the prized whites of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Wine tastings and discussions throughout the class assure guests of a new understanding of one of the world’s rarest gastronomic joys. All instruction is in English. Recipes are geared to the home cook. Guests are supplied with aprons as well as detailed recipe booklets that are theirs to keep.

The class is limited to 12 participants. The course begins with dinner on Monday evening and ends after lunch on Friday. The fee is $5,500 and includes Monday ’s truffle dinner, truffle lunches and dinners on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday’s winery visit and lunch, and a farewell lunch on Friday. Wednesday evening is free for students to explore the region on their own. The fee does not include lodging. (A list of recommended hotels will be sent to enrolled participants.)