Paris

Study

Cooking

What better place to discover the secrets of la cuisine française than in Paris, the capital of gastronomy? Courses are available at different levels and lengths of time and the cost of tuition varies widely. One of the most popular – and affordable – for beginners is the Les Coulisses du Chef Cours de Cuisine Olivier Berté (01 40 26 14 00; www.coursdecuisineparis.com; 2nd fl, 7 rue Paul Lelong, 2e; Bourse), which offers three-hour courses at 10.30am from Wednesday to Saturday with an additional class from 6pm to 9pm on Friday. ‘Carnets’ of five/20 courses are available.

Much more expensive are the Paris Cooking Classes with Patricia Wells (www.patriciawells.com) led by the incomparable American food critic and author at her cooking studio in rue Jacob, 6e. The class runs from Monday to Friday, is limited to seven participants and includes market visits, tastings, local transport and daily lunch.

Other cooking schools in Paris include the following:

Coin-Cuisine (01 45 79 01 40; www.coin-cuisine.fr, in French; 110 rue du Théatre, 15e; Av Émile Zola) Courses of various themes and levels lasting from one to four hours.

Cook’n with Class (06 31 73 62 77; www.cooknwithclass.com; 21 rue Custine, 18e; Château Rouge) Morning/evening/full-day classes are available.

École Le Cordon Bleu (01 53 68 22 50; www.cordonbleu.edu; 8 rue Léon Delhomme, 15e; Vaugirard or Convention) Dating back to 1895, the Cordon Bleu school has professional courses as well as one-day themed workshops on topics like terrines and viennoiserie (baked goods), and two- and four-day courses on classic and modern sauces and the secrets of bread and pastry making.

École Ritz Escoffier (01 43 16 30 50; www.ritzescoffier.com; 15 place Vendôme, 1er Concorde) This prestigious cooking school is based in what is arguably Paris’ finest hotel (though you also enter from 38 rue Cambon, 1er). Choose from a four-hour Saturday themed workshop (petits fours, truffles, carving fruit and vegetables, pairing food and wine etc) or a two-day introductory course.

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Language

All manner of French-language courses, lasting from two weeks to a full academic year, are available in Paris, and many places begin new courses every month or so.

Alliance Française (01 42 84 90 00; www.alliancefr.org; 101 blvd Raspail, 6e; 8.30am-7pm Mon & Tue, 8.30am-6pm Wed-Fri; St-Placide) French courses (minimum two weeks) at all levels begin every two weeks; registration takes place five days before. Intensif courses meet for four hours a day, start at 9am and 1.30pm and last either two weeks or one month; extensif courses involve three hours of class for three days a week and start at the same two times.

Cours de Langue et Civilisation Françaises de la Sorbonne (01 44 10 77 00, 01 40 46 22 11; www.ccfs-sorbonne.fr ; Galerie Richelieu, office C391, 17 rue de la Sorbonne, 5e; 10am-noon & 2-4pm Mon-Fri; Cluny La Sorbonne or Maubert Mutualité) The Sorbonne’s prestigious French Language and Civilisation Course has courses for all levels. Take your pick from a four-week summer course, or entire semesters consisting of 20 hours a week of lectures and tutorials. Instructors take a very academic (though solid) approach to language teaching.

Eurocentres (01 40 46 72 00; www.eurocentres.com ; 13 passage Dauphine, 6e; 8.15am-6pm Mon-Fri; Odéon) Intensive courses last two or four weeks, and usually have 10 to 14 students. New courses begin every two, three or four weeks.

Inlingua (01 45 51 46 60; www.inlingua-paris.com ; 109 rue de l’Université, 7e; 7.30am-8.15pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1.30pm Sat; Invalides) Individual and group lessons for all levels, from ‘first contacts’ through to that linguistic state we all aspire to, ‘full control’. It has seven centres, including in La Défense and Versailles. French lessons for kids too.

Institut Parisien de Langue et de Civilisation Françaises (www.institut-parisien.com ; 2nd fl, 29 rue de Lisbonne, 8e; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri; Monceau) Offers four-week courses with a maximum of 10 students per class and 10/15/20/25 hours a week.

Langue Onze (01 43 38 22 87; www.langueonzeparis.com ; 15 rue Gambey, 11e; 11am-5pm Mon-Fri;Parmentier) Well-received independent language school with two-/four-week intensive courses of four hours’ instruction a day; evening classes (four hours a week for four weeks) are also available. Classes have a maximum of nine students.

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Language

Whatever you may have heard about the French people and their reputation for arrogance when it comes to foreigners on their beat who don’t speak their language, you’ll find any attempt to communicate in French will be much appreciated. What is usually perceived as arrogance is often just a subtle objection to the assumption by many travellers that they should be able to speak English anywhere, in any situation, and be understood. You can easily avoid the problem by approaching people and addressing them in French. Even if the only sentence you can muster is Pardon, madame/monsieur, parlez-vous anglais? (Excuse me, madam/sir, do you speak English?), you’re sure to be more warmly received than if you stick blindly to English.

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