Like all good recipes a successful vacation is a matter of personal taste. But using only the best ingredients seasoned with fresh garden herbs is a sure way to have it come out even better than it sounded in the cook book !

We have put together certainly the best recipe we know for you to get to know our region of France and feel as though you belonged here. We try to adapt our propositions to your palate but also encourage you to try things that you've never tasted... and go home feeling like you've been on vacation at your cousins’ in France.

I, Carol, am an American who has lived in France for over 35 years and brought up my four children here. My main activity is promoting French cultural affairs to English-speaking countries. I work full time as a consultant for the performing arts but I manage to take time off to be with my guests full time... as good food is a cultural affair in France !

This year I invited Helen Woods, one of my former guests, an English ‘citizen of the world’, to work with me. She has spent several years working in Jamaica and the Slovak Republic, and has now settled with her husband in a nearby village. As the English have for years been connoisseurs of Bordeaux wines it is only fitting that she organises wine tastings for you with her French friends.

So, we both want to show you ‘What's Cooking in France’

I started a ‘Cooking and Biking’ tour for my B&B guests about 10 years ago because I wanted to find a way to have you enjoy France just as much as I do. Having cooking classes in private home kitchens seemed the perfect way to share my friends with you. When the new bike path, linking Bordeaux with Entre Deux Mers, was put in just minutes from my home, biking or walking seemed to be the natural complements to the time spent in the kitchen and around the table.

Whether biking or walking, the paths are fairly flat, the country side is lush and the vineyards stretch out over the low rolling hillsides. Although April through October are the most delicious months, La Forge is open all year round. In the winter there is often a fire in the hearth but the house and cottage are toasty warm with central heating.

Your time at La Forge is organised by us in advance, (but also adapted to your interests) to what is going on in the region and, of course, to the seasons of the year. Please contact us if our recipe whets your appetite for your next vacation and we can start cooking up something together. To see our recipes click on the stamps at the top of the page.