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An Insider's Tour of Provence
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Peck offers insider's tour of Provence food
By Robin DeMerell
Published March 24, 2003, in the Danbury News Times
Few things sound as close to paradise as a trip to Woodbury chef Carole Peck's 12th century home in France.
Imagine driving past the Rhone River on roads that wind around vineyards and rolling green pastures dotted with olive trees and orchards.
Located in the midst of the village of Montfrin in Provence, the stone house called Prieure Notre Dame is across from a circa 1100 AD church and just down the street from the butcher, the baker, and plenty of open-air cafes and markets. About 2,500 people live in this place where paved roads converge with cobblestone streets and everything is made of stone.
After two years of renovating the house to combine the rich culture of Provence with the modern amenities of home, the owner of The Good News Cafe in Woodbury and her husband, Bernard Jarrier, a native of France, are hosting four weeklong tours in 2004. Each is for 8 to 10 people.
"Our special delight is to introduce sophisticated travelers to the rich history, natural beauty and cultural delights of this extraordinary region in the south of France," Peck said. "Our intimate tour groups allow each participant to enjoy an unforgettable personal experience as they discover Provence from a true insider's perspective."
The couple owned previous homes in the region and are used to hosting guests abroad. Their previous tours were based at a bed-and-breakfast in the countryside of Beaucaire in Provence.
This year each tour group will enjoy cocktails and a family-style dinner in their hosts' home the evening of their arrival, plus breakfast at the house each morning. The tour package, priced at $2,900 per person, includes accommodations, all meals and wines, sight-seeing and ground transportation. Air fare is not included.
The six-bedroom stone house that Peck and Jarrier purchased two years ago has undergone extensive restoration, and the couple traveled to France in February to check on the finishing touches.
Peck describes the new 800-square-foot kitchen as modern with a provincial look. New components include Viking stainless steel appliances.
"They are distinct in Europe and we're one of the first to have them over there," Peck said. A hood over the stove is set in stone and softens the look.
The concrete floor has been polished to a pale yellow, adding to the farmhouse feel. "It works with the house," Peck said. The floor looks like it belongs there."
The kitchen is where Peck and local chefs will give daily cooking demonstrations on everything from the secrets of classic French cuisine to using a wok for quick meals.
"I still like to teach people cooking methods other than French cooking," Peck said.
Guests will gather on stools around the granite center island to watch the demonstrations. "The whole idea is so everyone can work and be together," Peck said.
She is excited about the commercial refrigerator tucked under the island, which keeps the granite top cold -- excellent for rolling out French pastry and croissants.
The vaulted-ceiling wine tasting room will be used for breakfast and, of course, wine tastings. Dinner and lunch will be served outside in a patio eating area that overlooks the swimming pool or in the large dining room.
The house also boasts an interior courtyard with a glass ceiling that opens with a crank. River stones make up the flooring here and an old well stands in one corner. The room will soon have a wet bar.
There is a huge stone fireplace in the library, and half of the bedrooms have fireplaces. Many floors are handmade, hand-painted tile, and two rooms have parquet floors.
While adding such modern comforts as up-to-date bathrooms, the coupled tried as much as they could to restore the look of the home to its 12th century origin.
"These houses were used for generations and were changed, moved, and added on to," Jarrier said.
Along the way, lots of paint and cement were slathered on. Jarrier thought it was time to find out what was underneath all those layers: "We have to bring back the wonderful stone." Two to three inches of cement had to be chipped off in the process.
Most of the bedrooms have plaster walls and some are covered with fabric. Each has its own eclectic style.
"We use old fabrics like old linens," Peck said. "We love antiques, so we love to do our own style and mix different periods. We're not using Louis XIV. We use more provincial and modern art deco, which in France is very big."
Reflecting the couple's love of fine art, original pieces can be found throughout the house.
Peck wants guests to feel special when they stay here. "We travel a lot and we know what it's like not to be at home."
Peck, who married Jarrier 14 years ago, first set eyes on the village almost 10 years ago. "I fell in love with the lifestyle," she said.
Because she appreciates good food made with fresh, quality ingredients, and good wine and conversation, she loved the way people here enjoy the simpler things in life. Business owners start the day near the crack of dawn and shut down about 12:30 p.m. so that they can tend to their farms and families.
Peck said in conversations at the market people are often heard talking about how to prepare a special dish or what they made last week for dinner.
So that her guests get the full flavor of French village life, Peck has a local family host a dinner for them.
A farmer and his wife treated one tour group to pigeon raised on their 28-acre farm, braised with a brown sauce and figs. First, guests sipped cocktails and enjoyed a dish of tiny escargot. Once seated, they were served a layered eggplant and lamb appetizer, which preceded the pigeon. For desser, they were tempted with an entire table filled with homemade cakes and cookies and poached quince and pears.
"She cooked the whole day for us," Peck said. "We had a great time that night. If you can't laugh, you'd better not come."
A typical meal Peck serves the first night includes a local lamb from the village butcher, which she loves people to try because it's so different from domestic lamb. "It tastes more like lamb -- it's less fatty," said Peck.
She also prepares a lot of the locally grown vegetables. The asparagus is one of her favorites. "It's not even a flavor you recognize, it's so real," she said.
She serves local fruits such as cherries and apricots, with desserts and a tray of regional cheeses.
Another dish that Peck enjoys preparing for tour groups is bourride, a Mediterranean white seafood stew made with fish and fish broth thickened with garlic aioli.
"Then we tell everyone at dinner what we're doing the next day," Peck said.
Peck said the beauty of the area lies in its simplicity, and guests are taken to local farms and vineyards.
"We go upon into the mountains and we go to a few wine tastings," Peck said. Famous regional wines include Cote du Rhone and Chateauneuf du Pape.
At the local markets, some farmers bring ducks and sell duck eggs, and some bring chickens and sell chicken eggs.
"It's not a tourist town. It was important for us to be in an actual working village. This is real. You see people in their real lives," Peck said.
"We like to work and we like to expose people to the real countryside of France. No matter what people want to believe, there is a real food culture in France."
"People really love it," added Jarrier. "It's very French, like it used to be."
The couple has had more than a few repeat guests on their tours and some have reunions at Peck's Woodbury restaurant, where they bring phots and reminisce.
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