Why a Recipe-Free Cooking School?
In 2015, when I found La Pitchoune on the market in the New York Times, I wasn’t sure what I was thinking when I sent a random email to a bunch of people BCC’d that said ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to own Julia Child’s house?’ I didn’t have a conscious plan, per se. I just fell in love with a shuttered window, festooned with heart cut-outs and neon red foliage, that looked technically like ivy, but no ivy I had ever seen.
I was no stranger to ivy, I spent my college years at Smith College, yes the very same college Julia Child attended a number of years before me. And it wasn’t because of her that I attended, but it was because of her I knew Smith even existed.
I had always been chuffed by Julia. As a very, very tall human–6’1” to be precise–I had admired her from a far. And my deep love affair with tall, wild humans and ivy and France and cooking all came rumbling together into a perfect storm of what I had built today. Buying La Peetch AND building the Courageous Cooking School, the first in-person, recipe-free cooking school in France. Maybe even…The World. But since I speak limited languages I cannot prove that or claim it.
But France? Absolutely.
Europe? YUP!
When one buys a property like La Pitchoune there is a lot of expectation. And I knew that what I had to create either had to be squarely Julia or not Julia at all. Admittedly, the rules regarding Julia Child are pretty regulated by her foundation, so I went the other way. Part necessity, and part discovery.
You see. When I started a recipe-free cooking school here? I didn’t have a method. I didn’t have a pedagogy. I simply didn’t have a choice. Because…
I couldn’t teach from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
I couldn’t teach Simone Beck’s recipes
I was by no means teaching my own recipes. These days, sure…I test recipes. And write a lot of them. But seven years ago when I bought the house? I was nothing but a very adept home cook. I knew I had an arsenal of techniques and approaches I could teach, but recipes? Naw, friend.
So could we teach without recipes? The short answer is: clearly we can. We’ve now taught over 3000 people the method in various incarnations, including hosting over 400 people for our week-long Courageous Cooking School experience.
The longer answer is a bit more complex. But after almost 6 years of teaching people to cook differently in their own homes without recipes? We absolutely can.
Find out more about our Courageous Cooking School and teaching methods here, and feel free to reach out with any questions or inspirations! We can’t wait to meet you!
