For those interested in travelling to Provence, Cooking on the Bay has a relationship with Nikki Maxwell and her Picnics in Provence culinary tour business.  With Nikki you explore unspoilt France, places she has discovered over many  years of living and travelling there.  Places well off the beaten track, plus you dine in a variety of sensational restaurants! Perfect France.

Nikki Maxwell “started Picnics in Provence after being fortunate enough to spend some time living in this stunningly beautiful, diverse region of France. It is truly off the beaten track and I find I continually look forward to introducing others to its charms, magnificent cuisine, incredible wines, scenery and charming locals”.  I have accompanied guests on this special culinary odyssey to Provence and so I know what a fabulous opportunity it is for you.

Picnics in Provence has a varied, interesting, all-inclusive program featuring the best French foods, local wines, restaurants, cooking, shopping, plus historical and cultural activities for which France is truly famous.

Your home for the week is a beautiful Provencal Mas, a magnificent country house made from local, old white stone, with swimming pool, Jacuzzi, terraces, an expansive garden of purple lavender fields, Cyprus trees, olive grove and ubiquitous French laurels. In house dinners will be cooked by Michelin trained chefs. You will also have time for relaxing around the pool, swimming, learning to play boule or petanque, reading, possibly assisting with the preparation of a dinner and an informal cooking class in the kitchen of the Mas Blanc.

Picnics in Provence offers you the experience and mystique of a truffle hunt, a day in the best market town in Provence, in L’Isle sur la Sorgue, which also has the largest collections of antique shops anywhere in Europe outside of London and Paris.

You join our expert wine guide, a world renowned sommelier, in some of the best private vineyards of the Côte du Rhone, followed by a special food and wine pairing lunch, and an introduction to the ‘nez du vin’.

Sitting on an exquisite terrace, you enjoy a luncheon, overlooking the famous and magnificent Mount Ventoux, in the heart of Tour de France country; your week includes visits to historic, ancient Roman ruins, private gardens, an art gallery set in an ancient limestone quarry, and you are invited to a very special lunch in the grounds of a superb private chateau where the owner leads you through a tasting of their 6 special wines expertly matched with 6 perfectly ripe cheeses and chocolate.

You cook in a hands-on cooking class, in a hillside village, using the edible plants you forage in the village and the beautiful surrounding countryside; all conducted by a Michelin trained chef.

Come, join us, ‘live like a local’ for a week enjoying Provence at its best.

Please email me to register your interest and for the brochures on the Mas Blanc and our itinerary – Tonya@cookingonthebay.com.au

Look at the Picnics in Provence website as well.

Nikki is a passionate cook, Francophile, traveller and mother of 2 who speaks Spanish and French and has lived in various parts of the world including the US, France, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, which makes her a perfect host and leader for these tours.

Tonya is a chef and owner of Cooking on the Bay Cooking School. She loves France, is passionate about France and everything French, a Francophile! It is almost her second home; as she travels there twice a year, mostly living on the Betty B barge with her partner Michael. She is knowledgeable about French food, wine, culture and history and will be your co-host with Nikki as your Tour Leader.