Cooking Class from Susan Loomis of On Rue Tatin

Susan Loomis On Rue Tatin

My brother Josh, and sister-in-law Erin, have spent the last few days touring around Paris, and today they’re coming to Normandy! Ben Blair and I are meeting them in Louviers to take a cooking class from world famous chef, Susan Loomis.

I’m so excited! It’s been ages since I’ve taken any sort of cooking class and I can tell this is going to be a really good one. Plus, I’ll get to spend the day with some of my favorite people.

Susan Loomis On Rue Tatin

How about you? Have you ever taken a cooking class before? If you were to take one, is there anything in particular you would want to learn?

P.S. — For those of you who have seen our House Hunters International episode, we’ll actually be taking the class in the 2nd home featured in the show — the restored convent!


Photos by Stacey Haines for Traditional Home

45 thoughts on “Cooking Class from Susan Loomis of On Rue Tatin”

  1. My favourite cooking class was one we did with my work. It was quite an experience to work with people chopping things, etc. that you normally interact in a board room. Very different and telling as people are closer to themselves. My favourite was to learn to make real spring roles.
    Have fun!

  2. And now I will spend the day in a hazy daydream…one in which I, in a billowy, floral skirt spend the afternoon leaping through a courtyard surrounded by a geranium bounty!

    In case you haven’t caught on, I am living vicariously through your year in France! !)

  3. Very cool! I’ve never taken a cooking class before. If I did, I’d like to learn to make flatbreads. Naan, pita, tortillas, etc. Does that count??

  4. I would loveee to take a cooking class but never have. If I did, I’d love to learn how to make sauces and rues that are either the start of or the light of more simply main dishes. That way you can always spruce up a meal! :)

  5. How fun! I read Susan Loomis’s autobiography/recipe book “On Rue Tatin” about a year ago and really enjoyed it. And I just finished Patricia Wells’ “We’ll Always Have Paris and Provence,” which is very similar – moving to France, adjusting, life in general, all surrounded by delicious food. Have a wonderful time!

  6. I’ve never taken a cooking class, but would love to. I love that you’ll be in that convent again. Beautiful.

  7. That’s so exciting!! I can’t wait to see what you make. I’d love to take a cooking class sometime. So far my instruction has come primarily from cooking blogs and YouTube videos! :)

  8. I would love to take a cooking class. I love to cook for my family!! One particular thing I would love to learn how to cook would be how to make a perfect Caesar Salad. On our wedding night my husband and I ate at a wonderful place for dinner and they made one for us right at our table…it was delicious! Haven’t had one like it since. Have a wonderful time!!

  9. I read her book Rue Tatin last weekend! I cannot wait to see pictures of their house. It sounds wonderful. I recommend reading all about their renovation before you go.

  10. Ooo, I’m so jealous! Susan Loomis is one of my favorite cookbook authors ever. I’ve tracked down all three of her Farmhouse Cookbooks–American, French and Italian. Have fun!

  11. How wonderful! I can’t wait to see the post about your class!

    I’ve taken cooking classes a number of times, from at the rec center in elementary school to private homes in my 20s to formal classes at Central Market and Whole Foods. A lot of classes for someone who doesn’t really enjoy cooking, isn’t it? I just like group activities. I might cook more if I shared a kitchen with more people! :)

    When does your HHI episode re-air? I want to DVR it!!

  12. my mom and aunt went to paris to have a cooking class with jacques pepin way back in the day. have so much fun and i am completely jealous!!

  13. I’ve done one bread baking class and one intro to cooking. I enjoyed both! Honestly, I’d probably take the bread baking class again. My loaves tend to be hit or miss and I’d really like to get good at it.

  14. Okay, so that second house on House Hunters wasn’t really for sale? Oh HGTV, I’m so disillusioned. It’s all lies : (

  15. Pre-children my husband and I would occasionally sign up for a cooking class from this great woman who gathered ~8 people in her home to teach. We then all sat together and ate our delicious meal.

    I’d love to take a cooking class out in the Italian countryside….

  16. We were in Paris last year for our anniversary and had the opportunity to take two cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu. It was such a great experience. I highly recommend it.

  17. My daughter and I did a cooking class recently. I WISH it was in Paris though.
    Hopefully there will be wine. I love cooking with wine. I mean drinking it while I cook!
    The one thing I really wish was that I had really great knife skills. That is a class I will take one day.

  18. I have never taken a cooking class but would love to. I can’t decide what I would want to learn the most…it all sounds like so much fun.
    There is a website, epitourian.com, that offers culinary vacations. I think that looks like a lot of fun. If I had the money I think I would book one right now.

  19. Fun! I highly recommend the Hip Cooks cooking classes in LA and the Blue Elephant Cooking School in Bangkok, Thailand.

  20. lucky lucky
    the last great cooking class I took was a long time ago. my mother and I met up in NYC to take a class at Peter Kump’s and the topic was thanksgiving pies! I came home with 4 (!) pies to share with my roommates and neighbors. the class was great, and my graduate school friends LOVED it!

    living in st. pete, I feel like there aren’t great offerings here. maybe I need to look harder

  21. Oh, I’m jealous! Have always wanted to do a French cooking basics or pastry class in France somewhere with my sisters and/or a few friends.

  22. My husband and I took a Cajun cooking class in New Orleans a few years back. Start time was 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, a mere few hours after we’d fallen into bed after your typical evening in New Orleans. I badly needed coffee and my husband wasn’t feeling so great, either, but we made it to class and discovered we weren’t the only people feeling less than chipper. The instructor took one look around the room, laughed, asked the nearby restaurant for coffee all around and reached under her counter for a bottle of bourbon. To go along with the cream and sugar. It turned out to be quite a fun class!

  23. We just moved from Atlanta and one of the things I’m going to miss are the best-hidden-secret-ever cooking classes. There is a market on the north east part of the city called Buford Highway Farmers Market and they offer cooking classes. The steal is they only cost $20 and you get a $10 gift card for the market in return, all for 2 hours of learning and amazing food. They offered several different ethnicities, but my favorite was the Indian. The lady who taught it, taught it like you were walking into your grandma’s kitchen and would say, “Role up your sleeves and help me here.” Loved it and her style of teaching. It was also interesting to see how the different cultures taught. They have a Chinese mothere daughter duo, a blond Thai and a Japanese sushi chef who aspires to be a comedian. Loved them all, but I learned the most from the Indian Grandma because she really kept us busy.

  24. I have taken several cooking classes but the one that I remember as the best was one the we went out first to buy the fresh ingredients from a local farm and then we all cooked! If I would take another one soon I want to learn more salad combinations, nothing fancy but salads that taste as good as the restaurants ones!

  25. Hi Gabrielle-
    My husband and I were watching HHI last night and saw you and your family (SUCH an amazing family! God bless you). We were amazing when we saw the restored convent and would love to get in touch with the owner, Susan. Would you know how we can do that? We have actually been looking to purchase a place in southern France but after seeing your episode last night….maybe Normandy will be our new home! Thanks so much.

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