Discover France through food
Food offers a unique window into the people, traditions, and places that shape a country.
Living on our 400-year-old farm in Normandy, you'll explore France through hands-on cooking, food focused experiences and community living.
Discover why food remains at the heart of French life, and how it connects people to place, each other, and a life well lived.
Make our farm your home
Live in our dedicated student house, with the independence of living with your peers while remaining part of the daily life of La Vaquerie.
Life on the farm is something you help shape. Together, you'll plan meals, shop at local markets, cook, care for your shared home, tend the vegetable gardens, feed the chickens, and harvest what is growing for dinner. There is freedom here, but also the expectation that everyone contributes.
Over time, the farm becomes your home, a place to develop independence, learn to live well with others, and discover the satisfaction of creating a shared life together.
Find a different rhythm
Life at La Vaquerie isn't built around rushing from one activity to the next. There is time to linger over breakfast, ride your bike into town, spend an afternoon experimenting in the kitchen, hike the Normandy coastline, work on a creative project, read by the fire, or simply sit around the table talking long after the meal has finished.
Some of the most memorable moments aren't scheduled at all. They grow out of daily life shared with good people, meaningful work, and the freedom to follow your curiosity. Over time, you begin to appreciate a different rhythm, one where food, friendship, creativity, and conversation are not interruptions to life, but life itself.
Dates and Details
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Cohort Size
6 - 8 students
Program Length
3 - 10 weeks (full semester)
Dates
Spring 2027: March 1st – May 10th, 2027
Fall 2027: September 5 – November 13, 2027
We have three arrival/departure points in each semester. You are welcome to attend the full semester or chose a program length that suits you.
Cost
SPRING 2027
Session 1: €4,800 (March 1 - March 22, 2027)
Session 2: €4,800 (March 22 - April 11, 2027)
Session 3: €5,600 (April 11 - May 10, 2027)
Full semester (10 weeks): €11,500
FALL 2027
Session 1: €4,800 (Sept 5 - Sept 26, 2027)
Session 2: €4,800 (Sept 26 - Oct 17, 2027)
Session 3: €5,600 (Oct 17 - Nov 13, 2027)
Full semester (10 weeks): €11,500
Included: local transport, accommodation, instruction, excursions, equipment, meals in residence and group meals out.
Not included: Airfare, train ticket to and from our location. Meals on trips where students are free to make their own choices.
Scholarships are available for this program.
Travel Information
If you are staying the full semester, staff accompany students on the train between Paris and Normandy on the start and end dates. If you are joining us on other dates we will provide detailed instructions on how to get to our nearest train station.
Eligibility
This program is open to all, from confident cooks to complete beginners.
Language Requirements
None. The program is taught entirely in English.
Follow ingredients to the source
Follow food back to the sea, fields, orchards, markets, and workshops where Norman cuisine begins. Visit oyster beds and working farms, shop bustling markets, step inside centuries-old mills, and see firsthand how butter, cheese, bread, cider, seafood, and other regional foods make their way from source to table.
You’ll discover how ingredients are grown, caught, raised, made, and transformed, and how geography, season, tradition, and generations of knowledge have shaped what people eat in this corner of France.
Meet the people behind the food
Food tells the story of a place through the people who grow it, catch it, make it, and cook it. Spend time with a Michelin-starred chef, a third-generation fishing family, or a farmer protecting a rare heritage breed, hearing firsthand about the lives, choices, and traditions behind the food on our table.
Together, we'll explore the stories and bigger questions that emerge: about tradition and change, identity, community, stewardship, purpose, and what it means to dedicate yourself to something you care about. Through photography, writing, interviews, podcasts, short films, recipes, and other forms of creative expression, we'll explore these stories together and create ways to share what we've discovered.
Gather around the table
In France, some of life's most meaningful moments happen around the table. Meals are rarely rushed. They are a chance to slow down, share stories, enjoy good food, and spend time in the company of others.
Bring what you've discovered back to the kitchen, cook with seasonal ingredients alongside your peers, and gather each day to share what you've made. The ingredients, people, and stories you've encountered become part of the meal and the conversations around it.
More than a place to eat, the table becomes the heart of our community, a place for laughter, reflection, celebration, and one of France's most enduring traditions: making time for one another.
In the kitchen
Spend time in the kitchen each day with Chris, Andrea, guest chefs, and local experts, building the skills and confidence to become a more capable, creative, and intuitive cook.
Learn knife skills, sauces, stocks, breadmaking, seafood, pastry, classic French dishes, menu planning, seasoning, timing, and how to bring a whole meal together. Work with exceptional seasonal ingredients, recreate dishes inspired by the people and places we visit, and learn to improvise with what is available rather than simply follow a recipe.
Whether you're already a confident home cook or starting from the beginning, the goal is the same: to leave able to walk into a kitchen, make good decisions, and cook something delicious for yourself and the people around you.
Adventures beyond the farm
Life here extends well beyond the farm. We travel throughout Normandy and beyond, using food as a way into the history, culture, landscapes, and everyday life of France.
Follow the Normandy Cheese Route through Camembert, Pont-l'Évêque, and Livarot, discover Rouen's celebrated food festival and vibrant culinary scene, visit the copper workshops of Villedieu-les-Poêles, and trace Monet's love of food through his kitchen notebooks before journeying to his home and gardens at Giverny. Time in Paris offers another perspective, from neighborhood markets and café culture to immigrant food traditions and visits to some of the world's great culinary institutions.
Because the program follows the seasons, no two semesters are quite the same. Spring and Fall each bring their own ingredients, traditions, festivals, and food experiences. Explore the calendar below to discover what each season has to offer.