BEST TRAVELER'S CHOICE 2026
BEST TRAVELER'S CHOICE 2026
Seven days in southwestern France, built entirely around the kitchen and the cellar; four hands-on cooking classes, four guided wine tastings, and two mornings threading the stalls of the Sarlat market, all from a single boutique hotel base in the heart of Sarlat’s medieval town.
Some trips are about seeing the Dordogne. This one is about tasting it. The Périgord has been feeding people well for a very long time: this is the region that gave the world foie gras and the black truffle, whose walnut groves have carried a protected designation of origin since 2002, and whose vineyards around Bergerac have been quietly making wine since the Romans first planted vines along the Dordogne. Hosted jointly by Les Cordeliers and CookDordogne at Le Chèvrefeuille, this seven-day week is built to hand you all of it, fork and glass in hand, with two departures each summer: July 19–25 and August 23–29, 2027.
The week unfolds through four hands-on cooking classes led by Chef Ian Fisk, four guided wine tastings led by wine educator Stephen White alongside expert local wine merchants, and two mornings browsing the stalls of the Sarlat market, the same medieval streets that have hosted market day since the town’s earliest years, and where truffles, walnuts, and foie gras still change hands much as they always have. An afternoon at the Lascaux IV cave replica rounds out the week’s one non-culinary excursion. On Friday, the kitchen is entirely yours: design your own menu, prepare it at CookDordogne, and sit down to enjoy what you have made.
Every evening returns to Les Cordeliers, our boutique hotel in the heart of Sarlat, for an apéro before dinner at home or at one of Sarlat’s gastronomic tables.
– Arrivals throughout the afternoon at Les Cordeliers, 51 rue des Cordeliers
– Opening reception with wine and gourmet grazing boards
– Cooking class and lunch at CookDordogne in Saint-Cyprien
– Wine tasting back in Sarlat
– Apéro at Les Cordeliers
– Dinner at Le Coin Coin
Market day in Sarlat.
– Browse the stalls and sample local foods
– Lunch at Le Bistrot
– Wine tasting and class in the afternoon
– Apéro and dinner at Les Cordeliers
– Cooking class and lunch at CookDordogne
– Afternoon visit to the Lascaux cave replica
– Apéro
– Dinner at Gueule & Gosier
– Full-day cooking class at CookDordogne in Saint-Cyprien
– Wine tasting
– Apéro
– Dinner at CookDordogne: the meal you have created yourself
– Free time at the Sarlat market in the morning
– Afternoon cooking class and lunch at CookDordogne
– Wine tasting
– Apéro and dinner at Aux Trois Sens
From 10:00 am.
– Breakfast
– Farewells and departure at your own pace
Your hosts, Susan Buchanan and Stephen White, fell for Sarlat on a brief visit in 2025 and never looked back, trading their inn and restaurant in Vermont’s ski country for this 1870’s maison de maître in the heart of the medieval city. Stephen, a chef and certified wine educator, leads the week’s wine tastings and loves sharing the region’s history and gastronomy; Susan, a professionally trained baker and near-native French speaker, has a gift for making a stay feel like home. One or both of them will be with you for every part of the week: in the kitchen, at the wine tastings and back to Les Cordeliers each evening.
Before Sarlat, Stephen spent nearly two decades in wine and spirits sales in New England, later earning his Certified Spanish Wine Educator credential and WSET II. Susan spent over twenty years as a professional fundraiser for leading medical research institutions, including Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine, and holds a law degree and a master’s degree in French, with a fellowship year in Strasbourg.
Together, they ran Tucker Hill Inn & Restaurant in Vermont’s Mad River Valley, and now bring that same hands-on hospitality to every signature trip they host. One or both of them will be with you throughout the week.
Typically, no fewer than 6 and no more than 12 participants (not including guides and support team).
Single occupancy requests require a supplemental charge, considered on a case-by-case basis depending on availability. Request a quote from Les Cordeliers.
Should it be necessary to cancel, the reservation may be transferred to another person following their acceptance by Les Cordeliers. Otherwise, the following charges apply per person:
Final itineraries may vary slightly; inclement weather may also necessitate alterations.
All trips are conducted in English
