The Art of Food: Cooking Classes with Suzanne Kay in Provence

For the past 11 years, I have guided tours through Provence. One of my tours, Edible Provence, offers two (2) cooking classes. Last year, I was very disappointed with one of the cooking class instructors I’d been using and needed to find someone new. While browsing the internet, I landed on the website of the journalist, cookbook author, and teacher Patricia Wells, hoping she was still offering classes in Provence. She wasn’t, but she suggested I contact Suzanne Kay.

Cooking Classes in Provence

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My tour group stays in the village of Malaucène, in a beautifully renovated 12th-century priory just 20 minutes away from Séguret, where Suzanne lives. The Le Prieuré La Madelène owners offered to visit Suzanne for me before I booked her class for my next group. They were extremely enthusiastic and thought her class would be a perfect fit, and they were right.

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Art of Food Cooking

Suzanne was born and grew up in Toronto, Canada. She studied art and after graduating from college, she left Toronto and travelled to Santorini, Greece, got a job in a restaurant and discovered the practical magic of basic cooking in tavernas. Suzanne then moved northwest to the Isle of Arran in Scotland, where she continued developing her cooking talents. She worked as a sous chef at a fine-dining seafood restaurant, then moved up the kitchen ladder to become head chef at a small, deluxe hotel where she creatively wove together Mediterranean and Scottish flavours.

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The Chef, Suzanne Kay

In 2000, following her wanderlust, Suzanne travelled to Vancouver, B.C. and remained there until 2012. She and her husband left Vancouver in 2012 with the intention of settling in Crete. Things didn’t go exactly as planned, so they decided to move to France, the easiest option because they both had French passports – Suzanne’s husband is French. For the first six (6) months, they moved around southern France volunteering on organic farms, and ended up being offered a care-taking position at a property in Roaix, a small village near Vaison-la-Romaine in the Vaucluse, and developed a successful organic food truck business, and lasting friendships. Patricia Wells was a regular customer.

Mas de Mourchon

Provencal Wine and Food

The McKinlay family, also regular customers, owns Domaine de Mourchon, located in Séguret. Originally from the UK, they bought a vineyard 26 years ago, developed their cellars and eventually became an independent wine domaine. Word-of-mouth brought Rick Steves’ tour groups who came for wine tours and lunch throughout the summer that Veronica McKinlay catered for. By 2016 the food truck had become too popular to handle in such a confined space, and Suzanne’s friendship with the McKinleys had grown enough for her to be asked to take over catering at the domaine, which allowed Veronica to retire and eventually return to the U.K. Their daughter, Kate, took over the business and continued to promote the domaine as an independent winery. Kate converted her parents’ beautiful family home into a high-end holiday rental. Several times during the year, Suzanne rents the house for her Plate Full of Dreams cooking classes.

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Culinary Work

One bright sunny day last year, my group and I travelled the long, winding road to the McKinlay house. Suzanne was waiting outside. Once settled, we cooked, nibbled on delicious homemade scones, and talked about salt and acidic components in preparing dishes, different cooking and cutting techniques, and what constitutes Provençal cuisine: peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs, prepared with bold strokes. We were ready to enjoy our four-course meal by three o’clock.

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Seasonal Cooking

Suzanne infuses her classes with the knowledge she has gathered while travelling and living in Provence. Her classes focus on ingredients—local, organic, and fresh. She concentrates on how to develop layers of flavour creatively. Her hope is that participants go back home inspired to continue creating and sharing their passion for food with family and friends, no matter their skill set.

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Small Group Class

Suzanne offers vacation and private classes tailored to what people want to learn, their likes or dislikes, food sensitivities, allergies and budget. The vacation classes combine cooking with a 7-night stay at Domaine de Mourchon. Private classes can take place in your home (or residence rental), and can be from 1 to 5 days including wine tastings, and market visits. Suzanne will also design a private class, as she did for my clients and me. Whether you are interested in traditional Mediterranean cuisine, fusion, vegetarian, or artisanal bread baking, Suzanne will inspire you to cook with confidence and creativity.

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Provence’s luscious bounty, olive groves, picturesque hill towns and excellent wines have attracted visitors for centuries. Travellers, gourmands and cooks looking to discover the real Provençal table will welcome Suzanne’s authentic recipes and artistic talents. To her, cooking is like painting – Just as there are many colours on the artist’s palette, there are many flavours – how you combine them sets you apart.

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So Many Connections

To my surprise, I discovered that Suzanne and I share a number of coincidences. She cooked on the island of Arran off the west coast of Scotland, while part of my ancestry descends from the Aran islands off the west

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coast of Ireland. Suzanne grew up in a vegetarian household, and I’ve been a vegetarian for over 40 years. Suzanne studied painting and jewelry design in college. I have a degree in art history and made jewelry while in college. She ran an organic food truck in the village of Vaison la Romaine. Between architectural and design jobs, I ran a small catering company in Seattle that specialized in Provençal cuisine. Her mother was a terrible cook, as was mine. Through many twists and turns, she eventually found her way to southeastern France, while I found my way to southwestern France. Suzanne is passionate about cooking, as I am, and you will be too after filling your plate full of dreams.

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Practical Information

Plate Full of Dreams (website)
Séguret, Vaucluse, Provence
Email: info@suzkay.com

View her artwork at http://SuzKay.com

Edible Provence (link for tour details)
12 Days, 11 Nights
Women only
Maximum six (6) guests
Inquire about 2025 dates.