Marlene Deparis

Anzex (47), France

From the minute our French cook Marlene was old enough to hold a spoon she was old enough to cook – as far as her grandmother was concerned anyway.

“Mum was a single parent so she worked a lot, so my grandma cooked for the whole family – she’s an incredible cook,” Marlene said.

“And I helped her from when I was old enough to hold a spoon – luckily I did get to lick the spoon too!”

Marlene loved learning all the cooking tricks and techniques off her grandma, and kept cooking for her family and friends even when working full time as a wine buyer in Calais (North of France).

In 2004 she moved to the pretty village of Anzex, in the Lot-et-Garonne (Aquitaine) where she bought a beautiful 19th century French farmhouse. After 3 years of renovating, she opened it as a guest house where she ran tours around the local producers, wineries and markets.

Setting up the cooking holidays hasn’t always been easy for Marlene but due to her friendly approach and brilliant teaching methods the cooking courses grow in popularity year on year.

“It’s something I do with a lot of passion and I think it’s my excitement for cooking that makes guests who might be shy or nervous really come together and have a great time.

As well as having fun on the cooking holidays, Marlene is determined to prove French food doesn’t need to be shrouded in mystery.

“All the big chefs like to make French food sound so tricky and people think they could never attempt a soufflé or other French classics, but it doesn’t have to be like that. My favourite thing is seeing people master something with my guidance that they thought they couldn’t do – it’s a great feeling.” Marlene said.

“It might sound cliché but I do feel so privileged to get up every morning to do something I love. I open the shutters and see the sunshine and get to make delicious food with amazing people, I am very lucky.”

And Marlene’s family tradition of cooking lives on, with Marlene’s two daughters aged 7 and 10 already eager young cooks, keen to learn every culinary secret their family have passed.

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    • Le Gargantua