SAMPLE ITINERARY

SUNDAY

3:00 p.m. Gather at Chambéry’s Gare Challes les Eaux where you will be met by your program directors. We will travel by bus through the countryside and into the Alps to Albertville and historic Hotel Million. The afternoon provides a chance to rest, to get settled into your room, and to discover the town center of Albertville and the near-by medieval town of Conflans, located just above.

8:00 p.m. Before dinner we will meet in the Salon for aperitifs. Dinner will be prepared for you by Chef DeAnacleto and will be served in the Restaurant’s Petit Salon. The Sommelier will discuss the wines of Savoie, and Chef Jose DeAnacleto will discuss the local cuisine. The Restaurant’s Table des Fromages will be presented and explained, and you will have the opportunity to sample some of the twenty-five or so cheeses served at the Restaurant. You will be presented with your tablier (apron) and your hand-made recipe book, guide to local cheeses, and wine list prepared especially for our session of the School for use throughout the remainder of the week.

MONDAY

Freshly squeezed orange juice, cafe au lait, and brioche and croissants are served every morning in the Audubon breakfast room of the hotel from 7:00 until 8:30 a.m. If you prefer, you may have breakfast in you room; or if you want to take an early morning walk or run, coffee is always available at a later time.

9:00 a.m. We will depart from the hotel in our private bus for a day in the historic and beautiful Beaufortain, with its forest and pastoral landscapes and the grazing area of the cows whose milk is used to make Beaufort cheese. We will travel high into the mountains where we will stop in the village of Beaufort at the Cooperative to see how the famous Fromage de Beaufort is made. It takes 10 stages to make the 88- pound rounds of cheese which are then aged for six months. We will travel higher into the mountains to the resorts of Les Saisies and Notre-Dame-de-Bellcombe, where we will have lunch in the countryside. Then it is on to Flumet and the fromagerie to see the making of the Reblochon, the first cheese of Savoie to be granted the AOC certification. We return to Albertville in time for our first class in the kitchen.

3:30 - 6:00 p.m. This afternoon our class will take place in the professional kitchen of Restaurant Million. Under the guidance of Chef DeAnacleto, we will prepare dishes concentrating on recipes using the Beaufort and Reblochon cheeses we discovered earlier in the day. Chef DeAnacleto might prepare the Tarte au Beaufort or a Gratin Savoyard, a cheese soup or a tartiflette, and explain how the local cheeses are used in dishes served in the restaurant.8:00 p.m. Dinner tonight consists of savory tarts and gratins, charcuterie, salads, and fruits, complemented by Savoie wines. 

TUESDAY

7:00-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 a.m. This morning we leave on an excursion to Chambéry, the capital of the counts of Savoie since 1232.  We will stroll through the Old Town, visit the local market in Place Geneve, and view the Fountaine des Elephants. We will visit the Chateau, the former residence of the counts of Savoie. From the place du Chateau we have a good view of the oldest part of the castle. We will continue to the 15C Gothic chapel, with its remarkable stained glass windows. We will climb the stairs of the Carillon for a private tour and performance of the Peal of 70 bells, the largest in Europe. The bells were made by the Paccard bell foundry in Sevrier, near Albertville.

We will leave Chambery and continue into the countryside to the village of Novalaise to the Ferme du Collomb where escargots and foie gras de canards are produced. Martine and Eric will discuss with us the methods of production and will provide our lunch. After a tour of the farm, we will return to Albertville.

3:30-6:00 p.m. Our second lesson concentrates on first courses. We might prepare escargot in a parsley sauce, a langostine mousse, duck and foie gras ravioli, crab cakes, or frog legs in a sauce flavored with chervil and served with a poached quail egg.

8:00 p.m. Tonight’s dinner takes us to the home of the cheese purveyor for Restaurant Million for a family-style meal of local specialties. We travel to his Fromagerie just outside Albertville, visit his shop and the area where he “ages” his cheeses in preparation for distribution, and then we sit down for a dinner prepared especially for us.

WEDNESDAY

7:00-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 a.m. This morning we board our bus and depart Albertville via the ancient wine road that hugs the side of the Bauges Massif. We travel into the region of Alpine Savoie that produces the Mondeuse, the classic red vine variety which was cultivated by the Romans 2000 years ago and transported across the Alps to Rome in amphorae sealed with pine resin. At the beginning of the 20th century, over 60% of the grapes grown in Savoie were the Mondeuse, and its wines were prized from Lyon to Geneva. We travel to the villages of Arbin and Freterive where we visit the vineyards of Domaine Prieure Saint-Christophe where the spicy, rich, and full-flavored Mondeuse, capable of aging for up to 15 years, is produced. After visiting the vineyards and the cellars, we will have lunch on theveranda of the owner’s home, previously a monastery dating from the 13th century. After lunch we return to the hotel for our next cooking class.

3:30-6:00 p.m. This afternoon we concentrate on main entrees. Chef DeAnacleto will discuss the local Alpine cuisine, and we might prepare succulent young rabbit with a vegetable-stuffed ravioli, a chicken breast coated with walnuts, or the fera, a local lake fish. 

8:00 p.m. After our day among the vineyards, we travel back into the wine region for dinner in the 13th century castle which was part of the defense system of the Count of Savoie. Enjoy drinks on the terrace overlooking the valley before a meal pairing the Savoie wines with appropriate dishes. 

THURSDAY

7:00-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

8:30 a.m. Thursday is Market Day in Albertville. After breakfast we will walk to the market where you can visit with the purveyors of local cheese, produce, breads, and other locally produced fare. Shop with the villagers for goods to carry on your journey with you. We later board our bus and travel to Annecy, on the shores of Lac d’Annecy, where the mountains come down to meet the water to form an unforgettable landscape. Spend the morning strolling the streets along the canals of Old Annecy. Note the arcaded houses, Italian-style wells, and take in the view of the picturesque Palais de I’sle, standing in the middle of the river. Visit the many sophisticated haute-couture shops and enjoy the specialties of Savoyard cuisine, such as irresistible chocolates, in traditional surroundings of the narrow streets of the Old Town. After lunch we depart Annecy and head along the western side of the lake on our return to Albertville.

3:30-6:00 p.m. This afternoon our cooking class concentrates on pastries and chocolates. The restaurant’s Pastry Chef discusses the traditional Chariot of Desserts served at Restaurant Million for decades, and we make chocolate and fruit tarts, croissants and pâte-à-choux. We discuss chocolate, make truffles, and sample some of the Chef’s chocolate creations.

8:00 p.m. Meet for an aperitif or the special House Cocktail of Restaurant Million in the Salon so we can mingle and relax. We move to the Petit Salon, set for our private dinner prepared especially for us by Chef DeAnacleto and his staff. We enjoy course after course of our farewell dinner, including a sampling of the Table de Fromage and the Chariot of Desserts. After sharing toasts and farewells, certificates are presented. After dinner settle in the Salonfor an after-dinner drink beforeretiring for the evening. 

FRIDAY

7:00-8:30 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 a.m. Gather in the Reception to await departure.

9:30 a.m. We drive to Chambéry where you are dropped off at Gare Challes les Eaux to continue your journey.