from Domaine d'Esperance, France

Comtesse Claire de Montesquiou hosts the week at Domaine d'Esperance with grace, humor and amazing energy. Prior to purchasing the property with her husband, Jean-Louis, she worked as a headhunter in London and in public relations for the fashion industry in New York. Claire comes from a diplomatic family, her great grandfather serving as Ambassador of France to St. Petersburg and her grandfather as French Ambassador to the United States.

Since the purchase d'Esperance, Claire started the culinary weeks and is responsible for the grapes grown and the wine and armagnac produced on the property and tending the many flower gardens on the estate. It is not unusual to find her in heavy boots, walking the fields to check on the grapes. Her clients are made to feel comfortable in her home, free to wander the estate. Claire guides the afternoon tours with wit, humor and historical expertise, taking students to her favorite markets, shops, wineries and quaint French villages. At meal times, she is always there to talk about the de Montesquiou history and share stories and appointments in the home that have been handed down for generations.

Chef Natalia Arizmendi, a "Grand Diplome" of the Cordon Bleu, has taught both cooking and pastry for more than 10 years. A gifted and humorous teacher, she shares the refinements of her skills in English, French and Spanish.

Chef Arizmendi has planned the series of seminars at Domaine d'Esperance to take advantage of the changing seasons to use fresh ingredients at their best. Autumn and winter courses will nourish and warm you with robust stews and flavorful roasts; spring and summer will bring the delights of fresh vegetables, salads and cold buffets. Natalia teaches the basic culinary techniques and skillfully shows variations in the recipes she offers.

Natalia runs her own cooking school in San Sebastian, Spain where she lives with her architect husband and three children. For her own pleasure and challenge, Natalia attended Cordon Bleu. Upon graduation, she was not only honored with the "Grand Diplome", but she was also bestowed the honor of graduating as the top student in the class. This shows in her enthusiasm and ability to impart her love of cooking to her students. On the beginning day of the classes, Natalia discerns the level of cooking of each of the students and works them at their own level for the most benefit.

In the evening after class, Natalia changes for dinner and becomes the beautiful, charming aristocratic hostess she was born to be. Her grandfather was dentist to the Kings of Spain. Her great grandfather was a Great of Spain with the same privileges as a king, not even having to bow before the King. Her great grandmother was of the French Garabaldi Family, serving as Ambassadors in Russia with the Tars.