Rêverie

Lisa Donovan and Julie Belcher are Nashville food professionals who wanted to share the joy of cooking with people but didn’t want to work in professional kitchens with long, off-kilter hours and low pay. Together they created Rêverie, a company that takes small groups on all-inclusive culinary trips to different locales in France.

In 2023, they’re offering four different retreats: French Riviera, Loire Valley, Normandy and Toulouse; each trip is tailored to the specific culinary strengths of that region. Accommodations are typically at a luxury château, with swimming pools for a leisurely dip, fields to wander, an open kitchen for practicing what you’ve learned and long dining tables for family-style meals with lots of wine. Presented by Lisa, Julie and guest chefs, workshops will cover the specifics of pastry, sourdough and more. Other activities are specific to the area and may include skills like butter- or cheese-making. Julie says Melissa M. Martin — guest chef for the French Riviera exploration — is “a master of things that swim,” so those workshops will be focused on seafood. No matter the excursion, guests will receive a recipe book, so they can replicate the magnificent dishes they learned abroad.

“As this company grows, you could go on the same trip every year and see something different each time,” says Lisa, a James Beard Award winner. Outings and workshops are designed to explore something new and to revisit old favorites, so Rêverie’s 2023 journeys may return to places their veteran travelers have been before. The author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger continues, “We want it to be touching, special and meaningful.”

Past Rêverie travelers have run the gamut in age — ranging from their 20s to their 70s — and have included solo travelers, couples, families and groups of friends. Each trip is limited to between 12–18 people and typically lasts five or six days. Julie previously lived and worked in France, so she’s a terrific translator for those who need assistance, but programming is conducted in English, and there are opportunities to practice French for those who want to brush up. Prices vary and range from $3,100 per person for May’s trip to Toulouse, to $7,000 for a single room in Normandy in June. Once you have gotten yourself to France, though, prices are all-inclusive: food, accommodations, classes and outings. This team will even pick you up at the airport.

Lisa concludes with Rêverie’s hope for each guest: “Julie and I work for a living and know that vacation does not come easily to everyone. When you are staying in a château with us, you should feel like there is a crown on your head.” ReverieForever.com