Cooking Classes
SO. MUCH. FUN. That’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the classes I offer in “My Cancale Kitchen” a big, bright, beautiful space right in the heart of a typical Breton fishing town.
As a food editor, cookbook author, pastry chef, and culinary historian, I have spent over 25 years immersing myself in the food and culture of Brittany, my adopted home. * I absolutely love sharing everything I know about the culinary bounty o be found in Brittany - Cancale - and the Saint-Malo/Mont-Saint-Michel Bay area.
Come learn to make crêpes on a traditional Breton griddle. Master the pastry techniques for an assortment of sweet, buttery Breton desserts like kouign amann. Prepare a multi-course Breton-themed meal that features the very best local ingredients. These are the regular themes you’ll find listed below (along with dates), but you can also get in touch with special requests tailored to special diets (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free) or focusing on something you’ve always wanted to taste—and try to make.
(My name’s Mary Margaret and I’m American…you can read more about me here. )
Breton Cuisine Classes
CREPES + GALETTES
APRIL:
Monday 6 April
Monday 13 April
Monday 20 April (full)
Sunday 26 April
MAY: Tuesday 26 May
JUNE:
Wednesday 3 June
Monday 8 June (full)
Wednesday 10 June (full)
Tuesday 16 June
Wednesday 24 June
Monday 29 June
JULY:
Wednesday 15 July (full)
Monday 20 July (full)
Wednesday 22 July
Thursday 30 July (full)
DATES - BRETON DESSERTS
“BEST OF” CANCALE
The brightest vegetables, the freshest seafood, the creamiest butter and dairy…you name it. Brittany’s got it. This is the class that features the foods and recipes I love from Brittany and Cancale. The menu we prepare changes with the seasons and is always steeped in tradition - the better to showcase the region’s rich culinary history. Note: classes can be tailored to vegetarian and gluten-free dietary preferences, too!.
11 am - 2 pm €95
Breton Cuisine Class Themes
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Learn to make Breton
CREPES + GALETTESBrittany is renowned for its crêpes, and especially its SAVORY buckwheat crepes (galettes). In this super-fun, very hand’s on workshop, you’ll learn to ‘turn’ crêpes and galettes on a professional griddle, make a killer batch of salted caramel sauce to go with them (and take home) and enjoy hot-off-the-griddle creations washed down with local cider for lunch.
11 am - 2 pm €95
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BRETON DESSERTS
(Kouign amann, salted caramel, + more!)I call this class the “Greatest Hits” of Breton pastry because we make all the best desserts from Brittany: flaky, caramelized kouign amanns, tender, buttery ‘palets ‘(shortbread cookies), creamy, custardy far bretons, and, of course, rich, salted caramel. After a light savory snack, we taste our creations with a bolée (traditional ceramic cup) of cider. You’ll be leaving with a bag of goodies, too!
11 am - 2 pm €95
-
“BEST OF” CANCALE
The brightest vegetables, the freshest seafood, the creamiest butter and dairy…you name it. Brittany’s got it. This is the class that features the foods and recipes I love from Brittany and Cancale. The menu we prepare changes with the seasons and is always steeped in tradition - the better to showcase the region’s rich culinary history. Note: classes can be tailored to vegetarian and gluten-free dietary preferences, too!.
11 am - 2 pm €95
Class Calendar/Calendrier des ateliers
🇺🇸 Click on the date to see what class is on offer. Can’t find a date that suits your schedule? Email me about adding dates or setting up a private class.
Please note: Classes require a minimum of 4 (four) participants to run. / NB: Il faut un minimum de 4 (quatre) inscrits par atelier.
PRIVATE CLASSES
Can’t find the date you want? Got an idea for your dream class during your stay in Brittany/Cancale? Want an activity for a family? A personalized, private class is always an option! As a pastry chef, master crêpe maker, cookbook author, former food magazine editor, vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free expert and Breton cuisine connaisseur, I have lots of ideas and experience for personalizing a class just for you.
What People Are Saying
“The experience was a real highlight of our trip. It was so much fun - both for us and for our teenagers. Mary is a true chef, very passionate about pastries and a great teacher providing clear, easy to follow instructions. We especially appreciated how well she connected our partly French partly English speaking group, and always translated everything for us. Just amazing - we cannot recommend it enough!”
— Tomas, Prague“We had SUCH a fun time doing the sweets workshop with Mary Margaret. She's a brilliant teacher and throughout this hands-on class you get to do everything, not just stand back and watch - so come ready to cook. We don't often join cooking classes on holiday as we find the lessons a little bit basic, but we gained a lot from this class. We're not bakers and MM had loads of helpful tips and tricks to share and we walked away feeling confident we could do all three recipes at home. I look forward to gifting our families caramel sauce at Christmas! Everything was super well organised and with just six people. We all had our own space and utensils to work in her gorgeous, homely kitchen by the sea. A brilliant way to spend the morning in Cancale”
— daniela, lisbon, portugual“Spent an awesome 3 hours with Mary! The class is engaging and well paced, we stayed busy and had fun. Lunch is served and is a homemade delight. We brought our kids who had a great time. The desserts were stunning, really, just fantastic. Quick, clear communication in English or French, perfectly fluent in both. Can’t recommend enough!.”
— Marc, West Hartford, Connecticut“What an incredible experience. It's a short trip by car, bike or bus from Saint Malo in the picturesque, seaside town of Cancale. The town is on the water with lots of great restaurants and wonderful vistas. Mary Margaret opened her chef's kitchen (with a view on the sea) to us, her students. She has an excellent teaching style. She put us at ease and got us interacting with each other like old friends. She took us step by step through the techniques of making traditional galettes and crêpes as well as salt-buttered caramel. She interspersed the lesson with tasting and then we sat down to eat the galettes and crêpes we had made with her. We all left with a gift package of galettes, crêpes and caramel. I never made galettes or crêpes before, but now I have the confidence to try the recipes she gave us and the techniques she taught when I get back home. One of the best cooking lessons on AirBnB that I've ever had.”
— Paul, Indiana, USA“You know those experiences that leave you feeling like you just spent a few hours with your new best friend and you finally learned how to do something you’ve always heard about? That’s how it was with Mary Margaret. She’s the perfect host who makes you feel like you’ve known her forever and who teaches you everything you need about that local food you didn’t realize you needed to master. This was an incredible day. A cozy, relaxed couple of hours learning how to make a French staple that Mary Margaret has figured out how to simplify so that mere mortals can make it and amaze their friends. I can’t imagine coming to Cancale and not having taken this class. It may be that one memory that really does last a lifetime.”
— John, San FRAncisco“We had a wonderful time cooking, learning secrets and techniques. Our hostess also imparted picturesque details of the Breton culture. We had a delicious meal of fresh crepes and galettes and sampled two kinds of cider. We took away great memories of a fun experience as well as generous amount of leftover crepes and galettes. In addition, I eat gluten free and while the galettes are naturally gluten free, crepes are not. Mary Margaret made a special batch for me using her gluten free flour mix - the best I ever tried, and I've been eating and cooking gluten free for 20 years!
— Adriana, Virginia USA