A Year in Burgundy: The Cook's Atelier in Beaune - Remodelista
Photography by Emily Johnston, except where noted. Blame it on A Year in Provence, Peter Mayle’s memoir of expat life in the south of France. The family, including Kendall and Laurent’s children, Luc and Manon Clair, outside their shop and school, which is situated in an 18th-century building in the heart of town. The storefront houses The French Larder, where Marjorie and Kendall sell their favorite cook’s tools and provisions, as well as their wine store, AP Wine. Marjorie and Kendall at work in the teaching kitchen, situated on the second floor above the shop. The Cheese Course at one of the Cook’s Atelier dinners. Meals are served on the third floor (just above the teaching kitchen) at an old zinc-topped farmhouse table overlooking a window wall that came with the building. The “magic closet,” a Belgian cabinet, houses wine glasses and tableware. Wine is always flowing at the Cook’s Atelier. Photograph by the Cook’s Atelier. Marjorie and Kendall collect vintage French creamware and flatware for their dinners. The teaching kitchen is outfitted with a Lacanche Sully range: “As a cook, I’d had my sights on this range for a very long time,” says Marjorie. The French Larder offers everything from corkscrews to tart pans and is newly online. Antique French chocolate molds over the sink in the teaching kitchen. A curved stair with an iron rail connects the teaching kitchen to the dining room. The French Larder is currently offering a stash of Sabatier Chef’s Knives with hand-forged carbon-steel blades (top shelf) made in the 1950s and never used. A view of the shop and its original stone floor from the teaching kitchen. The specialty is small-production wines from France with a focus on Burgundy. Marjorie and Kendall at the Saturday morning market in Beaune. Photograph by Kendall Smith Franchini. Yes, it gets even more idyllic: The family drives around locally in a vintage Citroí«n 2CV. For a New York cooking school, cafe, and private dining room, take a look at Haven’s Kitchen.