Christmas in Paris
FRENCH BAKING TOUR
Christmas Baking in Paris
DECEMBER 2-9, 2023
TRIP LENGTH
8 Days, 7 Nights
Departures
December 2-9, 2023
BOOKING DEADLINE
September 2, 2023
Trip Overview
Home to world-renowned pâtisseries and delicious boulangeries, Paris is a dream destination for any baker. On this 8-day Christmas baking tour of Paris, we’ll spend our days learning how to bake French holiday pastries with a classically trained pastry chef.
From a Büche de Noël to a Mont Blanc, we’ll taste the very best pastry Paris has to offer while learning how to perfect them in our own baking. Every aspect of this 8-day small-group tour revolves around the techniques, flavors, and ingredients that make Paris the creme de la creme of pastry.
Like all of our experiences, we believe that food is the best way to experience new cultures, and there is no better place to experience patisserie than in the City of Lights, especially during the holiday season.
Highlights
- Learn to bake 5 different holiday French pastries from a professional pastry chef
- Experience afternoon tea at one of the fanciest hotels in Paris
- Enjoy a Christmas food tour tasting everything from pastries and chocolate to holiday treats
Itinerary
Bonjour Paris!
First things first, let’s check into our hotel, drop off our bags, and freshen up from day of travel.
Next, we will head over to one of our favorite Parisian restaurants for our first group dinner. This is a perfect time to get to know the other people in our group, as well as our pastry chef, and chat about our plans for the upcoming week.
If you arrive earlier in the morning, you will have the whole day to explore Paris before dinner, and can drop off your bags at the hotel.
Meals included: Dinner
Let the baking begin! As a rule of thumb, we believe that in order to bake incredible pastry, one must first taste incredible pastry.
We’ll begin our day with a morning pastry tour lead by our resident pastry chef, Jennifer Pogmore. She’ll take us to a few of her favorite pâtisseries to sample a variety of fun, unique, and of course, delicious French pastries.
Afterwards, we will make our way to the baking studio for our first baking lesson: gingerbread cake & French hot chocolate.
Once we’ve wrapped up with our first class, the rest of the afternoon is yours.
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch
Today, we will learn how to make a Galette des Rois!
You will spend the morning learning how to make the classic King’s Cake followed by a light lunch in the baking studio.
You will have the rest of the day to wander the beautiful streets of Paris.
Meals included: Breakfast, light lunch
Today you’ll have a free morning to see the sites in Paris before heading to the baking studio for an evening class.
This evening we will be making the delicious Mont Blanc pastry with chestnut cream and savory canapés for dinner.
During the class, we’ll focus on creating rich flavor mixed with beautiful presentation.
Meals included: Breakfast, dinner
Today is all about the Croquembouche, a tower of stuffed choux pastries held together by a caramel sauce.
After a small break, we’ll head to one of the fanciest hotels in Paris for afternoon tea.
Meals included: Breakfast, late lunch
We have been busy baking so far, so we are giving you the day to see and do whatever you like.
After a day full of site-seeing, we’ll meet up as a group for a Christmas market and holiday food tour with your local host.
Meals included: Breakfast, dinner
For our last bake of the trip, we’ll learn to bake one of France’s most traditional Christmas treats – the Büche de Noël. Not only will we learn to bake the classic Christmas yule log, we will also sample a selection of Büche de Noëls from some of the finest bakeries in Paris.
After the baking class, we will make a classic French Christmas dinner for our last group meal.
Meals included: Breakfast, dinner
We’ll start the day off with breakfast at the hotel before saying our goodbyes to the group.
Time to return home or to your next destination!
À bientôt!
Meals included: Breakfast
The Pastry Chef
Jennifer pogmore
Following a classical training in French pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris nearly 10 years ago, Jennifer gained experience working in Parisian pastry boutiques Carl Marletti and Ernest & Valentin before returning to Le Cordon Bleu as a chef instructor. Here she developed her passion for teaching, having the opportunity to instruct students from all over the world.
Now working as a freelance pastry chef based in Perpignan in the south of France, Jennifer will be joining us as our dedicated pastry chef in Paris where she will be teaching you how to make classic French pastries.
*All photos of pastries on this page are baked and photographed by Jennifer Pogmore.
The Baking Classes
All of our baking classes are private and exclusive to our group with our own professional pastry chef.
The classes will be a mix of hands-on baking and demonstrations from our resident chef, Jennifer Pogmore, as she teaches techniques and the science behind French pastry.
*As part of our mission to take care of our planet and reduce waste, we have opted for this class structure on our baking tours.
Ready to Bake in Paris?
RESERVE YOUR SPOT
December 2-9, 2023 | Paris, France
Where We Are Staying
HÔTEL ADÈLE & JULES
Located in the 9th arrondissement, Hôtel Adèle & Jules is in the perfect location to explore Paris. Close to many bakeries, restaurants and the attractions, this hotel is a lovely spot to call home for our stay in Paris.
Breakfast is included in your stay, and you can also enjoy complimentary tea time every afternoon from 4pm-6pm.
The hotel is located 20 minutes by metro (on one line) from the baking space.
All rooms are double occupancy. Please note that the rooms are cozy (it is Paris) and the twin beds are close together.
The baking space
There is nothing more Parisian than baking in a lovely Parisian apartment!
We have rented a beautiful space in the 11th arrondissement for all of our baking classes.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Accommodation (7 nights)
- All meals listed in itinerary
- Breakfast daily
- All baking courses listed in itinerary
- All activities listed in itinerary
- Trip leader
- A group of fellow pastry lovers
- Transportation to activities
- Welcome gift
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
- Flights to/from Paris
- Airport transfers
- Mandatory travel insurance
- Meals not listed in itinerary
- Visas (if necessary)
- Personal expenses
- Incidental expenses
- Gratuities for guides
Who Is This Baking Tour For?
The Christmas Baking in Paris tour is for any amateur baker who wants to improve their baking skills and immerse themselves in the culture of Paris during the holiday season.
If the descriptions below sound like you, you’d be an excellent fit for this stay:
- You enjoy baking / eating patisserie.
- You believe that food is the best way to understand a culture.
- You love trying new places to eat.
- You want to make new friends with shared interests.
- You are kind, respectful, and open-minded to different ways of living.
The trip starts and ends in Paris. There are two major international airports in Paris – Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Paris Orly (ORY). The city is just a quick metro ride away from both of these airports.
Yes, of course.
Please note – Paris rooms are small and while you’ll have your own twin bed, the beds will be quite close together.
If you’d like to book a private room, please send us an email and we will try to accommodate your request.
A single occupancy is an additional $1,350.
Yes, the minimum age requirement is 21 years old for all of our stays.
Yes, after paying your deposit, if you’d like to break up your payments into multiple installments, please send us an email to arrange this.
All payments are due 120 days prior to the trip start date.
Yes, due to the frequently changing requirements of the French government, we require all participants to be fully vaccinated, which includes the most recent dose of the booster.
