Pilates en France

Eating

Melanie is in charge of all things culinary at Les Tilleuls and meals and drinks are included in the price of your stay. In colder weather you eat in the kitchen/diner or in the rather more formal salon, but at the first sign of good weather – in the Périgord, read often – things move outside. As you’d expect given the holistic vibe, food is prepared with masses of TLC and Melanie makes a big effort to buy all produce as close to home as possible. She is happy to work round any unusual dietary requirements.

Lunches begin with a homemade soup followed by an enticing array of local cheeses and a big salad. There’s often some kind of savoury dish, like a homemade quiche, and you may get the chance to try the saucisson and paté from the village.

A 4-course dinner will be the main meal of your day and events begin around 8pm with drinks and nibbles in the kitchen, next to the fire in the sitting room or out in the garden. Your starter might be a baked tomato topped by a balsamic reduction and herbes de Provence or perhaps roast trout with a light avocado mousse. Melanie has a big range of main courses to ensure that even if you’re staying for a week, you’ll try something different every night. This could be some kind of fresh fish, a thick casserole, confits de canard served with potatoes and cèpes or perhaps cassoulet. A cheese board comes next, which will include the scrummy local goat’s cheese Cabecou as well as a selection of harder Périgiord varieties served with a neighbour’s fig or prune chutney.

Desserts vary according to which fruits are in season: peach or apple tatin are amongst Melanie’s specialities. All drinks are included à volonté: the white wine may well be a Montravel from close to Bergerac whilst the house red tends to be a very drinkable Croze de Pys. The wine has been produced just down the road in Cahors by the Roche family for several generations.

At least once during your stay Melanie will whisk you off, along with her other guests, to a local restaurant for dinner. It may well be to the characterful Auberge de la Place in Cazals: I have fond memories of the meal we shared here.

Expect breakfast to stick to continental lines. A local bakery supplies croissants, baguettes and chunky pain aux céreales and pain aux raisins, which are served with jams and honey, yoghurts, fresh fruit and muesli and, in colder weather, porridge. Melanie tends to have the radio tuned into Radio 4 but if you prefer to do without, just say.