Cooking Mediterranean in Uzès
Before I moved to France, I imagined taking a cooking class in Paris. The kind where you wear a signature apron, learn to slice vegetables like a pro, and sip wine while a French chef breaks down their secret techniques.
I didn’t make it to that class in Paris—at least not right away. My first cooking class took place here in Uzès. And what I found was even better.
Just a few steps from my apartment, in the Place aux Herbes on a Wednesday market day, I met Chef Eric Fraudeau—and discovered Cook’n With Class. That day launched me into a culinary adventure I’ve been following ever since: from Uzès to Paris to Seville and now into a friendship that encompasses a global opportunity to learn about food and culture.
Meet the Masters Behind the Brand
Chef Eric Fraudeau is a classically trained French chef with nearly four decades of experience, including executive-chef roles at Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and Sofitel hotels in Monaco, Montréal, New York, and Mexico. He’s cooked in the kitchens of culinary icons Joël Robuchon and Alain Ducasse—but his joy comes from sharing food with real people—and teaching them to make it themselves.
His wife, Yetunde, is the locomotive behind the brand. As co-founder of Cook’n With Class Paris and CEO of Let’s Eat The World (est. 2021), she brings global adventure, cultural depth, and just the right amount of sass to every experience. With their young son often in tow, Yetunde and Eric travel the world—connecting food lovers with local chefs, artisans, and traditions, one dish at a time.
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A Mediterranean Cooking Day in Uzès
The day I met Chef Eric and Yetunde in Uzès, my Cook’n With Class course was “Cook’n with Fish”—a deep dive into Mediterranean seafood cuisine. We started at the Uzès market, filling our baskets with whatever was fresh and fabulous. Then it was back to the Cook’n With Class kitchen to turn it all into a proverbial Provençal feast.
The Menu
Apéro
Garlic and basil spread, olives, pâté, and brandade
Entrée
Pissaladière – a savory Niçoise tart with caramelized onions and anchovies
Main Course
Octopus salad with basil, olives, and capers
Sea bream with fennel, mussels, and saffron sauce
Cheese Course
A proper French selection of soft and hard cheeses
Dessert
Paris-Deauville cake made with boiled oranges and topped with chocolate ganache.
Learning to Cook Mediterranean
Prepping the food
For our Provençal & Mediterranean dinner on “fish day,” some ingredients were more intimidating than others. Squid? Octopus? They’re great to eat, but how to cook them? I was in the right place.
Everything was laid out before us when we entered the Chef’s kitchen. One by one, the ingredients morphed into a pissaladière, a sauce, a salad, a lovely fish dish, a dessert. Chef Eric and his guest, Chef Patrick, from the Paris school, stood by to guide and instruct us.
6 Easy Tips for Prepping
Chef Eric and guest chef Patrick (visiting from Paris Cook’n With Class) passed on to the group of international visitors in the class some of their top tips. Some of my favorite takeaways:
1. Anchovies melt right into a dish.
Who knew? The steps for the pissaladière called for us to slice and brown onions, then add anchovies. Did you know that anchovies melt? They actually disappear when they are heated and stirred into a recipe.
2. Boiled oranges = baking gold.
Chef Eric surprised us when he popped two oranges off the counter into a saucepan of water … to boil. “Organic oranges only,” he said. “We’re going to use the rind and all,” he added. After they were soft enough from boiling, the oranges were put into a blender and then into the batter for the cake we were preparing for dessert.
3. Clean mushrooms by hand.
Chanterelles, known as “girolles” in France, were spread out on the kitchen counter in all their yellow splendor. Never having “properly” cleaned a mushroom, I was anxious to hear what the Chef would suggest. He recommended that we use our fingers to brush off the dirt, followed by a quick wipe with a paper towel. He said he finds this way of cleaning mushrooms easier than using a brush. It means one less utensil in the kitchen drawer, too.
4. Fillet with confidence.
It’s not just about skill—it’s about trust. In your knife. And in yourself. Do you know how to filet a cooked whole fish served at the table? To filet a fish to cook, do it the same way.
5. Even broken sauces can be saved.
Every Chef has his secrets, and for this cooking class, Chef Eric and Chef Patrick were willing to share everything, including how to recover from making a mistake. According to Chef Eric, almost every cooking error can be resolved.
We watched one “mistake” happen when the “mayonnaise” for the rouille separated.
“Rouille” is a creamy, garlicky sauce that’s commonly found in the south of France. You can prepare and serve it in many ways, including as a main course. For our meal, rouille was a side dish.
While preparing the rouille, someone (not me, thank goodness) combined the ingredients too quickly. The sauce curdled. Chef Patrick “fixed it” by simultaneously working with tiny bits of the mixture. He pushed a little of the rouille to one side of the bowl, then dropped in an egg yolk and all. The Chef whipped the egg and rouille by hand. Little by little, he incorporated the “bad” mix into the “good” until it was a perfect consistency.
Chef Patrick says you can do the same with chocolate if it “goes to seed.”
Patrick revived a split rouille with just an egg yolk and some wrist action. Magic.
6. French etiquette applies.
You should know about French etiquette for cooking with “class” in France. There are “rules” on serving, eating, toasting, and drinking. For example, before a toast, with drinks in hand, you must look at each person straight in the eye. It may take a little longer to take that first sip, but doing it right will make a lasting impression. Eye contact before sipping. It’s not just polite—it’s practically a requirement.
Dining Provençal Style
After all the chopping, mixing, and kitchen magic, we sat down at a long table, ready to enjoy the fruits of our labor. From wine-filled glasses raised for a toast to the apéro and dessert, every course reflected what I love most about France: respect for tradition, joy in the moment, and generous servings of food and camaraderie.
Update 2025: Cook’n With Class closed its Uzès studio in 2020. Now the Cook’n With Class Provençal know-how lives on through the week-long Let’s Eat Uzès holiday, created by their travel agency Let’s Eat The World (founded 2021). Learn more here.
Why I Recommend Cook’n With Class in Uzès
Shop the market with a French chef
Learn hands-on Mediterranean recipes
Enjoy a multi-course Provençal meal with wine
Small groups for personal attention
Heading to Paris?
Check out Cook’n With Class’ half-day cooking and baking classes in Paris.
