7 July 2024 | Cooking with the Impressionists: Paul-Auguste Renoir

Date: 7 July 2024

Time: 3:00pm-6:00pm 

Location: Savour headquarters aka Wendy's home and garden, 94 Oban St., Wadestown, Wellington

Today we’ll gather by the open fire at art historian and chef Dr. Wendy Joyce's home to learn more about Renoir's life, art and food in Paris. After a presentation lasting about an hour, we'll recreate Renoir’s pot-au-feu, followed by delicious warm chocolate tarts.

Renoir, one of the rare Impressionists with working class origins, stayed true to his roots by serving rustic, family-style dishes for friends and family visiting his home in Montmartre, Paris. His home was open for dinner every weekend when fellow artist friends would share a pot-au-feu which was cooked on a charcoal-burning stove. Everyone was invited and asked to bring along a hunk of beef, if they could afford it (for this class, Wendy will buy all the meat bien sur; The cost of the class is slightly higher than others due to the cost of the ingredients). 

Desserts were inspired by Renoir’s friend and pastry chef, Murer, whose patisserie on Boulevard Voltaire Renoir had decorated.

Pot-au-feu is a very rich and hearty beef stew. It is made with bone broth which Wendy makes beginning a few days before the class so it has lots of time to simmer and produce all the beautiful silky collagen and immune-boosting properties that make this stew so healthy and delicious for wintertime. Fresh vegetables and delicious chunks of beef rib are added to the broth and it's again simmered for a long time. In the class, we will make a pot-au-feu using the broth so you can learn the process, but we'll be dining on pot-au-feu Wendy made in advance.

After the cooking, sit down and enjoy dinner together with some fresh sourdough and salad made with organic greens from the garden.

Due to space limitations, this workshop is limited to 8 participants.

About Wendy:

Wendy started Savour Cooking School after retraining as a chef following a career as an academic. Her area of expertise is 19th-century French literature and art history with a special interest in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Her PhD from Princeton University focussed on artists' depictions of the female body and female nudes in fiction, sculpture and painting of the period between 1850-1880. She is passionate about French history and loves to bring the era alive through lively presentations. This series of classes "Cooking with the Impressionists," marries two of her life-long passions: French art and food!