Details

This auction is for the unique opportunity for 1 guest to attend a 4-night cookery course with celebrity chef, Dan Toombs. The winner will be staying in a Single Room with shared bathroom at a beautiful farmhouse in La Poublee, Le Mazeau, Vendee. Your stay includes: transfers to and from La Rochelle, Poitiers or Nantes airport, all food and drink consumed at the villa, excursions, complimentary copy of Dan’s new book: “THE CURRY GUY IS A LEGEND” and cookery lessons with Dan Toombs himself, valued at approximately GBP£249 / USD$325*.

Prize stay dates: this prize can only be taken 18 – 22 May 2017.

Please note this auction has a reserve price set of GBP£145.

This is the very unique opportunity to join the renowned ‘curry guy’ (aka Dan Toombs) for a fantastic one-off cookery course in France! Dan Toombs has been writing the hugely popular food blog: greatcurryrecipes.net since 2010. In order to achieve his curry knowledge and expert know-how, he spent two years cooking and serving his family nothing but Indian food and has travelled throughout the UK, sampling dishes and cooking with some of the best curry house and upmarket Indian chefs in the UK, truly learning all the curry house kitchen secrets out there. Dan has now mastered the art of making British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style food at home and in-turn has made it possible for his 160,000 monthly blog readers to recreate their own favourite Indian takeaway dishes at home. In 2015, Dan won the prestigious Vuelio Best UK Food & Drink Blog. This led to him writing “The Curry Guy” published by Quadrille Publishing in May 2017. This auction is for the chance to join Dan on a very hands-on course, where you will learn first-hand how to achieve the now world famous flavour and textures that are the British curry. That’s not all! You will also learn to prepare the tandoori meats, seafood and vegetables, as well as the side dishes and starters you expect to see when you visit your local curry house. You will be staying in a single room with shared bathroom in a beautiful riverside farmhouse situated in the Marais Poitevin. The prize includes transfers to and from La Rochelle, Poitiers or Nantes airport, all food and drink consumed at villa, excursions, a complimentary copy of Dan’s new book: “THE CURRY GUY IS A LEGEND”, and of course, cookery lessons with Dan Toombs himself! The beautiful house is full of rustic charm with 8 guest bedrooms, Sky TV and wifi, and outside you will find a newly renovated eating area with a pizza-oven, BBQ, and handmade table overlooking the gardens and river, perfect for a get-together. There is also a heated swimming pool with a bespoke seating area built alongside for relaxing in the sunshine.

ITINERARY (WITH SAMPLE MENU)
Day 1: Students picked up from the airport and taken to the villa where they will be met by Dan and the hosts for welcome drinks and dinner.
Day 2: Morning: How to make the essential spice blends, other base ingredients and the essential pre-cooked meats and base curry sauce. You will also make three marinades (marinating meat on day one to enjoy on days three and four). The marinades will be for chicken tikka/tandoori chicken on the bone, Lamb for an authentic Kachi biryani, and whole roast lamb raan. Afternoon: A demonstration on how to make three classic British Curries – Chicken korma, prawn Balti and chicken madras.
Day 3: Morning: Dan will demonstrate how to make perfect plain white rice, a marinade for tandoori prawns (to be cooked in the wood fired oven) and a marinade/sauce for tandoori lobster. Excursion to a local vineyard after lunch. Afternoon: Pillowy Naans. Preparing live lobsters for tandoori lobster and tandoori prawns with the marinade you made in the morning. Special pilau rice. Kachumber salad.
Day 4: Morning: Before the class starts, Dan will make up another batch of base curry sauce and guests can come help if they want. For the class, you will make tandoori chicken tikka, prepare lamb for biryani and pre-cooked potatoes which will be used in the afternoon class. Afternoon: Chicken tikka masala, Kachi lamb biryani, Bombay potatoes, vegetable bhaji. These will all be served with naans.
Day 5: Students will be taken to the airport in the morning to return home.

Terms and Conditions

: Luxury Travel Diary terms and conditions apply. This auction is for 1 guest to attend a 4-night cookery course with celebrity chef, Dan Toombs, staying at La Poublee, Le Mazeau, Vendee, in a single room with shared bathroom. *This auction item is valued at approximately GBP£249 by Big In France – please note this valuation is the list price provided to Luxury Travel Diary by the Auction Prize Provider and should be used as a guide only as cheaper discounted rates may be available. No cash alternative is available. This auction item excludes flights and transport, except for the transfers mentioned in the auction description above – you will need to arrange your own flights / transportation to and from your home to La Rochelle, Poitiers or Nantes Airport in France to coincide with the course. This auction prize can only be taken 18 – 22 May 2017. A place on this course is subject to availability. If this course is unavailable you will be offered a place on a different celebrity cookery course later in the year. Please note this auction has a reserve price set of GBP£145. Winners must pay for their auction item in full via Paypal within 48 hours of the auction end, otherwise Luxury Travel Diary Ltd. reserves the right to offer the auction item to the next highest bidder with immediate effect.