Following the footsteps in one of the most famous culinary chefs

If you haven’t seen it yet, then do record it or watch it on catch up, it really is one not to miss if you have an interest in France, and in cooking.

The premise of the show is that James Martin tours the length and breadth of France in Keith Floyd’s very own Citroen 2CV on a nostalgic journey, retracing the steps and visiting the places that Keith did more than 30 years ago.

Not only that, James himself spent a lot of time in France as a teenager, and its culinary influence had a profound effect on James’ career and the type of food that he now cooks.

There are 20 episodes in the series, and each one visits a different location beginning in Provence, and travelling through regions such as Burgundy, Alsace and Brittany, cooking recipes and revisiting places which are meaningful to both James and Keith before him.

So what delights can we expect to see? Well if the couple of episodes that have aired to date are anything to go by, you are in for a real treat!

For example, the first episode begins in Saint-Emilion, where James began his food career, visiting the hotel where he trained. Not only does he cook up some fantastic treats, but also samples food from the local area. Macaroons and Saint-Emilion wine in this episode – you see what we mean?

If you’ve watched the programme, and it’s given you the taste and you fancy travelling to Saint-Emilion, then our Luxury Grand Cru Tour stops off here.

Then, James tours the Canal du Midi, starting in Carcassonne, then hopping on a boat and sailing towards the coast. Pretty good idea, we reckon, why don’t you have a go too?

This cruise is also famous as it’s the one which Rick Stein took in his TV series, so popular with some of the best chefs in the world, so it’s got to be pretty good!

Then there’s the episode where he tours Charente, visiting a cognac distillery and using it to cook a sumptuous dish. Yep, we’ve done that too! Take a look at our Classic Cognac Cycling tour.

Or how about the region of Jura? Here James Martin learns more about the apples and pears, famed in this part of France, as well as the Comte cheese. Delicious!

We too, have a tour travelling through the Burgundy region which offers panoramic views of the Jura, close enough to also give you opportunity to taste the local specialities. Check out our Mâcon Prestige à Pied tour.

Episode 11 airs tomorrow afternoon and there are plenty more wonderful episodes to watch, tune into ITV every week day from 3pm, we can’t wait to see where he travels next! We’re hoping there’s more visits to some of the wonderful places we and our customers have travelled to as part of a Belle France Tour, whether that’s walking, cycling or river cruising, either way, we know there’s some amazing food and drink on offer, as discovered too by James Martin!

Main article images:

Citroёn 2CV - By Abrimaal - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0