With the October cooking retreat slowly approaching, I got on a train, opened my book, and a few chapters later got off the train in the heart of Burgundy, Beaune. Unlike other people who go straight to the hotel, I went straight to the boulangerie. The bakery stood in a small village, almost in the middle of the fields, offering such a variety of delicious bread. I knew that bread from here would be expecting everyone to join the culinary retreat.

Only then I quickly left my luggage in the queen of all of the guesthouses – La Maison de Pommard. The exact place where all of us will enjoy the bounty of French cooking, eating, table setting, wine tastings, and joie de vivre. I did not stay there for long as I came for something else. I came to discover, meet, understand, and fall in love with Burgundy and its products even more. A few moments later, I drove to Meursault, a bike ride from the Maison, and visited another spectacular organic boulangerie in Beaune whose bread will be on the table these days. One after another, I visited épiceries, shops, boucheries, and all of the small shops that would be my stopping points a few days before everyone arrived, and I ended this shopping tour with a plunge into a swimming pool, enjoying the intimacy of the yard full of herbs, an almond tree, and the scent of the blooming roses. I would have stayed there longer, yet a wine tasting of some rare wines waited for me, as wines, scarce and exceptional, will be part of our journey here (and to get those, it is a challenge asking for the right person’s acquaintances).

With dinner in the yard, the evening slowly turned into a morning when, with everyone asleep, I woke up and ran down barefoot to get my cup of coffee. I was sipping it slowly in the bed and overlooking the church in total silence. This region is a world-known destination everyone likes to visit, but all of that disappears in the mornings when the village is as quiet as ever.

Although the list of shops, products, and everything else I would use during this weekend was quite complete, I did embark on another day’s journey to search for more. Together with the owner of the Maison, I walked almost hand in hand to discover her favourite shops that she has been shopping at since childhood: cheese shop, the oldest mustard house, market, herboriste, pain d'épices baker, and many others. My list of places I would shop days before you arrive got longer, yet I do not care, as when you come, I wish for you to leave with so much love for the French cuisine that you might even consider moving here. With a suitcase full of cheese, bread, and even cherries, I got back on the train, to arrive in Lyon a few long chapters later, eagerly waiting for October to come, as I cannot wait for you to arrive and for us to meet and cook together.