For 2011: The Bordeaux Semester

Spend a semester living in one of France's most beautiful, historic, and dynamic cities. Alongside learning the French language from the experienced teachers, students will receive instruction in gastronomy, food history and culture, working closely with resident faculty and local experts.

By the end of the Bordeaux Semester, students will have a knowledge of Western civilization through the perspective of food, wine, & agriculture. They will understand how the production and consumption of food & drink relate to society, economy, and culture both in the present day and throughout history. A special focus of the Bordeaux semester is French food culture, and numerous field trips to farms, vineyards, and restaurants combined with culinary arts classes will give students irreplaceable first-hand experiences. Each participant in the Bordeaux Semester will come away with a sophistiated knowledge of French cuisine & wine, artisanal foods and farm products, and the savoire-faire demanded by today's cosmopolitan society and economy.

The City of Bordeaux and its surroundings of vineyards and wine chateaux make for an unsurpassed location. Bordeaux has been officially included on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites as of 28 June 2007. This distinction recognises the beauty and unity of style of Bordeaux's architectural heritage, which has developed harmoniously over the centuries and remained remarkably well-preserved. The Bordeaux World Heritage site is the largest urban entity to be so honoured. It covers 1,810 hectares, or half of the city, from the outer boulevards to the banks of the Garonne. With over 350 historic monuments in a protected area of 147 hectares, as well as 3 churches (Saint-André, Saint-Michel, and Saint-Seurin) that were already listed as World Heritage sites on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela.

While there are now several study programs in gastronomy worldwide, there are few programs that ground the intellectual pursuit of food within its cultural context with practical experience on the farm, in the food market, and at the stove. The Institute of Sustainable Gastronomy program will give students both the tools to think critically about food within human civilization and also elevate the quality of food production, journalism, food promotion, and tourism in today's marketplace. The entire context of the semester program will emphasize sustainable solutions and understandings of culinary and wine production within the contemporary context of both Western Europe and North America.

The Bordeaux Semester takes place in classroom and kitchen facilities in central Bordeaux City; arranged homestays or assistance with housing is provided for all students. French language instruction forms an integral part of the program, using a well-respected language education partner, the Alliance-française. The Alliance in Bordeaux has recently received the coveted "Qualité Français Langue Etrangère " designation for the French Education Ministry. The Bordeaux Semester is offered to students as a stand-alone "semester abroad" program, given sufficient French-language proficiency. The Institiute would be happy to discuss credit for the program with any university or college.

THE CLASSES
3 hours a day of intensive French language classes from the experienced native instructors of the Alliance-française.

2 hours of afternoon gastronomy/food history/wine courses led by Dr. Charles Leary and Vaughn Perret, with visits by local experts and field trips to food & wine destinations around Aquitaine and the Pyrenees.

This semester will place an emphasis on food products, ingredients, and food systems as well as some instruction in practical culinary/food production techniques. Field trips will be an important component of many of the block courses.

Primary faculty: Vaughn Perret & Charles Leary, Ph.D.

Primary Text: Jean-Louis Flandrin, ed. Food: A Culinary History (European Perspectives) available in French and English; J.-L. Flandrin, M. Montanari, Histoire de l'alimentation (Paris, Fayard, 1996)

Intensive courses presented in two-week blocks:

Artisan Cheeses/Affinage: Nothing better exemplifies the goal of high-quality, small-scale food production than French farmstead cheeses. This class will introduce students to the basic concepts of cheese production, including the 3 common milk types, and the French system of cheese ageing, or affinage. The class will also use the French system of cheese production as a viewpoint on food systems, and the importance of regionality. The AOC system will be introduced. Guest instructor, Affineur Jean d'Alos. Text: Fromages fermiers (La Maison Rustique).
Wines & Viticulture of Bordeaux Master Class: Held in cooperation with the Ecole du Vin of Bordeaux, this class will bring students face to face with the realities of viticulture, winemaking, and wine analysis in what is arguably the world's most important viticultural region. Field trips to at least three important AOCs will introduce the concept of terroir. Students will also study the history of Bordeaux, and its relationship to trans-Atlantic trade, including Canada.
Wine & Food Pairing Master Class, including techniques of evaluation & flavor dynamics
The Pyreness and the French/Spanish border: a Master Class on Regional & Sustainable Food Systems (local markets & producers; traditional production methods; regional approaches to food and cuisine; understanding a self-supporting food system in French history and contemporary French society)
The French Dining Experience: culture, aesthetics, and history plus practical wine & food pairing. Possible text: Hayagreeva Rao, Phillipe Monin and Rodolphe Durand, "Institutional Change in Toque Ville: Nouvelle Cuisine as an Identity Movement in French Gastronomy"; Paul Metzner, Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution (California), chapter on Careme.
Artisanal products and production techniques for wine and food, including mushrooms & wild foods, fermentation and food production, olive oil, heirloom or "typical" vegetables, specialty seafood, small-scale viticulture & vinification, etc. An important topic of this class will be an analysis of the French food markets as economic, social, and cultural institutions and how lessons from the French system might be applied elsewhere.