Cooking classes, farms and mills: the gourmet Périgord

Every January, during the Truffle Festival, a Sarlat chef runs short cooking classes on foie gras and truffles, open to all. Places are limited: booking with the tourist office is required.

Very close to the villa, this walnut producer offers free 45-minute guided tours following the walnut from tree to plate, followed by a tasting. An educational orchard with thirteen varieties, a nature trail and a shop of local produce complete the visit. Open all year.

Ten minutes from the villa, this watermill is one of the last in the region to make walnut oil the traditional way. Watch the millstones turn and leave with walnut or hazelnut oil, and a walnut cake.

About fifteen minutes from the villa, this foie gras farm offers a free tour followed by a tasting of its products. A chance to understand how Périgord foie gras is made, and to stock up for aperitifs.

This farm near Domme shows visitors around its geese and ducks and its production workshop, followed by a foie gras tasting with a glass of white wine. Allow an hour and a half to two hours. The shop, open all year, also sells organic walnuts and walnut oil.

In the Vézère valley, this family farm raises geese and makes its own products. A gourmet stop to combine with a day devoted to prehistory in nearby Les Eyzies.

At this goat farm, you can wander freely around the animals (goats, plus pigs and cows) and watch the moulding of Rocamadour AOP, the small goat's cheese of the Quercy, every morning at 10 am. From Easter to September, hand-milking demonstrations on Wednesday afternoons and picnic baskets of farm produce. Shop on site.