First came singles bars, dating services, and click-and-date Web sites. Then young urban professional searching for a little tenderness turned to speed dating.
Now a pair of French cooking schools are blazing another, somewhat less frenetic, trail in the quest for modern romance: “cook-dating.”
“I came up with the idea when I noticed how much the students in my classes had in common,” said Frederic Chesneau, who runs a small cooking school in the Marais district of central Paris.
“There were a lot of thirty-something professionals with stressful jobs, similar interests and very little time to meet people,” he said.
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Paris - First came singles bars, dating services, and click-and-date websites. Then young urban professionals searching for a little tenderness turned to speed dating.
Now a pair of French cooking schools are blazing another, somewhat less frenetic, trail in the quest for modern romance: "cook-dating."
"I came up with the idea" - and coined the term - "when I noticed how much the students in my classes had in common," said Frederic Chesneau, who runs a small cooking school in the Marais district of central Paris. www.cookdating.com
There were a lot of thirty-something professionals with stressful jobs, similar interests and very little time
Boarding Eurostar at breakfast, we are in the plump heart of France by lunchtime.
As the TGV cuts south from Paris, Burgundy's varied countryside comes into view, threaded with rivers, patched with woods and vineyards and peppered with castles and abbeys. Arriving at Dijon, we jump into a taxi and head straight for the Bistrot des Halles (like most French restaurants, it closes promptly at 2pm). In the city's market square, it makes an appropriate place to start an exploration of Burgundy's rich, earthy, cooking, much of it steeped in wine.
Rich is the word. If you want to spoil yourself, there's
A young man springs from his chair and drops down on one knee beside his beautiful companion. He slips a diamond ring on her finger and says the magic words, "Will you marry me?"
We'll have what they're having! But for us, dining on beautiful food is thrill enough for one evening.
Romance wafts playfully through the flower-filled dining room at Sassafraz. It's buoyed by the tinkling fountain and cool jazz echoing from the adjacent lounge. Discreet recessed lighting adds shimmer to the full-sized benjaminas in the soaring atrium. A series of shelves holds an array of fresh apples. Tempting.
Clearly the room
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Experience the magic of the holiday season in Europe with Air France Holidays' new vacation packages. From only $499 you can spend a memorable Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year holiday in Nice, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Prague and other popular European destinations. Book early as space is limited!
Holiday Vacation Packages (partial listing)
3-Night Vacations:
Paris Thanksgiving Getaway from $499 (Departure Date: 11/23/05; Gateway: Newark)
Rome Thanksgiving Getaway from $579 (Departure Date: 11/23/05; Gateways: Boston/New York (JFK)/Newark)
Nice Thanksgiving Getaway from $589 (Departure Date: 11/23/05; Gateways: Boston/New York (JFK)/Newark)
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