Le Foodist

Set up by a Frenchman who studied chemical engineering at Georgia Tech, Le Foodist is one of the more charming and personable of Paris's many culinary schools. Among the various cooking classes and tasting sessions on offer, the most memorable are the wine and cheese pairings (€65-75 per person), during which you sample fine wines and cheeses in interesting combinations – even learning how to saber champagne at the end. There's also French cooking lessons (including market visits, croissant and macaroon-making classes), and hosted dinners (from €120 per person) in which the country's gastronomic delights are served up over five courses. The perfect way to discover why UNESCO declared French food a 'world intangible heritage'.