In November 2023, I had the pleasure of staying with friends at La Ferme de la Lochere, a luxury farmhouse run by Chef and author Katherine Frelon, situated about halfway between Dijon and Chablis in the Burgundy wine region of France. A friend and colleague had been telling me about this place – and the person who runs it – for years, but I’d never been able to make it work until last year. I’d been following Katherine on Instagram (@katherinefrelon) and positively dying to meet her for ages, and it was worth the wait!

The five-bedroom, five- and a half-bath property is in a tiny hamlet that boasts its own chateau and a couple of chicken coops, but not much else. It’s a quiet spot, perfect for getting away from it all and experiencing a bit of authentic French living, in stark contrast to the glittering lights of Paris and the busy streets of Lyon. The cities have their appeal, but the countryside has always had my heart.

La Lochere’s owner, Chef Katherine Frelon, thoughtfully renovated the farmhouse over several years, creating a charming countryside haven for travelers to make their home base in central France – you can stay for several days, a week, or more. Katherine has thought of every detail, from curated local art on the walls, comfortable beds with crisp linens, and of course, a well-stocked kitchen. And Katherine works culinary magic in that kitchen, often tapping recipes from her cookbook, Shop. Cook. Eat.

Katherine offers her guests hands-on cooking lessons, and options for elaborate, multi-course dinners she can have ready upon your group’s return from long, arduous (!) days of wine tasting in nearby Chablis and Saint Bris.

As you can tell, my friends and I were enchanted – by both the property and its proprietor. And so (over copious amounts of Chablis, while bellied up to Katherine’s kitchen counter) an idea was born: pair the intimate, French country chef experience with the wine-producing families I’ve befriended over years of travel, and bring it all into our homes for friends and neighbors in Highlands, North Carolina.

In all her spare time (I’m pretty sure sleep is optional for her), Katherine also runs a boulangerie (bakery) in the village of Flavigny (you might recall the movie Chocolat? It was filmed there!). In addition to the delights produced in her Le Fournil de Flavigny kitchen, she also painstakingly renovated four rooms above the bakery for guest accommodation, where you can stay and wake up every morning to the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the air. Check out the Bakery Rooms on Airbnb – if you’re traveling as a couple rather than a group, that is probably a better option than the farmhouse. Every detail of the Bakery Rooms are a credit to Katherine’s hard work and deep understanding of hospitality – she didn’t merely hire a crew to complete a renovation, she did much of it herself, sanding and restoring old windows and doors, painting each of the rooms in bright colors, sewing the stunning drapery, and arranging each suite for ultimate comfort.

Running the Bakery Rooms is yet another responsibility that makes trips away difficult to plan. And also because – I kid you not – Katherine is the sole baguette dealer to the village monastery, and those pesky monks are like every other French dude I know (well, except for the whole celibacy thing): fresh bread is as essential to their daily life as oxygen.

And so, taking baguettes and monks into account, the only time we could squeeze a Highlands visit into Katherine’s calendar was February, a time when it can be cold and dark, and often half-deserted on what locals call The Plateau. I was unsure what kind of response we’d get for dinner attendance, but somehow everyone kept saying yes until I finally had to start saying no.

Katherine was a trouper. She arrived thinking we were cooking for 12, but because I’d failed miserably at turning dinner guests away, she was informed of our 18-person headcount after she was already held captive in my home. I could see the calculation going on inside her mind, and can only imagine the second-guessing that must’ve been ruminating about having made this trip across the Atlantic to spend time with and cook ghastly amounts of food for people she barely knew.

But we became fast friends, and she rose to the dinner challenge with a smile on her face and wine glass outstretched. I shamelessly offered up bottomless wine and my sister-in-law, Tammy, to keep her going – the wine served as fuel, and Tammy served as sous chef. The result – after much chopping and mixing and melting of butter (lots and lots of butter) – was a to-die-for three-course dinner (+ passed hors d’oeuvres) for our 18 guests!

Candles were lit, champagne was poured, and the glow of a knock-your-socks-off Highlands sunset was our backdrop as guests began to arrive that evening. They dined on Katherine’s creations. They drank our favorite wines made by our favorite people. They got to sample – without caravanning to Burgundy or the Loire Valley – the same warmth and hospitality and graciousness that was shown to me so often during my travels in France. Over those few hours, sitting around the table, eating and drinking, they got to feel just a smidge of what keeps me going back for more. Mission accomplished.

Our dinner was featured in this Laurel Magazine article.

THIS JUST IN: Katherine is a glutton for punishment and has tentatively agreed to do it all again! (This time she’s made me promise to notify her in advance of our final headcount.) Stay tuned for dinner dates to be announced – but it will be sometime during the Highlands Food & Wine weekend, November 7-10, 2024. And there *may* be another special guest (read: from a certain winemaking family in Amboise!) joining us as a fabulous bonus!

Follow Katherine on Instagram @katherinefrelon

Watch this page for updates about the November 2024 events in Highlands with Katherine, or reach out to me via email at 7yearsoffrench@gmail.com.