Follow Barbara-Jo to foodie’s France
For many years, Barbara-Jo McIntosh was central to Vancouver’s food culture, hosting food events and chef events (Ferran Adria, Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain, Michel Roux, Yotam Ottolenghi and many more) at her excellent cookbook store, BarbaraJo’s Books To Cooks.
She held cooking classes, fed and nurtured hungry minds, and welcomed people graciously (even the ones who came in to browse cookbooks, then buy it on Amazon). Then, the bookstore closed last year. Thank you Amazon and the Canadian dollar!
She’s always followed daring dreams and now she finds herself in Burgundy, France, in a town that’s been patiently waiting for her: La Charite-sur-Loire, nicknamed the Village of Words for its annual word festival, and the 17 antiquarian book shops it was once home to.
She’ll be opening Maison des Mots in the town on the Loire River, with guest rooms, kitchen and library off a private courtyard. Next year, she offers culinary vacations from April 26 to Oct. 2. The package includes some meals, cooking demos, evening drinks and cooking with the chef. Excursions from Maison des Mots include wine tours of Pouilly sur Loire or Sancerre, boat cruises along the Loire, foraging walks, biking or excursions to other regions. The minimum stay is five days.
“It is so nice to be in a town where many people still cherish books and talking,” she says. “So, I encourage folks who enjoy reading and talking to come to La Charite sur Loire and talk to me again. One of the things I miss most about my shop is those who just came in to chat.”