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Patti Ravenscroft likes to divulge secret recipes. During her eleven or so annual Les Liaisons Délicieuses tours, top toques from Bordeaux to Provence graciously open their state-of-the-art kitchens to her clients. Since 1994, this Beltway-based Francophile has been crafting cooking experiences much like her own apprenticeships at a one- and two-star restaurants in Paris. “During a sabbatical in France, I immersed myself in French food, but not at the Ritz Escoffier school or Le Cordon Bleu. Here’s how I did it: Go for a meal. Like the food. Ask for the chef. Go for another meal. It took six months to talk myself into the first kitchen but then I worked like a true stagier.”

Not only does Ravenscroft and her brigade of culinary experts provide rare access to such publicity shy stars as Jean-Yves Jaguin and Reine Sammut, but they also arrange equally enticing visits to pre-dawn markets and picnic lunches at grand cru vineyards. Guests join the gastronomic mileu as stagiers, or interns, who participate in the daily routine—learning to properly chop leeks, prep fresh herbal “powders,” hand roll couscous—at Michelin -starred restaurants. Recipes taught in simultaneous translation classes are regionally specific: tarte fine aux sardines in Brittany and quenelles sauce Nantua in Lyon. These kitchen sessions are further augmented by field trips to artisanal cheese makers, oyster harvesters, chocolatiers and truffle foragers.

However, Ravenscroft feels there’s more to culinary immersion than picking up tricks of the trade from pros. She serves as an informal cultural attaché, arranging intimate encounters at historic landmarks and private homes. This fall, Ravenscroft has devised an exclusive stay at chef Didier Clément’s Grand Hôtel du Lion d’Or in the Loire Valley (Oct. 21-27). Private visits to Renaissance chateaus and local wine tastings are highlights. During “A Winter Indulgence” (Jan. 25-31, 2008) in the Dordogne, expect lunch with the Countess Montbron at Chateau de Puymartin. Trips from $2,890 per person. ~SHANE MITCHELL