Camont soon became a lively homeport to the barge and its 300-year-old kitchen became the focus for hundreds of hungry friends and guests over the years. She sailed into this fruitful spot in France on her Dutch canal barge, the Julia Hoyt, beginning the first gastronomic charters in Gascony. Thirty years ago she found ‘Camont’, an 18th century farmhouse laying in ruin alongside the Canal de Garonne. “Kate Hill (1951-) is a published author and professional cook and teacher, mentor, coach, and fairy godmother. She has caused me to fall in love with southwestern France from thousands of miles away! To quote Kate’s biographical information from Amazon: But, she also has a flair for writing, photography and story-telling. Why? First and foremost Kate is a practical, enthusiastic cook.

I have now completed one year of membership with Kate and have gleefully signed up for another year in 2022. The group on the live cooking classes was generally small, thereby allowing a great deal of direct interaction. While it took a while to figure out the logistics, Kate came up with a strategy to continue her business by selling memberships through which members would receive provide extensive monthly newsletters and frequent online cooking classes.

Travel to France was shut down and Kate was no longer able to hold her classes. We began an email exchange to come up with a strategy. I reached out to this cook, Kate Hill, and asked her advice related to my plans. I immediately began thinking what a great retirement trip it would be to take a week and spend it learning about French country-style cooking in the region of France famous for, among other things, its fresh vegetables, duck, cassoulet and truffles. In the book, there is a reference to a woman living in Agen, France who held charcuterie and cooking classes at her kitchen, Camont.

My guide for this journey was the book entitled, Charcuterie, by Ruhlman and Polcyn. I had begun researching and experimenting with charcuterie, the craft of salting, smoking and curing meat, several years ago. In my case, however, the undertaking had its roots in retirement planning. One of the activities I undertook during COVID, as did many, was an increase in home cooking.

Kate hill cassoulet recipe