ABOUT LA PEETCH

It all started with a listing on The New York Times.

The listing was for La Pitchoune, the vacation home of Julia and Paul Child. The photos stirred something within Makenna. Makenna and Julia share a number of things in common: They are both incredibly tall, deeply passionate about French cooking, have a 'what the hell' attitude in the kitchen, and call Smith College their alma mater. It was Smith College’s Alum Facebook group that alerted her to the listing.

And within mere moments, Makenna had sent over 30 emails to potential investors with the text "Wouldn't it be cool to own Julia Child's House?"

That's the short story.

The longer story, which you'll be regaled if you ever visit, involves the Bataclan attacks in Paris, opportunities to get bought out, and a series of lucky breaks (and carefully strategized opportunities to leap) that led Makenna to own La Pitchoune. Pair that with a rampant love of food, and you have a marvelous place to play and pretty fantastic people to play with.

If we do say so ourselves.

a world away, and close to everything

Your Hosts

the wild humans who said yes to leaping to France

Makenna Held & Chris Nylund

In 2015, when Makenna took the leap to buy La Peetch she had zero idea what she was getting into. It wasn’t her first business rodeo (she had already been a business consultant, an adjunct professor in three universities and one business school, and had run two other businesses), but it was her first IN France. For the first two years, she managed ALL THE things. She did the weekly turnovers with music blaring (and a glass of rosé in hand), she did the shopping (turns out shopping alone for a cooking school of 6 humans requires two carts!) and began building the vision for the Courageous Cooking School.

In 2017, Chris and Makenna, long-time best friends, found themselves at a crossroads. They had both just weathered divorces, and were finding themselves falling in love. The choices were, break up? (No, thank you). OR Chris had to quit his job as a Librarian or Makenna has to sell La Peetch. Clearly (!) Chris decided to join Makenna in the South of France permanently. They got married at Bramafam and La Peetch in 2019.

These days, Makenna is the Creative and Executive Director of La Peetch and the Courageous Cooking School. Chris, with his Master’s degree in Curriculum Development, and a 2nd in Library Science is the the Historian for La Peetch and Curriculum Director of the Courageous Cooking School.

For the past five years, Makenna and Chris have run the Courageous Cooking School together, welcomed guests to La Peetch for our vacation rental, had a darling baby named Magnolia, built a life in France, and started to expand the Courageous Cooking School to Italy, the United States, and more to come.

When we welcome you to La Peetch (or the CCS), you become a part of historical foodies from around the world who join the family of Pitchounians, or Pitchounicorns as we like to call them. We CANNOT WAIT to welcome you, too.

The Rest of The Managerie that Helps Keep the Things Running Smoothly At La Peetch

oui, chef!

Kendall Lane

Executive Chef of La Peetch, Chicken Fanatic, and Garden Tender

At La Peetch, Kendall is the human in charge of the kitchen. She’s our Executive Chef, and the lead flavour expert at the Courageous Cooking School. She’s a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, and spent 15 years traipsing the world from Michelin-Starred kitchens in Paris and Southwest France, to opening butcher shops in the United States.

She’s also a master charcutier and butcher, and spends much of her time fwapping heavy knives in kitchens around the world. When she’s not curing meats and fermenting tasty foods, she can be found at the beach or snuggling the company support animal, Matilda.

they're married, too

wine wizard

Ross Lane

Beverage Director, Natural Wine Nerd, and Fixer of all the Things

Our defacto, and trained wine nerd, Ross is also a professional welder and fixer of all the things. Around La Peetch, he keeps the old girl running well, and in tip top shape.

He’s also a savant at wine pairing, knows more about Natural wine than Makenna knows about manatees, and is the facilities director to boot.

#hekeepsbusy

And the Extended Family That Likes to Show Up…

Pilou

A pug-huahua/chug. Snorts like a pig, smells like laundry. Walks 1km to visit.

Lulu

Resident Feline. Professional Lounger.
Wisteria sniffer. Yoga cat.

India

Will beg for food, belly rubs, and snuggles. Likes trash. Unapologetically needy.

None of the above pets are ours. They all swing by when they feel like it - the joys of rural French living! They are adorable, we promise.

Come Visit Us

We kindly ask that you visit La Pitchoune in the above mentioned ways. If you'd like to visit for just a photo or two, we aren't currently available for that kind of visit. We receive over a dozen requests a week, and simply can't accommodate. We open varied opportunities to visit us throughout the year.