Sometimes a cookery book isn't quite enough, you need to have someone actually show you how to bone a chicken or make pasta and so I thought you might be interested in some of the cookery courses on my website http://www.facilitutors.com.
For instance there's Mary Cadogan in the Charente...(well on the banks of it!) who runs Tasting France courses, promoting the best of home cooking. Not only will you learn some great dishes but you'll visit local markets and food and wine producers.
Then there are the Tomlinsons in the Charente Maritime who feature in The Guardian Top 100 Tasty Holidays and used to run a highly succesful restaurant in Cardiff. They run vegetarian cookery courses, but their recipes are so delicious they'd tempt even the most hardened carnivore.
Up in Normandy there's the lovely Krishna who will give you a real taste of India including music and Bollywood movies! You'll learn how to create a complete Indian menu, including starters, chutneys, curries, Indian breads and desserts, using only authentic herbs and spices and fresh ingredients.  she has the most fantastic garden too and teaches mosaic with her husband Brian.
Now, if you're anything like me you've never learnt the art of effortless entertaining and by the time your guests arrive, you're hot sweaty and dishevelled. Anne Dyson at the Greedy Goose in the Lot valley, will show you how to cook great meals and be the host or hostess with mostest.
Finally, if you've ever been asked what you'd like for your birthday or Christmas and been unable to think of a single thing, why not suggest a cookery course - the gift that keeps on giving!