What’s included in Provence…

At Chilly Powder Pottery, Francesca - a trained chef and passionate pottery enthusiast - invites you to join her immersive retreats at Maison Lou Roucas, her beautifully restored village home in Provence. These unique retreats blend pottery, cuisine, and culture for an unforgettable experience.

You’ll spend 4 nights and 5 days in her charming home surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. Each day balances creative time in the pottery studio with opportunities to explore the rhythms of Provençal life.

Francesca’s retreats are not only about ceramics. They are a way to share her village with you: wandering through local markets, cooking and tasting regional dishes, learning snippets of history, discovering secret olive mills, foraging in the countryside, and taking stunning walks among the vines and hills.

Ceramics sessions fill half of each day. Francesca teaches hand-building, wheel-throwing, and other fun techniques - perfect whether you are a beginner or looking to refine your skills. Together, you’ll start with preparing the clay and slab building to understand how it moves. You’ll explore recycling, drying, firing, and glazing. Then, you’ll move to the wheel to practice centring and pulling up the sides. For those with experience, the studio is yours to dive straight into creating, with Francesca always there to guide and support.

This is more than a retreat. It’s a chance to immerse yourself in Provençal culture, reconnect with creativity, and share in Francesca’s love of clay, cuisine, and community.