Our day begins at 9.30am at the Cours Saleya market, while there is still a fresh morning breeze. The narrow maze of centuries-old streets that is the Vieux Nice opens up onto this splendid space lined with bars, cafés and fish restaurants on either side and market stalls down the center. “Le tout Nice” converges on the terraces at lunch, but early in the day it’s time for that famous Niçois street food, la socca (a chickpea-flour pancake), as you stroll through the market and admire the vivid displays of flowers, candied fruit and seasonal produce.

Though the main aisle is the most dazzling thanks to its array of colors, what really interests us is the collection of small producers’ stalls near the rue de la Préfecture. The fruit and vegetables are not as uniformly shaped and the variety not as great, but every ingredient we’ll find here is firmly rooted in the region and much of it is organic. Depending on the season you might see untreated oranges, including bitter oranges for jam; real wild asparagus; strawberries from Carpentras; tomatoes ripened on the vine; figs bursting with juice; and of course the mix of salad leaves known as mesclun (no Niçois meal would be complete without it).

Depending on your menu choice, I will select the the best meat and fish for you - perhaps lamb from the nearby Alpes de Haute-Provence or Mediterranean sea bass. Because traditional Niçois cooking relies more on vegetables than meat or fish, we can also plan an entirely vegetarian menu. No matter what the main ingredient of our meal, we will not forget the wine. Then we will make our way past the fresh pasta shop to my 400-year-old (but thoroughly renovated and air-conditioned!) apartment in rue du Jésus, where if pissaladière is on the menu we can get started on the yeast dough. A couple of hours later we will sit down to an authentic Niçois meal and toast our efforts with a glass of rosé (or, if you prefer, an intriguing local red or white wine).

After lunch, if you wish, I will lead you on a gourmet tour through the zig-zaggy streets of the Vieux Nice, where you will taste Niçois olive oils (the region has 2,000 producers), see fresh pasta being made, learn more about Provençal wines and discover local sweets. You’ll find out how the Italian influence has shaped Niçois cooking and marvel at the local obsession with eating: this is the only city in France where street food is an institution. Our day will finish with a well-deserved gelato on the terrace of the ice-cream parlor Fenocchio.

I also offer a selection of inspiring programs for those who don't wish to cook:

Market tour, food walk, olive oil tasting and tapas-style lunch - Spend the morning tasting delicacies in the Old Town, learn all about Provençal olive oils and have a light Mediterranean meal prepared with only the freshest ingredients from the market.

Early morning market tour and tasting breakfast (Saturdays
and Sundays only) - The early morning is the best time to visit the small producers at the Cours Saleya market. Alongside the area's top chefs we'll snap up the best produce, farmers' eggs and goat's cheese and savor it over a leisurely, late breakfast at my apartment. We'll make our own socca (the Ligurian-inspired chick pea pancake sold by street vendors in the Old Town) and taste homemade jams and local honeys.

Meet the producers - The producers at the Cours Saleya were understandably suspicious at first of a foreigner who dares to teach Niçois cooking. But my constant presence at the market, enthusiasm for the local produce and loyalty to the small producers has convinced them over time that I am a true Niçois at heart. Many of the producers have invited me to their farms, which is what gave me the idea for the Meet the Producers tours. Just beyond Nice the land becomes rugged and mountainous, making the producers’ task a challenging one. The scenery is some of the most breathtaking on the Côte d’Azur, yet this is not an area that most tourists would explore on their own as the villages are so remote and tiny. Depending on your interests, we can visit an olive farm to taste organic oil made from the local Niçois olives, see dozens of varieties of citrus fruits at a garden run by a former Formula One race car driver in Menton, gape at the 80 organic tomato varieties grown in the hills of Bellet, and sample the little-known wine from that same region. The price of the tour includes transport in a comfortable vehicle and a gourmet lunch in a small village. Weekdays are preferable, as most of the producers come to the market on weekends. A maximum of seven people can be accommodated on this tour.