French cuisine connoisseurs can relish in a savory celebration. While celebrating the recent relocation and grand re-opening of the popular Chez Boucher Cooking School, the general public can now participate in sharing the full flavor of the institute's scrumptious culinary creations.

Heralded Chef Ron Boucher, owner and founder of the school, has been helping students, residents, aspiring experts, and mere fans of good food fine-tune their cooking skills for six years.

Now, with his new home at Depot Square in Hampton, Boucher is welcoming the general public to weekly a weekly fine dining extravaganza — at a surprisingly affordable price — in a bistro-style setting.

Located at 32 Depot Square in the heart of downtown Hampton, Chez Boucher Cooking School is fully-equipped with a state-of-the-art kitchen which acts as a classroom for students, as well as a comfortable and elegant seating in the adjacent dining room for up to 40 guests.

Over the past six years, Boucher estimates that literally thousands of students have come to him to learn the art of perfecting French cuisine. The chef once taught the trade at the illustrious Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, before venturing into his own restaurant, which he oversaw on Hampton Beach for 20 years.

With the rigors and long hours that come with running .a restaurant full-time, Boucher decided to revert back to what he truly loved most — teaching.

Hence, the Chez Boucher Cooking School opened, instructing folks young and old in simple one-time sessions, all the way up to intensive six-week training courses to groom and prime future top chefs. The school offers one-day workshops, couples-night-out classes, cake decorating instructions, after school and summer camp programs for kids, demonstration cooking, corporate team building cooking classes and much more.

"I always wanted to teach cooking, and I really love what I do now," Boucher says.

With both his parents of French descent, Boucher grew up with a love for the flavors. He began working at a restaurant when he was 13 years old, studied the art in school, and has been there ever since.

In recent years, he has relocated the distinguished school twice, and finally decided it was time to find a permanent home.

"I always wanted to teach cooking, and I really love what I do now," Boucher says.

With both his parents of French descent, Boucher grew up with a love for the flavors. He began working at a restaurant when he was 13 years old, studied the art in school, and has been there ever since.

Prior to the December move to Depot Square, the school was housed in a building adjacent to the former Hampton Cinemas. So, the quest began to find a location to buy instead of lease, in order to serve the students (and now the patrons) for years to come.

With 3,200 square feet in the new facility, there is plenty of room for students to learn how to polish their cooking skills — and for folks to come and discover how delicious those skills can be.

Each week, on alternating Thursday and Friday nights, a bistro-style dinner is served in the new dining room, where patrons can choose their main course and appetizer as part of a scrumptious four-course dinner.

The menu changes from week to week, but the food is consistently delicious. For example, this week, on Thursday, March 12, diners will be choosing between braised Iamb shanks with cinnamon espagnole and oven roasted baby winter vegetables, or stuffed Chicken Ballontine over a Dijon mustard cream, with wild rice pilaf and glazed carrots for the main course. Dinner that evening will be precluded with duck comfit with butter braised Brussels sprouts, toasted pecans and sauce moutarde, along with a choice of either the soup pistou or crisp Bibb salad, all topped off with classic creme brulée and shortbread cookies for dessert.

The bistro dinner is perfect for a romantic evening for two, while the dining room can also accommodate corporate or birthday parties and the like for up to 40 guests at a time.

Soon, an adjacent building on the site will serve up even more tantalizing treats, when Chez Boucher Cooking School will open a café to offer fine French pastries to the public.

For more information about the school, classes, or to sample the fine cuisine during the weekly bistro dinners, call (603) 926-2202, or visit the official Web site at www.chezboucher.com.