WALNUT CREEK -- For just one evening, a nondescript home transformed into "Chez John," a place for elegant French dining.

On a warm night in Walnut Creek, a group of French language class students gathered on the deck of John Mazibrook's home overlooking Mount Diablo.

As the French class students sipped wine outside, commenting they felt as though they were at France's Loire Valley, Mazibrook took the role of chef in his kitchen as he painstakingly prepared a seven-course meal for his fellow classmates.

While not a professional chef, Mazibrook has had a lifelong passion for the culinary arts. So he combined his two passions -- cooking and French culture -- together to offer the French dining experience to students who study with Pleasant Hill-based French with Class.

"Cooking, to me, is an avocation, not a vocation," said Mazibrook. "I enjoy it when I put food on the table. It's the same way of telling people, 'I love you.' I truly believe that the social animal we are is enhanced by eating together and enjoying the food that sustains our life. We cannot be a companion of someone without sharing a meal."

Mazibrook said many people have never been to a three-star Michelin restaurant in France.

"I truly want to share some of that experience with my fellow students," he said.

The students marveled at the elegant place settings on Mazibrook's dining table as he introduced each course before serving his guests. Hors

d'oeuvres included gazpacho -- a cold tomato-based soup -- along with tuna nachos; spinach and cucumber soup, and shrimp with polenta. The main entree consisted of seared tuna with glazed onions and veal stew followed by frozen white peach for dessert.

Growing up in Chicago, Mazibrook said he would have like to have been a chef, but that type of profession wasn't encouraged several years ago when he was growing up.

"Mom did the cooking at home," he said. "She was a working mom in the '50s. During World War II, she sewed trench coats for the Army. She was Rosie, the seamstress."

Mazibrook took culinary courses in the former Viking Home Chef in Walnut Creek and Cooks and Books in Danville. When he took his first trip to France more than a decade ago, he remembers being enamored by the country and French cuisine and culture. While there, he visited Paris, Normandy, La Rochelle, Marseille and Lyon.

"It was a rainy day and I was driving through Burgundy and got out of the car and stood in the rain to stare at the vineyards," he said. "Why did I stop and get out? Because it felt like home."

In September 2004, Mazibrook took his enthusiasm for French culture further when he enrolled in French with Class, taught by Sara Villat. Mazibrook and fellow students say they enjoy gathering in Villat's home to practice conversational French while enjoying hors d'oeuvres. Villat has also taken students on annual French language field trips to France.

Mazibrook held his French dinners on Wednesday, the same night he meets with his class. He said he's happy to share his passion for French culture through cooking using recipes from Jacques Pepin and Guy Martin, his favorite French chefs. Translating the recipes from French to English also offers a fun challenge, he said.

"My favorite dish in our meal was the cucumber spinach soup, as it draws

happy memories with my mother," he said. "When I first started to experiment with challenging recipes, I found this in a cookbook my mother bought as she

liked to look through the books and think what the flavors were like. Neither of us ever had a cold soup, so I said, 'What the heck?' and made it. The soup became a year-round favorite for us that my wife Janice also embraced after she tasted it."

French culture holds food in a very high level in life, Mazibrook said.

"When I cook a French-inspired dish, I think of this and let my abilities soak in the culture behind the food and voilà--a great meal is the result. Having a dinner like this for the French class gives the participants a chance to relive a fond memory of an experience they may have had in their travels to France."

John Duley of Walnut Creek said he was impressed with the gourmet dinner.

"I couldn't believe the amount of preparation that must have gone into it," Duley said. "I especially loved the cold soup. It was delicious. The veal was wonderful and the peach dessert was so unusual."

Judy Feldman said Mazibrook deserves an Oscar "for outstanding performance by a classmate."

"It was a lovely evening with delicious food, fine wines and great company," Feldman said.

Donata Hubert of Moraga said having an out-of-the-classroom experience helps her absorb all she's learned in French class.

"It's a creative and entertaining way to learn," Hubert said. "Seeing the place setting was an education in French dining. When I travel to France I don't do fine dining, so this definitely supplemented my education of French culture. I also found John explaining the background of each course very helpful. This is what you get at Sara's French class -- a very personal experience."

Villat said that Mazibrook took time to present the whole French dining experience for his peers.

"For me, it's been a journey. We all have something that binds us," Villat said about her French classes. "In class, John loves to talk about food because food is his passion. John was able to bring France to the French class via his meals."