1. La bastide Saint-Antoine - Jacques Chibois
Jacques Chibois
PROVENCE - Grasse
Star of the Croisette, Jacques Chibois, ** Michelin, has been at the Bastide Saint-Antoine in Grasse, the fragrance capital of the world, since 1996. A friend to all chefs, this native of Limousin has become the high priest of olive oil and the gastronomy of Provence.
2. Le Moulin de Mougins
Roger Vergé
PROVENCE — Mougins
Located between Grasse and Cannes, Mougins is the city of artists where Picasso spent his final days. It is here that the legendary Roger Vergé, ** Michelin, converted an old windmill into a mecca of world-class gastronomy and a museum of the great chef’s friends: César, Folon and others.
3. L'Oasis
Stéphane Raimbault, François et Antoine Raimbault
CÔTE D’AZUR - La Napoule
Stéphane Raimbault, ** Michelin, is the culinary Rimbaud and market Rambo. After ten years in Japan, he had his two brothers join him at the foot of the Esterel. Here, next to the famous château of an American eccentric, they help him operate the Napoule’s renowned Oasis. On the menu: a gastronomic travelogue.
4. L'Eau à la bouche
Anne Desjardins
LAURENTIDES - Sainte-Adèle
Chef Anne Desjardins and husband Pierre Audette have raised Quebec farm products to new heights. Their restaurant, L’Eau à la Bouche, is a melting pot of Quebec’s finest products served up in a setting showcasing the magnificent nature of the Lauentians: Quebec as the French love it best!
5. Le jardin des sens
Jacques et Laurent Pourcel
LANGUEDOC — Montpellier
The Pourcel twins, *** Michelin, were born the very day the Ephebe of Agde was raised from the Mediterranean after thousands of years – a powerful symbol for two of France’s greatest culinary stars, at the cutting edge of gastronomic exploration.
6. Le Petit Nice-Passédat
Gérald Passédat
PROVENCE - Marseille
Gérald Passédat, ** Michelin, is a combination of Gilbert Bécaud and AlPacino. Yet he is the son of Jean-Paul Passédat, from whom he inherited Le Petit Nice, a magnificent "work tool" located on the most beautiful coast of Marseilles, which is perhaps the most mythical city in France.
7. Oustau de Baumanière
Jean-André Charial
PROVENCE - Les Baux-de-Provence
When Raymond Thuilier opened the Oustau de Baumanière after the Second World War, no one remembered the Baux-de-Provence and its Val d’Enfer, which inspired the poetry of the great Dante. After 27 years at his side, his grandson Jean-André Charial, ** Michelin, now upholds the great tradition of the Relais et Châteaux in the most enchanting surroundings.
8. Château de la Chèvre d'Or
Philippe Labbé
PROVENCE — Eze
A tiny medieval village perched on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean just minutes from Monaco, this site is so fabulous that its restaurant would be full every night, even if it served nothing but fries. Fortunately, Philippe Labbé, its young chef, is brimful of talent, ensuring a memorable dining experience.
9. Clos de la Violette
Jean-Marc Banzo
PROVENCE - Aix-en-Provence
At the foot of Mont Sainte-Victoire, oft-painted by Cezanne,Jean Marc Banzo ** Michelin, delights the people of Aix with his fine and very tasty culinary creations. The chef adores his town, and his town returns the feeling.
10. Château Cordeillan-Bages
Thierry Marx
AQUITAINE - Pauillac
In the midst of an ocean of vines and the great vintages of the Medoc, Thierry Marx, ** Michelin, paints Caravaggios on the tables of Cordeillan-Bages, the Relais Gourmand of the prestigious Lynch-Bages. Along with owner Jean-Michel Cazes, Marx is in the process of revolutionizing the peaceful village of Pauillac, on the south shore of the Gironde.
11. Hotel du Centenaire
Roland Mazère
AQUITAINE - Les-Eyzies-de-Teillac
At the doorway to the prehistoric land of the cromagnon, near the grottos of Lascaux and the domains of the Dordogne River, Roland Mazère, **Michelin, prepares dishes of such high precision they give the Perigord a whole new flavour.
12. Les Loges de l'Aubergade
Michel Trama
AQUITAINE- Puymirol
With the sumptuous décor of his dining room, the humour and efficiency of his cuisine, the beauty of his wife and the smoke spiraling from his cigar, Michel Trama, ***Michelin, never fails to win over his guests. Playful and adventurous, this self-taught chef is the envy of many professionals, and a true delight to lovers of fine food.
13. Richard Coutanceau
Richard Coutanceau
CHARENTE - La Rochelle
The name Coutanceau belongs to a dynasty in La Rochelle: Richard, ** Michelin, the father, and his two sons, Christopher and Gregory, are the uncontested stars of local gastronomy. The garden produces Richard Coutanceau’s inspiration while his storehouse is the Atlantic Ocean, to which his cuisine pays spectacular homage, day after day.
14. Homestead Inn-Thomas Henkelmann
Thomas Henkelmann
CONNECTICUT - Greenwich
Thomas Henkelmann left the Black Forest where he was born to learn his culinary trade from the greatest chefs before settling in New York where he quickly become one of the leading ambassadors of French cuisine. Working with his wife Thérèse in his magnificent Greenwich inn, he continues to delight Manhattan’s most discriminating diners.
15. Relais de la Poste
Jean Coussau
AQUITAINE - Magescq
Jacques Cousseau, ** Michelin, is the product of this mysterious region, sown with pines on the orders of Napoleon III, which has now become the largest forest in Europe – a forest that provides the chef of the Relais de la Poste with secret ingredients to be found nowhere else in France.
16. Auberge et Clos des Cîmes
Régis Marcon
AUVERGNE - Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid
With a population of 300 and a most unappealing name, this tiny village off the beaten path nonetheless draws enough patrons to keep the town’s 3 gourmet restaurants and many hotels busy. The attraction: the prolific talents of chef Régis Marcon, ** Michelin. Profile of the wise man of the mountain.
17. Restaurant Alain Chapel
Philippe Jousse
RHÖNE-ALPES - Myonnay
Alain Chapel’s name is written in gold in the history of French gastronomy. This legendary chef left us a few years ago. Today, his assistant and faithful disciple, Philippe Jousse, ** Michelin, perpetuates the lofty ideals of this gastronomic great, ensuring an unfailing level of quality.
18. Bernard Robin
Bernard Robin
SOLOGNE — Bracieux
The Relais de Bracieux is the canteen of kings. Just minutes from the Chambord domain, at the heart of the green and bountiful Sologne region, Bernard Robin, ** Michelin, treats his customers much as he would have treated the finest, most demanding royal court, with products that have earned France its fine gastronomic reputation.
19. Château de Locguenolé
Jean-Bernard Pautrat
BRETAGNE — Hennebont
With grace and intelligence, Mrs. de la Sablière would have inspired the greatest classics. Ideally located along the Blavet River, just minutes from Lorient, this Locguénolé domain would have provided an ideal backdrop for the creation of great masterpieces. Given his talent and generosity, its chef, Jean-Bernard Pautrat, * Michelin, would have delighted them with the finest products of dramatic and bewitching Brittany.
20. La Côte Saint-Jacques
Jean-Michel Lorain
BOURGOGNE - Joigny
When he inherited the restaurant established by his father Michel, Jean-Michel Lorain also inherited a Herculean task. But the son rose to the challenge, earning a perfect three-star rating from the Michelin guide. Located along the Yonne River, on the border between Burgundy and Champagne, this establishment is an oasis of luxury, a haven of peace.
21. Boyer " Les Crayères"
Thierry Voisin
CHAMPAGNE — Reims
22. Hostellerie La Poularde
Gilles Étéocle
RHÔNE-ALPES - Montrond-les-Bains
Gilles Étéocle, *Michelin, wears on his collar the prestigious insignia of the Best Workers of France and carries in his heart the finest products of the Forez region, an area dotted with ponds and forests. This great chef is also a hunter and a charmer, in the most glittering French literary tradition.
Pour info : Les Créations Via le Monde Inc. 1222, rue Mackay, bureau 301, Montréal, H3G 2H4
Tél. : 514 285 1658 - Fax : 514 285 1970
Catherine.viau@vialemonde.qc.ca