THAT ESSENTIAL TOUCH OF CHARM...
Some addresses have it to spare ! They have built the renown of the Côte d’Azur, from Nice to Saint-Tropez. And no wonder...
You could call them “the dinosaurs” of the culinary world. Great chefs such as Serge Gouloumès, Jacques Chibois, Alain Llorca, Laurent Tarridec and Stéphane Raimbault, all helping to turn the region into a land of gourmet - and star-rated - delights. Currently, Serge Gouloumès is the only one not to have opened his own restaurant. Luckily for Le Mas Candille, where he works wonders with local produce. His peers have taken the plunge. Jacques Chibois has opted for the serenity of the countryside near Grasse. His Bastide Saint-Antoine is a haven of tranquillity amidst the olive-trees. Each year, Chibois celebrates olive-oil and truffles. Nature is also important to Alain Llorca who took up the Moulin de Mougins challenge by taking over from Roger Vergé. Here, gourmets acclaim his pan-fried Saint-Jacques scallops, cannelloni with ricotta cheese and summer truffles. Stéphane Raimbault and Laurent Tarridec share a fondness for the sea. With lots of greenery for Raimbault, at his famous Oasis. The only star-rated chef in Saint-Tropez, Tarridec proposes “classics re-visited” : royal sea-bream “en bourride”, gourmet peas and spring onions with sesame. The prize for discretion undoubtledly goes to Jean-Marc Delacourt, high in the hills at Falicon. A village that now knows what gastronomy really means : this craftsmen of taste uses only market-fresh ingredients, with a rare insistance on simplicity. Bruno Cirino at La Turbie also enjoys a lofty view of the bustle down on the coast. His Hostellerie Jérôme is a former presbytery, now a backdrop for cuisine “made in France” but enhanced by Italian products. Lower down, though still with a plunging view of the Bay of Menton, Le Mirazur has risen from the ashes. Mauro Colagreco has just been named “Revelation of the Year” by the Gault et Millau Guide. Nice wouldn’t be Nice without La Petite Maison. At Nicole Ruby’s place, anonymous guests and celebrities practically swoon over the array of “hors d’œuvres”, scrambled eggs with truffles, sea bream in a crust of salt. At La Colombe d’Or, Montand and Signoret, Picasso, Prévert and many others have stepped inside, sat down at table and reinvented the world. Traces of their visits still exist, to be discovered over a basket of raw vegetables with pâté or “aïoli” garnished with five different vegetables. Alain Parodi has chosen intimacy at his restaurant Lou Cigalon in Valbonne. An artist with a fertile imagination, as illustrated by his trilogy of veal, lamb kidneys and sweetbreads or pan-fried Saint-Jacques scallops with velvety flap mushrooms in sherry sauce. If you yearn for Italian food, head for Il Lago at the Manoir de l’Etang. Luigi Fiore will treat you to beef carpaccio with crisp celery, risotto with truffles and, of course, the inevitable “tiramisu”. At Les Vieux Murs on the ramparts in Antibes, in a decor with a slightly theatrical ambiance, Thierry Grattarola orchestrates red-mullet with a “marmelade” of flap mushrooms, thin slices of ox-cheek with beef-stew juice... Finally, two appointments worth keeping for the food as much as their settings. On a hillside with a very Tuscan atmosphere, La Villa Marie at Ramatuelle recalls holidays spent with the family. Karim Boukhari shows Southern flair with his sea-bass and fennel preserved in olive-oil, his leg of lamb with basil and tomatoes. Last but not least, Toile Blanche is an old country house that has been revamped in contemporary style. The chef’s offerings depend on the market, the season, his mood and inspiration. You’re in for a surprise... and a very pleasant one at that !
Carnet
Hostellerie Jérôme, 20 rue Comte de Cessole, La Turbie (04 92 41 51 51). Il Lago, Le Manoir de l’Etang, bois de Font-Merle, 66 allée du Manoir, Mougins (04 92 28 36 00). La Bastide Saint-Antoine, 48 av. Henri-Dunant, Grasse (04 93 70 94 94). La Colombe d’Or, 1 place du Général de Gaulle, Vence (04 93 32 80 02). La Petite Maison, 11 rue St-François-de-Paule, Nice (04 93 92 59 59). Leï Mouscardins, Tour du Portalet, Saint-Tropez (04 94 97 29 00). Le Mas Candille, bd Rebuffel, Mougins (04 92 28 43 43). Le Mirazur, 30 av. Aristide-Briand, Menton (04 92 41 86 86). Le Moulin de Mougins, 424 chemin du Moulin, Mougins (04 93 75 78 24). Les Vieux Murs, 25 Promenade Amiral de Grasse, Antibes (04 93 34 06 73). L’Oasis, rue Jean-Honoré Carle, Mandelieu-la-Napoule (04 93 49 95 52). Lou Cigalon, 4-6 bd Carnot, Valbonne (04 93 12 27 07). Parcours, 1 place Eusebi, Falicon (04 93 84 94 57). Toile Blanche, 826 ch de la Pounchounière, St-Paul-de-Vence (04 93 32 74 21). Villa Marie, route des Plages, chemin Val de Rian, Ramatuelle (04 94 97 40 22).
By Cécile Olivéro
