OLIVE OIL ESTATE

Lis Andi

VALRÉAS

Route des Hauts de Saint Pierre
84600 Valréas
04 90 37 41 34

Up above Valréas, Lis Andi (named for the nearby hills, the Little Andes) is worth visiting, not just for its excellent products but because it’s the sort of place where you will learn. The lesson? Why and how the olive oils produced in limited quantities in the traditional way are so much better than their mass-produced cousins. (Artisan mills are a seriously threatened species, by the way, accounting for only 2% of total French production.)

With the fruit of 1,500 trees which he had planted 20 years ago to get him started, Christian Bathelier swapped a career as a farm machinery specialist for full-time olive oil production in 2008.  He and his archaeologist partner France Barthélémy both exude enthusiasm, turning the most technical details into a fascinating journey of discovery.

They produce five oils: four from the softly flavoured tanche variety which thrives in northern Provence and one from the spicier verdale, all strongly influenced by differents soils and situations. Sélection du Bayle from trees on white clay and Sélection Prestige from olives picked ultra-ripe are the stars – both unfiltered. Lis Andi honey is also a treat.

RESTAURANT

Le Sanglier Paresseux

CASENEUVE – NEAR APT

84750 Caseneuve
04 90 75 17 70
www.sanglierparesseux.com
PRICE RANGE – MODERATE

One of the things I love about France is that even in the smallest, sleepiest village there’s a reasonable chance you may find a decent restaurant. Like this small gem run with élan by Fabricio Delgaudio, a Brazilian chef who had a restaurant in Lisbon until he fell in love with a lady from the Luberon. Its modest scale and simple décor belie an ambitious kitchen where daring flavours are conjured almost entirely from local products. ‘My clients are locavores – foodie types who live nearby,’ he says.

A cream of asparagus soup arrives enhanced by a little jar of asparagus and quinoa salad and a parsley pesto toast topped with grilled asparagus. A fillet of wild sea bream comes with piquillo pepper sauce, orange-flavoured potato purée and a crispy roll which turns out to be deep-fried banana – a weird-sounding combination, maybe, but surprisingly successful. Lemon tart is partnered deliciously by strawberry gazpacho and a passion fruit cream.

‘I like to include surprises on the side of the plate,’ says this confident, likeable chef whose talent also encompasses strikingly elegant presentation. Only one problem: I forgot to ask him why he calls the place The Lazy Boar. If you find out, let me know.

MARKET

Avignon daily market

CITY CENTRE

Les Halles
Place Pie
84000 Avignon

‘Daily’ is not absolutely accurate – the market is closed on Mondays – but it’s open every other day from around 6am until 1.30pm. That impressive schedule is just one of the reasons why Les Halles is such a central feature of Avignon life. The quality of the produce is another, along with the extreme good humour of the stallholders. Even at 8am, when you may still be rubbing the sleep from your eyes, there’s plenty of banter – perhaps from poultry seller Frédéric, here making fowl gestures to olive specialist Emmanuelle Borba-Da-Costa; or Gaëtan, the jolly bread salesman who collects weird paper hats.

I also like the fact that Les Halles is manageable in scale and quick to zoom around. Look out especially for La Maison du Fromage run by cheese fanatics Michel and Jeanie Bourgue; Serge Olives, where the Borba-Da-Costas sell their own tapenades and confits; La Cave des Olyviers, Alexandre Gerbe’s wine and organic olive oil stand; and Panissain piled high with crusty organic breads. If you didn’t realise that sourdough (pain au levain) is back in fashion, you’d realise it here seeing maybe a dozen different types. (The pain de campagne in three styles, white, brown and grainy, is the bestseller). Bring Gaëtan a new hat for his collection and he’ll offer you bread as a swap.

Two other highlights: Avignon chefs hold open cookery classes at the back of the market on Saturday mornings at 11am. And the outside front wall of the building, known as the mur végétal because it is covered in greenery, is a stroke of architectural genius – well worth a long look.

WINE ESTATE WITH GÎTES

Domaine des Anges

MORMOIRON – VENTOUX

84570 Mormoiron
04 90 61 88 78
www.domainedesanges.com
APPOINTMENT NOT ESSENTIAL

The situation is…well, heavenly, right at the top of the Colline des Anges – the Angels’ Hill. Owned by Irish businessman Gay McGuinness since 1997, Domaine des Anges has begun to develop a solid reputation thanks to the efforts of Irish winemaker Ciaran Rooney (above). Trained in Stellenbosch University in South Africa, he remembers visiting Avignon while he was making wine in Bordeaux and falling for the sun and the bright light. He’s been here in his dream location since 1998.

Domaine des Anges makes a higher proportion of white wines than many other Ventoux estates – 25% of the total – because Rooney believes the 350m altitude, cool evening breezes and limestone soil give the wines that backbone of minerality which good whites need for firmness with a fresh tang. He plans to focus more strongly on Viognier in the future.

For the moment, his white Archange should not be missed – almost pure barrel-fermented Roussanne, rich, honeyed and floral with a firm mineral undertow. The red Archange, based on old-vine Grenache and Syrah, is impressive too in its peppery concentration but needs a few years to settle down. The entry-level red is a good choice for everyday drinking.

Two gîtes are available for weekly rental, sharing glorious views, a decent-sized pool and pleasant gardens. An extra plus: no risk of running out of wine.

JAMS

La Roumanière

ROBION – NEAR CAVAILLON

Place de l’Église
84440 Robion
04 90 76 41 47
www.laroumaniere.com

There are two things to mention about the jams of La Roumanière – apart from their delicious and spectacularly diverse flavours (65 in all). First, you’ll find them all over Provence – not in supermarkets but in good shops and markets, so they’re easily obtained. The second point is that this 30-year-old company provides a sheltered workshop for handicapped people, so it’s worth supporting.

The jams are made in the traditional way with local fruits, sugar, water and sometimes lemon juice but no artificial colourings or preservatives. (They still keep well for up to three years.) Everything is done by hand, from stirring the big preserving pans to cutting out the circles of Provençal fabric that cover the jam-pot lids.

In a range that includes six different types of fig jam alone, never mind flavours like rose petal, watermelon, quince, banana and black grape, two recent additions are lavender (the craze is far-reaching) and strawberry-mint (nice). A fig-nougat jam is made at Christmas with nougat from Silvain Frères. And when there’s no fruit in season? It’s biscuit-making time!

RESTAURANT WITH ROOMS

Restaurant du Lac

LA MOTTE D’AIGUES – NEAR APT

Lieu-dit Pied-Bernard, Étang de la Bonde
84240 La Motte d’Aigues
04 90 09 14 10
www.restaurantdulac.eu
PRICE RANGE – MODERATE

Philippe Sublet cooked in England for a dozen years – many of them with the Roux brothers – before coming here in 2008 to create what he describes as the only restaurant in the Vaucluse with a lake view. The terrace is the nicest place to enjoy Sublet’s unfussy, flavoursome food. And gazing at the lake (though it’s freshwater, not sea) may put you in the mood for fish – Sublet’s strongest suit, as these scallops suggest.

He gets up at dawn three times a week to drive to the fish market in Marseille. Not much wonder my fillet of sea bass and the sardines which preceded it in a perfect tarte provençale tasted so fresh. His own fishy favourite? Soft-shell crab – not something you’ll see on too many menus hereabouts, which makes Sublet’s mildly spicy version doubly worth trying. A short, well-chosen wine list is another major plus.

Upstairs there are two large, stylish bedrooms and one super suite with a lake-view terrace – a major hit with honeymooners.  Breakfast, by the sound of it, is exemplary with freshly squeezed juice, freshly made fruit salad and home-made jams.

TABLEWARE

Théâtre des Sens

ORANGE

58 Cours Aristide Briand
84100 Orange
04 90 61 07 74

Although traditional Provençal prints and ceramics can be sublime, they’re not for everyone – so if you prefer a more contemporary look for your table, seek out this smashing little shop just across from the tourist office. It was set up in 2006 by Élodie Langlois, a young woman who has created plenty of smart table settings at home. Her husband, super-friendly Fabrice, used to look after visitors at top-ranking Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate Château de Beaucastel – some of whom strayed into his own diningroom. ‘Fabrice always took care of the food and wines and I looked after the presentation,’ she says.

Simple, well-proportioned porcelain, sparkling Spiegelau glassware, colourful aprons, jazzy fabrics from Perpignan and the Pays Basque… All are here with heaps of other modern accessories including, by the way, the little containers you will need for the latest craze, apéritifs dinatoires – drinks with copious snacks which do away with dinner. ‘I only sell things I really love – my coups de coeur,’ says enthusiastic Élodie. Plus a small selection of worthwhile wines selected by Fabrice.

WINE ESTATE

Château La Canorgue

BONNIEUX – LUBERON

Route du Pont Julien
84480 Bonnieux
04 90 75 81 01
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY

Jean-Pierre Margan tells a nice story about harvest during the final days of shooting A Good Year, the Ridley Scott movie for which exquisitely faded Château La Canorgue provides a moody setting. In one vineyard no longer required for filming he decided the grapes should be picked. Next day, noticing fruit still on the vines, he was about to harangue inefficient pickers – then had a closer look. All fake! The crew, needing to re-shoot one scene, had bought all the plastic grapes to be found for miles around.

While A Good Year has made La Canorgue famous, ensuring a stream of film buffs among the visitors, its reputation was forged well before Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott arrived (the latter becoming a loyal customer). The first organic estate in the Luberon by a long way (30+ years), it is run by Jean-Pierre and his daughter Nathalie in a sensitive, open-minded way. ‘I believe strongly in intuition,’ he says. ‘If you stay close to the earth you feel things instinctively.’

Varied in style as they draw on many grape varieties, the Canorgue wines combine great charm with purity of flavour from the simplest bottlings up to the full-throttle Cuvée Prestige, a dense but silky blend of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet. Jean-Pierre Margan likes the notion that they are multi-faceted. ‘Just like me – as comfortable with jeans as with a dinner jacket.’

RESTAURANT

Une Table au Sud

MARSEILLE

2 Quai du Port
13002 Marseille
04 91 90 63 53
www.unetableausud.com
PRICE RANGE – EXPENSIVE

Right on the touristy strip of fish eateries that runs along the Vieux Port, it’s almost a shock to find a serious, modern restaurant. So discreet is the entrance that you could walk straight past. Une Table au Sud is on the first floor with no outdoor space – so if you want to enjoy the portside atmosphere, book a table at the window.

The talented chef is Lionel Lévy, a native of Toulouse who began his career with Yves Camdeborde in Paris and worked for Alain Ducasse for six years before setting up here. His style is colourful and innovative, sometimes melding the accents of Provence with subtle hints of North Africa and Asia. While purists may rebel against his signature Bouille-Abaisse (pictured here), adventurous eaters will enjoy the playful deconstruction of Marseille’s all-too-ubiquitous fish soup into finely tuned and flavoursome constituent parts.

Some dishes may be overly complicated and menus not always perfectly balanced: one visit was slightly marred by three rich courses crying out for more freshness.  But Lévy’s experimental verve is a strong attraction, along with his bright, soigné dining room and carefully chosen wine list. A good address.

TAPENADES

Les Délices du Luberon

ISLE-SUR-LA-SORGUE, AVIGNON & SAINT-RÉMY-DE-PROVENCE

1 Avenue du Partage des Eaux
84800 Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
04 90 20 77 37

20 Place du Change
84000 Avignon
04 90 84 03 58

2 Rue de la Commune
13210 Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
04 90 20 77 37
www.delices-du-luberon.fr

Tapenade, the paste made from olives, is crucial to Provençal cooking – and drinking, indeed, as tapenade toasts are favourite nibbles with aperitifs.  With pots of it piled high in every shop and market, how on earth can you tell the good from the bad (and the bitterly ugly)? Play safe and stock up on the Délices du Luberon – ideally at the huge Isle-sur-la-Sorgue store where about 20 relishes are set out in generous bowls on a tasting table.

The origins of this family-run company stretch back two decades, to the time when keen cook Odette Msica made tapenades to sell at markets. Today, while its products are stocked by good delis, they are also still sold at key markets – Gordes, Saint-Rémy, Pertuis, Forcalquier, Uzès, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. The black Nyons olive tapenade is especially unctuous. You might also enjoy the délice made from sundried tomatoes, the caviar d’aubergine, or the fishy newcomers made from sardines and tuna (sardinade and thoïnonade) – both with a dash of trendy piment d’espelette.

Whatever you choose, it will be made with the best ingredients and have no preservatives. The Délices shops also sell olives, oils and vinegars as well as a tremendous range of gift packs. And good pottery – cheaper than in my local market.

DISTILLERY

Distillerie Manguin

AVIGNON

Île de la Barthelasse
84000 Avignon
04 90 82 62 29
www.manguin.com
OPEN WEEKDAYS ONLY

Avignon’s Île de la Barthelasse is a surprise in itself: an island right in the city, carpeted with orchards and wheat fields. It harbours an even greater curiosity – one of the few surviving small distilleries with a lofty international reputation. Manguin pear eau de vie many consider to be the best there is. That’s irrespective of whether it has a pear imprisoned in the bottle – a process which accounts for the bottles in the trees photographed with managing director Christian Dupont.

The distillery was set up in the 1940s when the Fauvist painter Henri Manguin swapped busy St Tropez for this quiet spot with its bounty of fruit. His grandson Philippe Manguin, the distiller today, continues to mastermind a limited production the old-fashioned way. Besides seven eaux de vie and various liqueurs (including the frankly bizarre Provençal concoction of 65 plants known as La Farigoule), the company makes eight kinds of pastis.

Bestsellers? Pastis Manguin, traditional and complex with overtones of dried flowers; spicier Pastis d’Avignon and trendy Pastis Bleu. The quality of all Manguin spirits hinges on a long, slow distillation in old alambics, says M Dupont. ‘Et quelques petits secrets…’ Of course.