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Staggeringly Simple, Extremely Well-Executed
CHÂTEAU ARNOUX, FRANCE- Many chefs talk about
just-picked garden freshness and French regional pride
but few attend to the task as eagerly and authentically
as Arlette, Pierre, and Jany Gleize the inseparable
family trio from the memorable hotel restaurant La Bonne
Etape, here in the Alpes de Haute Provence.
I have known the family for at least 15 years and return
each time as an old friend, a fellow warrior in the
combat against the sameness and inauthenticity of so
many regional menus. The first time I dined at this
18th-century relais de poste (stagecoach stop) flavors
virtually leapt from the plate: Pierre Gleize's tender
zucchini blossoms . picked from his garden outside the
restaurant at sunset . stuffed with a vibrant mix of
garlic, mint, and zucchini; his fragrant Sisteron lamb;
or the pungent Banon goat. s milk cheese aged in dried
chestnut leaves, all accompanied by aromatic sips of
the red, white or rose Palette from Château Simone.
A recent return visit brought all that happiness back
once more, following a sensory -heightened drive up
and down Mont Ventoux and through the lavender-strewn
fields along some of France's best back roads.
The food at La Bonne Etape is staggeringly simple,
extremely well-executed. The son, Jany, is now at the
stove, and, gratefully, brings no huge ego to the table:
What. s on the plate is about the ingredients, pure
and simple. He is one of the most creative chefs I know,
yet the creativity is not shoved in your face. There
is nothing complicated, nothing you have to strain your
brain to understand. But don. t confuse simple with
professional: This is food of the highest level, dishes
glazed or teamed up with sauces you don't turn out of
in a home kitchen in a matter of seconds.
More than a week later (with many restaurant meals
and many memorable dishes consumed since that time)
I can close my eyes and still see and taste the food.
Who could not love the purity of his soothing ravioli
stuffed with a mixture of mushrooms, Swiss chard and
spinach, bathed in a shiny red tomato sauce? The brilliant
red, white and green transport you right across the
border to Italy.
Joël Robuchon came to mind when I sampled Jany.
s bed of meltingly soft onions and black truffles topped
with a Tiddly Wink arrangement of perfect rounds of
delicious potatoes, decorated with a crispy Parmesan
tuile cookie.
Fresh tuna is cooked to a confit-like tenderness, topped
with a layer of fresh, marinated anchovies, woven into
perfect braid atop the fish. And lamb is seized as though
the devil did it, sauced with a rich, original basil
butter.
Service here is of the highest order, and the Relais
& Chateaux group should be proud of the youthful,
well-mannered staff. It must be a sign that I am getting
old, but the fine female sommeliere did not look as
though she was old enough to legally drink the wine
she was pouring.
But I must thank her for introducing me to Henning
Hoesch. s rich red Syrah, the 1996 Domaine Richeaume
Côtes de Provence with appealing overtones of
black and red currants.
And while I tend to agree more or less with the august
Michelin travel guide on the their ratings, they are
simply WRONG WRONG WRONG about their single star rating
of La Bonne Etape. Over the years they have given stars
and taken them away from the Gleize family for what
I see as no justifiable reason.
La Bonne Etape
Chemin du lac
04160 Château-Arnoux-St Aubin.
Tel: 04 92 64 00 09.
Fax: 04 92 64 37 36.
Closed January 3 to February 12 and all day Monday,
Tuesday at lunch from November to March. Credit cards:
American Express, Diner. s Club, Visa. Menus at 310
and 540 francs. A la carte, 225 to 595 francs, including
service but not wine.
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