Today was so special. Christiane, the landlady of our house in Lavardac, brought us to the restaurant of our chef, Jean Noël Prabonne. His place is called le Relais de La Hire and it is in the village of Francescas close to the town of Nerac. http://www.la-hire.com/
We arrived at his place at 11:30am to tour the gardens. It is a cute house with an amazing garden and patio for dinning behind a wall and gate. The inside is elegant yet tasteful.
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We were in for a treat. Jean Noël was going to show us how to prepare our lunch, all FOIE! Now I know some people have issues with foie, I do not! If you eat any sort of meat, fish or chicken, wear leather shoes, drink milk, yougurt, cheese, etc you have NO room to speak here. Welcome to the top of the food chain!
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It was wonderful experience our landlady planned for us. We were in a real working kitchen gettting ready to learn how to prepare and then sit and eat the local treasure, Foie Gras!
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We sat down after making the first course for two course of amuse bouche and a wonderful champagne.
The first course was a terrine and torchon with an onion marmalade. Served with a wonderful very floral off dry Loire Valley white wine.
We got up and went back into the kitchen to prepare our next course.
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The second course was a seared foie on top of a mushroom puree sitting on a grilled artichoke heart. Many of the spices and products came from, the chef's garden right outside. This he served with a lovely crisp Alsatian Riesling.
For dessert we had a platter each of several different treats including a pumpkin sorbet and a pear and cream parfait. These were washed with an orange wine the chef made himself.
After lunch the chef set out a tasting of Armangac for us, another local treasure from this part of the France. We had three very distinct pours in front of us. The grand finale was a special one that he keeps for special occasions. The story was something to the effect that a local farmer showed him a giant barrel he had in his barn. Jean Noël was skeptical of it as it had been sitting for decades in a barn but once opened the barrel he smelled the most amazing odor. I can only tell you that the smell to me reminded me of the sweet burnt wood smell of a European Cathedral. We were all BLOWN away!
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Having Christiane there was such a treat too. She is such a gracious and kind host. If you ever come to France or need a rental house you should consider this. It is great for groups, really a bargin too! The house currently has 6 BIG bedrooms 4 with BIG en suite baths, 2 amazing kitchens, dining and sitting rooms galore. A pool, bikes, gardens, all in a cute walking village!
They both speak perfect English, have lived in the US but are both charming French.
Christiane and Michel Jung
Here's a video of the grounds and main floor;
