Christophe Renaud of the Gourmet restaurant at the Domaine de La Coquillade in Gargas throws down the gauntlet to Johan Thyriot of the Méo in Tarascon for a one-meal match.
We've seen many a tournament in tennis, boxing and pétanque, but here's one in the noble sport of Michelin-starred cuisine. In the lovely rural setting of a luxury hotel in the Vaucluse, the Domaine de La Coquillade, gourmets and food critics have gathered to judge a closely matched combat between Johan Thyriot and Christophe Renaud for the starters and mains and between their respective pastry chefs Emilie Thyriot and René Solnon for the desserts. Good taste, in every sense of the term, is assured. The affable staff at the Gourmet have dressed the table so let's sit down. The delicately saffron-flavoured appetisers tease our tastebuds, but we can soon distinguish two personalities, two temperaments. Christophe Renaud's petit farci appeals to our bucolic side, but can we tell who did the steamed bass fillet? Hard to decide. The only thing to do is give in to the pure pleasure of the food. And the surroundings on this Luberon plateau with the Aureto vineyards all around. And the various wines from said vineyard. Now come the feather-light desserts by Emilie Thyriot and René Solnon: creamy chocolate and shortbread, a thin leaf of green tea in a fruity texture. So who wins? The foodie! And a special mention for the courteous manager of this Mecca of stylish living that was once a dependency of the monastic Abbaye de Sénanque.
La Coquillade, Le Perrotet, 84400 Gargas - Tél. 04 90 74 71 71
By Gérard Martin
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