Early morning in the Camargue, with clinging wisps of mist and traces of gleaming frost. The first signs of spring are here and the Chassagnette is about to open for the season. Armand Arnal, blue apron firmly tied over an immaculate white jacket, is eagerly awaiting his gardener's return. The day's fare will depend on what he has picked. For the "orchard/kitchen garden/herb garden" here is not just for decoration. It and the chef are the stars in this former sheep barn, which also boasts a Michelin star, awarded to young Armand a few years ago almost as soon as he set up in the Camargue. He hails from Montpellier and calls himself a child of the Camargue. So after years working for Alain Ducasse New York as well as stints in Paris and Japan, he decided to settle here, near the Etang de Vaccarès, closer to his roots. And here, inspired by his experience of the wide world, he creates an astonishing complicity between the local and exotic herbs and plants whose foliage waves in balletic unison under the gusting mistral wind. This garden is organic, tended with care but allowed some freedom. It's the mainstay of the Chassagnette's cuisine. But while the day's garden harvest sets the tone, the chef completes his symphony of flavours with local meat and fish. Grau-du-Roi harbour with its ebulliently picturesque fish auction supplies an abundance of the seafood he loves. Shrimps from the nearby lagoon and Camargue crawfish complete the magic of his menu. But always with vegetables from the garden and a foamy green sauce with just that perfect touch of bitterness and acidity. Each dish is an exquisite symphony of pitch-perfect, well-defined flavours. Ingredients born of the same soil and sea, ripe and ready at the same season, come together in natural harmony at the Chassagnette, which the chef describes as "a world's-end feeling, a place that takes hold of you".
Route du Sambuc, 13200 Arles – Tél.04 90 97 26 96
By Valérie Rouger
Côteweb 2021, création de site Internet sur Nice