The castle’s austere façade belies the fact that there are truffle fields not far away. In the Château Massillan kitchens, Frédéric Le Bourlout cooks with truffle the way he might tell a story. «The first time I ever ate truffle, it was in a brouillade. I was a child and I didn’t like it that much,» he laughs. Truffle, «a rich, fetish food,» intoxicates Le Bourlout with its fragrance and texture. «One can work it with meat or cheese or in a dessert,» he says. In winter, meals at Massillan sing the praises of Tuber melanosporum, from truffled pear to truffled floating island. Yann Sandrini, the young (barely 35 years old) chef at the aptly named restaurant La Truffe dans tous ses Etats, is another passionate fan. On his menu, truffle is omnipresent in savoury dishes and sweet. «I propose fresh truffle ten months of the year: brumale, melano, aestivum, incinatum, the white alba and its cousin the borchii with its aromas of garlic and ripe parmesan.» He likes to treat his truffle very simply: «I want to make it available to everyone; I democratise it because the public knows it so little. To make the most of it, I recommend eggs or a starchy food, they will back up its flavour.» No need to process it, still less to cook it. «It has to be warmed, and let’s not forget that the way it’s cut also affects the flavour,» says Sandrini. For Michel Hulin, chef at the Cabro d’Or in Baux-de-Provence, «truffle adds a festive note to our meals. The ultimate in simple fare, the less you work it the better it is.» Hulin avoids complication at all costs and recommends a runny omelette with a few flakes scattered on top and a trickle of olive oil: «I couldn’t do without it!», he admits.
Château de Massillan
730 chemin de Massillan, 84100 Uchaux
Tél. 04 90 40 64 51
La Truffe dans tous ses états
Centre San Baquis, 2010 avenue de la Croix d’Or
13320 Bouc-Bel-Air
Tél. 04 42 60 06 92
La Cabro d’Or
13520 Les Baux-de-Provence
Tél. 04 90 54 33 21
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