Markets of the Midi!
A gastronomic tour for those who dream about experiencing the wonderful cuisine and culinary traditions of the South of France like a local!
May 18th-25th 2018
This region in France is not only inspiringly beautiful, but is rich in Roman history set in a decidedly French tradition.
From the wonderful Provençal cuisine influenced by rich produce and the Mediterranean Sea, to the vines and olive trees that cover the landscape surrounded by the wildly aromatic scrub oak and garrigue forests. This is an experience for the senses!
Day 1/ May 18th-- Arrival. Welcome dinner
Welcome to Provence! Specifically, the wonderful ancient Roman town of Nimes. Your stop here today will likely be brief as we will pick you up as you arrive at the Gare (train station). But don’t worry, we will be coming back to Nimes later in the week to explore its amazing covered market and sights. From Nimes we will drive to our private mas in the beautiful village of La Capelle-et-Masmolene, about forty-five minutes away (fifteen minutes from Uzez). There we will meet our chef, Matt Janke, at a fun informal reception with wine, cheese and Provençal specialties. You will then have plenty of time to settle into your rooms before we get together for chef Matt’s welcome dinner that evening.
Each evening of the tour prior to dinner, Matt will walk us through his preparations and be happy to answer any questions or explain any techniques used for the recipes. And most certainly - for those who want to jump right in- there are bound to be a few tasks which will require an apron!
Day 2/ Saturday May 19th-- Sommieres Market/ Pic Saint Loup /Chateau de Valflaunes
It’s Saturday morning and there is no better time to set off to our first market. Our favorite Saturday market is a beautiful forty-five minute drive away in the town of Sommieres, one of our favorite towns in all of the south of France. Sommieres is steeped in both Roman and medieval history - yet is just off the beaten path, keeping it much more for locals than tourist. The marché here has everything you could imagine from this region in France which is famed for its culinary products. Chef Matt will let us know what is on the menu this evening based on our shopping experience at the market.
After shopping lunch will be an informal affair as the Sommieres market has some of the best street food of all the markets we will visit. Plan on posting up at a table near the oyster shucking stand and eating a variety of market goods washed down with a carafe or two of vin de pays. After the market we can head to the pétanque terrain for a pastis at the bar and a quick lesson in this southern French pastime. We may not get on the pitch here as this is for serious players only, but we can review the rules, look for technique and then take our game back to the mas’s own terrain to play later!
Leaving Sommieres it’s off to one of the most famous wine regions in the Languedoc, Pic St Loup. This is beautiful wine country. It is also an area right in the heart of the garrigue (the unique flora comprised of olive trees, pines, scrub oak, and every sort of aromatic herb you can imagine). Here we work with an amazing young winemaker named Fabien Reboul. His domaine – Chateau Valflaunes has incredible views of the nearby Pic, and we are confident that his wines will speak for themselves!
After our visit we return home for aperitifs and our nightly menu discussion with chef Matt before a little relaxation before dinner.
Day 3/ Sunday May 20th-- L’isle-sur- la Sorgue/ Les Jardins de la quai/ La Luberon/ Les Baux de Provence
After breakfast Sunday morning we head off in the opposite direction of Sommieres, driving east into quintessential Provence – specifically an area known as the Luberon. Our destination is a not to be missed market town called L’isle-sur-la Sorgue. L’isle-sur-la-Sorgue means ‘island on the Sorgue’, which is exactly what this village is. The town sits on an island in the Sorgue river as it flows from its alpine source towards the Rhone. The town was established here because of the easy access to steady flowing water all around and is famous for its ancient waterwheels dotting the charming village at various points on the river. Today however, L’isle-sur-la Sorgue is most famous for its Sunday broquant (antique) market. In addition to the hundreds of antique stalls there is also a very nice food market where we can shop with chef Matt for our evening menu. Lunch will be in a lovely restaurant called Les Jardins de la Quai which we happily discovered on our first visit her over ten years ago.
After lunch we will be reminded that here we are on the cusp of the Luberon! This is arguably one of the most beautiful regions of France, and we will get a birds eye view of it by heading up to one of the most visited sites in all of France, Les Baux de Provence. This medieval fortification sitting in ruins high on a rocky precipice and its adjacent village is so picturesque we couldn’t possibly be in the area without taking the afternoon stop and explore.
After our adventure it’s back to the mas for a bit of well-deserved relaxation – and even a dip in the heated pool - before dinner.
Day 4/ Monday May 21st-- Camargue/ Aigue Mortes/ Bull Fight/ French Pizza!
Because we all hate Mondays, we have saved one of our favorite and most adventurous days for this Monday! There are no markets to speak of today, so we will take advantage of this to give chef a night off and dine out this evening at a wonderful restaurant in Uzes. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves to much here!We will begin Monday morning en route to the sea. Here we will discover the land of the French cowboy, known locally as les guardians. Their domaine is the massive delta of the Rhone river, known as the Camargue. It is a vast, flat marchland populated with wild white horses, small aggressive black bulls and pink flamingos. Our first stop will be a nature trail where we can have a look at these animals and get a sense of the uniqueness of this area. We will then be off to a village called Aigue-Mortes (dead waters) that was once an important medieval fortification on the shore of the Mediterranean but now lies several kilometers inland due to the ever-shifting coast line of the delta. At Aigues we stop for lunch at a great spot in the port and will order a platter or two of local seafood specialties to enjoy by the sea side!
After lunch we head to the tiny village of Le Cailar to take in a Course Camarguaise. This is the traditional bullfight of the south of France – but unike the Corrida, or Spanish version that also is popular across the Midi - in the Course Camarguaise the bulls are never hurt. They stand center ring as their foes - called razateurs - sprint in from the sides of the ring and try to steal ribbons from their horns before being chased off. In the end, the bull is always the victor and the hero!
After the course we’ll stop in for a pastis at a local village bar, and then, appetites stirred, experience one of our favorite French dinners: Pizza! It is ubiquitous in France – but really a unique product, and something not to be missed. We know a great joint in a small village not far from the Mas where we will finish up our evening.
Day 5/ Tuesday May 22nd --Vaison-la-Romain/ Seguret/ Pont du Gard
This morning we are headed to Vaison-la-Romain. This is an ancient Roman city located to the north-east of the mas in the Vaucluse department. Vaison is a fantastic city with wonderful charm and amazing historical sites. For years we have come here to explore ancient ruins, bask in a café or two, or just to wander. Vaison is unique in that it has very well preserved ancient Roman as well as medieval sections – both of which intermingle with the modern town. The Tuesday market is not to be missed and is by far the largest in the area. It sprawls through town up and down side streets and across the central squares.
After shopping with chef for dinner, we will head off to the south for lunch at one of our new favorite spots in a nearby village called Seguret. This village is always named one of the most beautiful in France.
After lunch - and perhaps a quick nap in the van - we will arrive back near Uzez at one of the most important tourists sights in all of Europe – the Pont du Gard. This Unesco world heritage site may require no introduction, but if you haven’t heard of it you are about to be amazed. It is a massive bridge carrying a Roman aquaduct on its way over the Gard river en route from the water’s source in Uzez to its destination in Nimes. For those of you feeling like a little exercise there are a number of hiking trails in and around the pont that offer stunning views of this landmark.
After visiting the Pont we will make the short drive back to the mas to relax and enjoy aperitifs before dinner.
Day 6/ Wednesday May 23rd --Uzes Market/ Olive Oil/ Domaine de la Charite
This morning we take a short trek to the lovely town of Uzes where we will visit the renown organic farmers market here at the origin of the source of the Pont du Gard! Both the Saturday and Wednesday markets at Uzez are not to be missed, but the smaller Wednesday one is the real deal. It is not as touristy as the Saturday market and is visited by locals each week to stock up on organic, local and seasonal provisions.
Leaving the market we will head east into the foothills of the Cevennes mountains to a local olive oil grower and producer aptly named La Moulin du Paradis. Here we will tour the facilities, enjoy a pic-nique in the surrounding garrigue forests, and then have ample opportunity to taste and buy the oils.
After leaving the moulin we travel onto the winery of Christophe Coste, Domaine de la Charité. Christophe crafts excellent wines from the Cotes du Rhone and Cotes du Rhone Villages appellations and is always a very gracious host. After our visit we return home for a bit of respite, then onto aperitifs and our petanque game! Later it will be our nightly menu discussion with chef Matt where we learn how he will incorporate our acquisitions from the morning market visit into dinner!
Day 7/ Thursday May 24th – Nimes/ Les Halles/ Aubai Mema/ Farewell dinner
After breakfast we are off to Nimes to take in some of the most famous historical landmarks in all of France, including the most well preserved Roman arene outside of Rome and the little roman jewelbox of a temple called the Maison Carré. Our market visit will be unique today as well. Instead of a weekly outdoors market we will be shopping at Les Halles, the covered daily market place. For those of you who are familiar with the French covered market you know that you can find every kind of delicacy here. There are fishmongers, expert butchers, local cheesemakers and loads of seasonal produce brought in daily by local farmers. At the market we will not only collect what we need for the nights dinner, but we will also buy items to throw on the BBQ for lunch at our next destination, Domaine Aubai Mema
This winery is located in the tiny village of Aubais. Here we will meet one of our good friends, Mark Haynes, the proprietor. Mark will have the grill ready and as our lunch cooks, we will do a tasting of Mark’s organic/biodynamic wines and take advantage of his petanque terrain to really get a feel for the game. It’s a good bet that we will have rosé wine and perhaps pastis on hand to loosen us up for the competition!
After lunch who are feeling even more adventurous can take a stroll from the winery though our home away from home village of Aubais. From here it’s a short ride back to the mas, where we will wind down and get ready for our farewell dinner!
Day 8/ Friday May 25th-- Depart
After breakfast we will run you each back to the train station in Nimes. We will try to get everyone there as close to their train times as possible, but we appreciate your understanding if we need to drop you off a bit early in order to coordinate the drop-off schedules.