After 40 years at the helm of one of Provence’s most renowned restaurants, La Fenière, Chef Reine Sammut and sommelier husband Guy are handing over the reins of the cuisine to Nadia Sammut in October. Nadia, who is the third generation of Sammuts at La Fenière, credits her grandmother and her parents for her culinary knowledge and passion for food but brings her own personal experience and education to the table, too: growing up with celiac disease and learning to cook creatively sans gluten (and dairy, too!). The transition began a year ago, Nadia told me in a recent interview.   By July, when I dined…

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There is no shortage of places to go, people to see, or things to do in Provence, especially in August when festivals of every sort abound. But many of these events, understandably, are not geared to include children.Let’s agree that children typically sit too much nine months out of the year, generally don’t like to sit, and are better off reaping the benefits of moving about in the fresh air and sunshine, particularly on vacation. (Ahem, perhaps this rings even more true for adults.) Our daughter traveled everywhere with us—from the time she was four months and came along to Buenos Aires to now, when…

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Aside from watching my daughter play soccer in Lauris, I never had a reason to get out of my car in this rather drab looking town, just a few kilometers south of Lourmarin. I hasten to add that the people at the soccer field were friendly without exception and took an especially warm interest in my daughter, the sole female player on the field, but for ten years, I drove straight through their little town without so much as a stop at the Petit Casino for a liter of milk.That is, until I heard about a small restaurant in Lauris with a huge following: Lou…

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“It’s breathing history and serenity…and then there’s the food.” Tancrède Barale, Managing Director of Hostellerie de l’Abbaye de la Celle and La Bastide de Moustiers Long-time readers of The Modern Trobadors know that my stomping grounds center on the Luberon in Provence’s département of the Vaucluse, with frequent ventures into the Bouche-de-Rhone département. Seldom do I find myself in any of the other four départements of Provence. It’s not that I don’t like those areas—in fact, I love Saint-Tropez in the Var; Moustiers-Sainte-Marie in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; and Nice in the Alpes Maritimes département—it’s just that I’m seldom drawn so strongly that I want to rest…

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It is 12 degrees outside as I write this post. The wind is howling and the ground is covered with several inches of snow. Portsmouth, New Hampshire is not in the Alps, the place from which this Swiss dish hails, but the blustery weather makes me long for a roaring fire and one of Switzerland’s storied and traditional meals. Hint: it has a French name. Not fondue…the other Swiss meal with the French name—raclette. In the United States, nearly everyone is familiar with cheese fondue, but very few people know about raclette. And yet, it is said to be more popular in its native country…

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At Le Castellas, to guess who else is coming for dinner is always part of fun.  You can count on the goats, but we’ve also been joined by cats, dogs, sheep, and pigs. On our last visit, a horse came to the table and a fox watched from a short distance. Deep in the very heart of the Luberon, about 22 kilometers (a little over 12 miles) from our favorite village Lourmarin, lies the tiny village of Sivergues.  With an elevation of 584 meters (1917 feet), it is the highest inhabited village in this area.  Last count, there are 49 people who call Sivergues their…

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We began at Cave Aureto where we met our friend Pierre Schott, the retail cavistes of the winery’s cellar.   After a very interesting tour of their uncommonly modern winery and a tasting flight of their award-winning wines, we made our way to the terrace overlooking the vineyards from which the grapes were harvest.   Just before we eked out the last light of the setting sun, we moved to Le Jardin dans les Vignes, the wonderful restaurant that lies under the vine-covered arbor and stands above the long rows of lavender—it is the casual companion to the property’s gourmet restaurant with the newly acquired…

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Superfluous piece of information for the benefit of readers who stumbled upon this blog in a completely unrelated search: Bastille Day, also known as La Fête Nationale or Le Quatorze Juillet, is a French national holiday that marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (prison) in 1789 and the symbolic birth of modern France. It is celebrated on July 14th with fantastic pomp and circumstance in France, in many cities around the U.S., and in our home.  Yesterday was Bastille Day. I know I should have been thinking red, white and blue—thick swaths of each color—as I arranged our small French Tricolors around…

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Lunch at Le Chateau in Sormiou When the summer temperatures begin to rise in Provence, one of our favorite destinations for lunch is Le Château, perfectly placed atop Sormiou, one of the region’s best known calanques. Located just 15 minutes from the Old Port in Marseille, you will find dramatic views of aqua-colored water dotted with sail boats next to towering white cliffs as well as cool breezes and terrific food. It is just an hour and a half from our beloved Lourmarin, so it can be a quick jaunt or the focal point of a wonderful day trip.  Calanque de Sormiou Calanque means “inlet”…

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If you love markets, now there is one more reason to love Tuesdays in the Luberon. I have already written about Tuesday markets in Aix-en-Provence, Cucuron, and Gordes and haven’t even had the chance to cover two other favorite markets that take place on Tuesdays in Tour d’Aigues and Vaison-la-Romaine. And now, I just found out about another Tuesday market—at least this new addition won’t put pressure on the vacationer to decide which one to visit! The latest addition to the Tuesday line up is an evening market: On May 1, Lourmarin inaugurated an evening farmers’ market. My mouth waters when I picture the beautiful…

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