It’s amazing how far I will travel for food. It would be true to say, I don’t visit countries or cities, I visit the people behind the dish. And notice, I don’t put the dish first, because for me, it’s always been the story behind beautiful food that makes my heart sing.
When you know that journey from field to fork, the people involved, the why and the wherefore, it can be like an extra ingredient of magic in every bite. For me, I’m not just experiencing that dish, I’m experiencing the environment, culture, tradition and honour that has gone into making that ingredient, the best it can be.
In seeing the world, some walk, some drive, others prefer to dig their toes in the sand. When I travel, I eat.
Last summer, Chefs James Henry and Shaun Kelly, together with the Mortemart family captured my spirit of culinary travel. Le Doyenne is a restaurant that sits within the historical grounds of the Chateau de Saint-Vrain, just 41km from Paris.
“I’m not just experiencing that dish, I’m experiencing the environment, culture, tradition and honour that has gone into making that ingredient, the best it can be.”
The Château was once the country retreat of the Countess du Barry and Borghese family, and has been the home of the Mortemart family for more than two centuries. Le Doyenné sits on the estate’s former stables where the French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle and Swiss sculptor Tinguely created their monumental works in the 70s.
In 2017, they invited local artisan craftsmen to restore the century old stables. They then ‘re-imagined’ them as a French house of their dreams. The stables are now home to the restaurant and guesthouse and are quite stunning.
At the heart of Le Doyenne is the splendid potager that had been dormant for over 60 years, where they are now revitalising regenerative agriculture practices. To date, hundreds of fruit trees and shrubs have been planted as well as hundreds of varieties of heirloom vegetables and herbs are under cultivation.
Inspired by the maraîchers of France as well as the regenerative agriculture movement, they eschew the modern practice of tilling in favour of gentle decomposition through the use of compost and mulch, capturing carbon and preserving the microbial life that had been nurtured for hundreds of years.
By pursuing regenerative agriculture, their mission is to sequester carbon, grow nutritious and flavourful vegetables, while leaving the environment in a healthier state than they found it.
“The end result? A culinary journey that is so much more than a gorgeous dining experience”
As a result, the menu across their food chain, ebbs and flows with the seasons. Even the choice of wines reflect their agricultural beliefs, renouncing herbicides and pesticides, making living wines with minimal intervention.
The end result? A culinary journey that is so much more than a gorgeous dining experience. For me, every waking moment was akin to an immersive journey that took me from farm to fork, revealing the local landscape, its history, culture and traditions and importantly, the people.
Visiting local, non-chain establishments while travelling offers a richer and more authentic culinary experience, immersing you in the unique flavours, traditions, and stories of a region, and elevating your journey beyond the predictable offerings of global chains. By choosing these businesses, you directly support the livelihoods of locals, fostering a sustainable economic ecosystem.
Wherever food takes me, I arrive hungry but leave with a full heart.