Fine French food... with lashing of l’eau
Those intensely flavoured smears and splodges you see on plates prepared by TV chefs are largely down to the influence of one man – Michel Guerard.
Inspired by his bride-to-be to lose a few pounds, he created ‘cuisine minceur’ – literally ‘slimming cooking’. A little egg yolk, wine and lots of air meant foamy sauces, while strips of vegetable and concentrated stocks did away with fattening sauces.
This was nouvelle cuisine, and Guerard was one of the cofounders of a movement that swept through Europe.
La Bastide, one of Guerard’s hotels, in the small town of Barbotan-les-Thermes, Gascony, is 80km southeast of Bordeaux. Thousands are drawn there every year by the food – and the thermal waters. Guerard’s daughter Elionore runs La Bastide – a former Cistercian monastery – but Michel has the last word on menus. Restaurant La Nature is an extension of minceur, while Le Gourmet is more traditional. In the height of the season, vast numbers turn up to Barbotan for treatments – the health-giving properties of the thermal waters have been appreciated since Roman times.
My visit to the hotel’s spa began with a massage. Then I was soothingly bubbled, before being doused by a tropical rainstorm with jets of water pulverising my body. After all that, I plunged into a Jacuzzi. Did I feel well? Sure. And boy was I clean.
An old poster proclaims the curative powers of hot water and nourishing mud. No more sciatica or rheumatism, apparently. Michel Guerard has 120 acres of Armagnac vineyards around La Bastide. The mellow brandy has also been subject to optimistic health claims. But whatever your approach to health, La Bastide is a tonic. Who wouldn’t feel well after a stay here? Rooms at La Bastide (bastide-gasconne.com/en) from €495 for two, including dinner, massage and spa. Aer Lingus flies to Bordeaux from €131 return.