Spicing things up
The Loire Valley in France is getting a luxury tourism overhaul with the opening of high-end resorts and restaurants.
“I HOPE you don’t mind – I’m starving!” confessed 45-year-old chef Christophe Hay as he plucked a tomato from his permaculture garden and bit into it as if it were an apple.
Best known for his work at the two Michelin-starred, farm-centric La Maison d’a Cote in the small town of Montlivault, France, Hay was getting ready for the official inauguration in late June of Fleur de Loire, his five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel in nearby Blois, where double rooms command 360 (RM1,367) per night. On the guest list were more than 300 local artisans, suppliers, artists, chef peers, politicians, and VIP clients – all curious to see how he’d filled a sprawling 17th-century hospice building with two fine-dining restaurants, 44 rooms and suites, a Sisley spa, gym, pastry bar, and boutique.
Understandably, breaking for lunch wasn’t high on Hay’s agenda.
We were a third of a mile from the property, in a greenhouse at the centre of his garden. In it were seemingly endless rows of produce – asparagus here, colourful squash and goji berries there. “This whole project wouldn’t have been possible without this garden. It’s crucial to my cooking,” Hay says. “We can be self-sufficient this way.”
Growing most of what you serve isn’t core to the average hotel’s missions. But the bounty Hay harvests on site is what drives the multicourse menus at both of Fleur de Loire’s restaurants, L’amour Blanc and Christophe Hay. And eating at either of those spots is likely what will lure you here in the first place, though the cocooning rooms – done up in a luxurious monochrome of gray with gold accents, with Loire River views and bath amenities from regional producer Savonnerie des Muids – are worthy retreats all on their own.
It’s all part of what makes Fleur de Loire the biggest opening the Loire Valley has seen in years.
Hay’s reputation may not yet extend far outside France, but in the Loire region, he’s a singular culinary hero. His famed La Maison d’a Cote is where he became known for an exacting commitment to sustainability, both in terms of the suppliers he supports and the humane culture he created in the kitchen. He’s obsessive about scrutinising farming practices, passionate about cooking with local river fish such as sturgeon and carp, and painstakingly honours the Loire terroir.
Besides the two Michelin stars he earned there in 2019, the restaurant also got a green star for sustainable cuisine in 2020, making Hay the region’s most decorated chef. But after eight successful years in business, he’d outgrown the space and the handful of comfortable but simple rooms he and his wife made available for guests. So he closed the spot in May, to make space for something bigger and bolder.
Almost everything that made La Maison d’a Cote so celebrated is recreated at Christophe Hay, right down to the open kitchen experience, elevated service, and signature dishes such as his carp a la Chambord (which revisits an 18th-century recipe) and pike fish souffled crepe with crunchy quinoa.
What will be new for Hay devotees is L’amour Blanc, an option that’s more casual – no crisp white tablecloth, less precious plating – but still carries its own Michelin ambitions. Here, the menu revisits classics of French cooking, from foie gras poached in red wine to red mullet with a honey sabayon. There are also individual-size confections, all concocted by pastry chef Maxime Maniez, formerly of the Park Hyatt Shanghai and Cyril Lignac, available on a to-go basis at the pastry bar downstairs.
The U-shaped building that Fleur de Loire occupies has its own fascinating history and unbeatable location: It was erected at the behest of Gaston d’orléans, Louis XIII’S brother, and sits directly across the river from the historic heart of Blois and its royal chateau. The heritage structure’s restoration alone clocked 30mil (Rm136mil) and was adapted to accommodate such luxuries as a 15m indoor pool set beneath the spa wing’s original vaulted ceilings.
But to fulfil his vision of a truly food-focused escape, Hay had to add on to the existing structure, building a two-level annex to house the haute-patisserie shop and cafe as well as L’amour Blanc. There, the defining visual, apart from the sumptuous, light-drenched dining room, is a wraparound terrace with the best-in-property views as the sun dips below the Blois cathedral.
“Blois was really lacking a high-end hotel, especially given the wealth of historic and cultural sites in its proximity,” says the town’s mayor, Marc Gricourt. He’s right: Blois may be among the most charming and peaceful castle towns in the high-traffic tourist triangle between Chambord and Cheverny, but it was regularly losing out on affluent travellers who’d rent out private local chateaux or spend their nights in nearby Touraine.
The truth is that the entire Loire region has long been considered old-fashioned to many travellers under the age of 50, relying too heavily on its historic marvels. Now, with more travellers interested in combining food and nature experiences – like winery hopping by bike, or hiking and foraging – the Loire is poised for a moment.
A recent push by regional tourism authorities, entrepreneurs, and hoteliers to refresh the Loire’s reputation seems to be working.
Since the summer of 2020, a handful of
unique new properties have opened around the region, chief among them Loire Valley Lodges, where 18 treehouses are wedged deep into private forestland in Touraine. Also notable is Les Sources de Cheverny, a wellness-driven nature escape with “vinotherapy” spa treatments and 45ha of farmland and vines to explore on foot or by bike from the couple behind Les Sources de Caudalie in Bordeaux. None of them, however, is as massive in scale, scope, or ambition as Fleur de Loire.
“This goes beyond anything I’ve taken on before, so there’s tremendous stress,” explains the chef humbly, who takes boxing lessons to help release the tension. “But I’m also naturally optimistic.”
He has reason to be optimistic. Fleur de Loire has all the makings of a destination property and is unlikely to have any difficulty attracting the travellers motivated by food and wellness experiences. But Hay, native to the region, knows that the real challenge will be ensuring the locals keep returning, too.
“I’ll consider this a success when we become an escape – for the day, for the night, or for a weekend – for residents of the Loire-et-cher,” he says. “They’re key to our longevity.” – Bloomberg