His ability to take products of the land, both rich and poor, and combine them in new and fascinatingly successful ways, makes his cuisine a taste exploration that is a must for all those who love the tastes of the Mediterranean. It is a crime that Michelin has yet to give him his third star. Certainly he is in the same class that select few world class chefs. While his technique and finesse of preparation and presentation is right up there with the very best, it is the clean and smooth style that predominates. His unusual pairing of flavors is simply a burst of enjoyment in the mouth rather than a labored attempt to be different.
Whether you eat outside on the terrace with a view out over the Estérel and the bay of Théoule or sitting in one of the three the more formal dining rooms with their warm colors and one of which is a smoke-free zone, the surrounding ambiance is of Provence, reinforcing the tastes on the plate. The building itself has been lovingly restored and expanded, keeping all the while the style, colors and textures of Provence.
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The purple asparagus of Provençe at the Nice professional produce market. This asparagus has no strings.
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The berries were is season and this dish of fresh strawberries, wild wood strawberries with black olives, spiced wine sauce and olive oil ice-cream defies logic and achieves nirvana.
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Calamari on a purée of Chick peas.
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Chibois at the Nice professional market checking his order with Mme. Valleriotti who raises the best wild wood strawberries in the world.
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Jacques Chibois, born far away in Limoge, which is another world of cuisine, is not just in love with the tastes of Provence, which he has adopted with vengeance, but especially with olive oil. He has even co-authored a book on the subject. Perhaps not being born in Provence has allowed him to relish its tastes and harvest bounty with greater perception than a native born chef. Perhaps it is the acreage around the Bastide that is filled with hundreds of 400 year old olive trees that stimulated his fascination.
He insists on a hands on approach in his cuisine. While he has a highly trained kitchen staff, at 5.00 a.m. he himself drives the refrigerated van down to the Professional Produce Market in Nice by the airport three times a week in search of the finest, the freshest and most interesting ingredients he can obtain. He also enjoys the rough and ready banter of the growers and producers as they josh each other, tell riské stories and trade friendly insults between serious discussions of the crops, the weather, the seasonal vagrancy's that affect the produce this week.
He basic decency quietly asserts itself as he pays the small vendors in cash or by check, knowing that many of them hold on by a thread. But he is also no pushover for less than the best produce. At the end of the procurement expedition, he pops into the Brasserie de Commerce at the produce market and has a cup of coffee and dunks fresh baguette while catching up with more goings on in the supply field. He says it keeps him grounded.
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Le Loup (fish see below) with lemon and Verbena.
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The fresh fish called Loup used in recipe above.
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Chibois with an important supplier to Monaco exchanging stories at the Brasserie de Commerce, the early morning watering hole for the purveyors of fine ingredients at the Nice professional market.
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Foie (liver) of duck with hearts of artichokes and finely chopped black truffles on a purée of artichokes.
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One superb dish was his "Loup Au Citron et à La Verveine". a fish dish that brings in not only Verbena and Lemon flavors but also eggplant, olive oil, fennel, basil and the long, baton like zucchini of Nice. His "Langoustines aux Asperges" was a plate that kept providing layers of taste. The langoustines, (jumbo shrimp with claws), were sitting alongside seven spears of purple asparagus which were stringless and as soft as butter. Under the langoustines and asparagus were two purées, one of chick peas, the other of paprika and curry. Surrounding all was drizzled the famous olive oil. As the dish was consumed, a little dab of one sauce or the other, or combined made a set of variations of taste that was a real treat.
Normally I am not a lover of liver or foie gras, but his serving of the most tender, butter like duck liver served with hearts of artichoke and finely chopped black truffles on a purée of artichokes was to die for as was the Calamari served on a purée of chick peas with a sauce of paprika, saffron and the cooking juices with a little dot of white caviar.
His desserts ranged from a millefeuille of caramelized apples, a plate of callissons with olive oil, an olive paste and wild wood strawberries to a plate of the wild wood strawberries of Mme. Valleriotti, with their unique taste served with a sorbet of verbena, a marmalade of jasmine and an olive paste.
His fixed price menus start at 290 FRF for a 3 course meal (lunch only), 490 FRF for a 5 course meal and 710 FRF for the 7 course meal but only as long as the whole table orders the same menu.
While the restaurant is the raison d'être of the bastide, M. Chibois and his wife also created a small luxury 4 star hotel so that diners coming from a distance could spend the night. The 3 suites and 8 rooms are all charming decorated in soft Provençal styles and colors. Click here for more.
If you find yourself in Menton, on the French/Italian border, M. Chibois has just opened in May 2001 what he describes as a "contemporary bistrot" called "Mirazur", 30, Avenue Aristide Briand, 06500 Menton; tel 04.92.41.86.86. Ave Aristide Briand leaves the beach road and heads inland. It is just before the border on the right. We have not had a chance to try it. If you do, drop us an email and let us know what you think. editorial@daprix.com
Hotel La Bastide Saint Antoine
48, Avenue Henri Dunant
06130 Grasse (near Cannes)
France.
tel: 33-(0)4.93.70.94.94.
fax: 33-(0)4.93.70.94.95.
e-mail:info@jacques-chibois.com
http://www.jacques-chibois.com
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For a link to the Relais & Châteaux Group of hotels and restaurants own site, click on the button left.
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Driving Directions:
It is just a little tricky to find the hotel which is not in the town of Grasse but on the western outskirts. Coming from the coast, exit the autoroute at Cannes, the sign posting for Grasse is very clear. Follow the divided highway to the end, just after the tunnel, and you will peel off to the right which will bring you to a round about or traffic circle. Take the first exit from the round about following the signs to "St.Antoine/St.Jacques", go about 100 yards (meters) and you will see a small road to the right that looks as though it enters a houseing estate. It is called "Chemin des Castors". (If you come to another round about you have gone too far. Go around it, return to the original round about and try again. Yes, we over shot it.) Take Chemin des Castors up the hill for 1.5 k's and you will eventually see the entrance for the hotel on the left just as the road takes a tight right bend. You will drive through the olive grove before you arrive at the hotel. There is valet parking.
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