Who sleeps dines (and vice versa)
Hoteliers have long been accustomed to becoming restaurateurs, as necessity dictates. And so have chefs become hoteliers. What's new: a clearly more homogeneous tone between the table and the bed, a more global vision. Proof in 5.
First and foremost, it was a necessity. To be able to accommodate a few guests as close as possible to the restaurant. For many fine restaurants, this often meant just a few rooms that a (very) lucky guest could reserve at the same time as his table. For the others, it was a matter of finding a nearby hotel and getting there while taking care to moderate alcohol consumption. Things haven't changed much. Most chefs (those in the regions, out of town) have rooms for their guests. Not many, not enough. What has changed is that this hotel offer is no longer a mere convenience. It forms a coherent whole, completing their universe by offering an experience that extends beyond the few hours spent at the table. Some have long understood the importance of this consistency of tone (Michel Troisgros at Colline du Colombier, the Roellinger family at Maisons de Bricourt...). Others have followed in their footsteps more recently, realizing that offering bed and board as well as meals allows them to become even more deeply rooted in their terroir, and to broaden their creativity.
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Alexandre Gauthier, La Grenouillère
When, in 2003, Alexandre Gauthier took over from his father and decided to write his own chapter at La Grenouillère, he commissioned architect Patrick Bouchain to design a bold, contemporary building with rooms that were not to resemble those of a hotel. They will be huts, half-buried in the ground, reminiscent of hunters' hideaways. Spaces that not only refer to the region and its products, but embody the blend of rustic and modern that characterizes his cuisine. Since then, without ever straying far from his stronghold, Alexandre Gauthier has multiplied his openings and locations. In La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, where he offers additional rooms in a former farmhouse and in the Maison de la Source; in Montreuil, where he has opened three restaurants and pieuX, a guest house.
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Florent Ladeyn, Le Vert Mont
Booking a room at the Auberge du Vert Mont automatically gives you access to chef Florent Ladeyn's table. It's an exercise in persistence, however, as room and board are coveted months in advance.He has completely renovated the inn he inherited from his father, applying the same philosophy and commitment to both table and room. 100% local ingredients, sobriety, raw materials, and chicory instead of coffee for breakfast!
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Christophe Aribert, La Maison Aribert
Christophe Aribert has never left Uriage-les-Bains in Isère, where he has been cooking for over 20 years. First for the Grand Hotel, then for himself in the beautiful house he now occupies since 2019. For many, this offer is the number one reason to visit this spa village. You can sleep here, eat in the gourmet restaurant or in Café A. He lives here and welcomes his guests as if in his own home. To the 5 luxuriously appointed rooms in the Maison du Chef, he has just added a new house, next door, housing 5 new rooms designed in the same spirit of eco-responsibility that permeates his kitchen (no plastic, ecological materials and a Zen atmosphere). La Maison du Chef isn't just another accommodation, it's a broader vision, with a sensory garden, and instead of a classic spa of hot and cold water baths, practitioners for a holistic approach to better eating and wellness for body and mind.
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David Gallienne, Jardin des Plumes and Ô Plum'Art
When David Gallienne took over the Jardin des Plumes in Giverny (created by Éric Guérin de la Mare aux Oiseaux), he inherited not only a table to express his creativity, but also 8 rooms and suites installed in the Norman manor house and an annex of its garden. Not far away, he has just opened Ô Plum'Art, a guest house he has conceived as a family home, free from hotel classifications and codes, to welcome his guests as he sees fit. With the help of architect Philippe Papy, he has decorated the house himself with antiques and family heirlooms, offering breakfasts and snacks that allow him to experiment with other ways of cooking. For it's also one of the pleasures of these hotel chefs to use the flavors and products of their terroir in other ways.
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Cybèle Idelot, Domaine les Bruyères
Cybèle Idelot and her husband Franck were keen to acquire a vegetable garden to supply their Boulogne-Billancourt restaurant, La Table de Cybèle. In the end, they found an entire estate in the Yvelines, with not only a large vegetable garden but also a beautiful bourgeois mansion, ideal for a 5-bedroom guest house. This is where Cybèle grows her vegetables, bakes her bread and honey and has opened the Ruche restaurant, the most direct and short-circuit expression of her cuisine.
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