Le 6 à Table Restaurant, Caromb

As wife Shirley tells everybody, "Michel is a list person". And yes, when it comes to restaurants and most anything that is related to food or wine, I'm usually drawn to places which are on a list of "best" in the area. That is why we headed to Caromb to meet friends one evening a few months ago to dine at Le 6 à Table Restaurant, a new addition to the Bib Gourmand restaurants in the Michelin Guide.

Caromb is a small village located about 20 kms from Sablet between Mont Ventoux and the Dentelles de Montmirail. Caromb is memorable for me as the location of a restaurant called Le Four à Chaux where we and our Bistro des Copains team who were lodged in nearby Mormoiron dined the first night of a memorable trip to Provence back in January 2007.

Entrance to Caromb

There are quite a few fountains in Caromb, many from the 18th and 19th centuries. The most well known is the Fountain du Portail du Rieu, on the main road in the village in front of the Medieval entry, and popular with the many cyclists who pedal by on their way to or from Mont Ventoux.

Center of Caromb

Le 6 à Table is located in the center of Caromb across from the church. It is owned by chef Pascal Poulain and his wife Claire. The name comes from its location at 6 Place Nationale. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, the first place we ever dined in Provence was called Le Four à Chaux. In an interesting coincidence, the restaurant where the chef first cooked was Le Four à Chaux which at the time was owned by his father.

Le 6 à Table Restaurant

We arrived with friends Robert and Barbara of Vaison-la-Romaine culinary school Cuisine de Provence and shown to our table in the dining room. After catching up, we perused the wine list and were delighted to find a wine from Corinna Faravel's Domaine Martinelle on the list. In another bit of coincidence, wine from Martinelle appeared on Bistro Des Copains' wine list from time to time.

Domaine Martinelle Beaumes De Venise

After we ordered wine, the chef sent out his amuse bouche for the evening, a little bite of Chèvre from Le Barroux with cherry tomato. An amuse bouche of some type, sometimes as simple as olives or tapenade almost always accompanies a meal in a French restaurant. The term literally means "mouth amuser" and serves to prepare guests for the meal and/or offer a preview of the chef's cooking style. I just posted on Facebook about my family's tie to Le Barroux. You might want to check it out.

Amuse Bouche of Chèvre from Le Barroux with cherry tomato

What follows are photographs of a starter and main course and the desserts.

Starter of Provence asparagus with Salmon eggs and Sabayon sauce

Shirley was happy to see a Spelt risotto accompanied the fillet of fish. Until we started spending time in Sablet, we had never encountered Spelt, an ancient grain cultivated on the plateau of Sault (1 hour from Sablet) and harvested in August. It was plentiful in the Roman era, it was only rediscovered by the general public about thirty years ago. You find it frequently on restaurant menus around Sablet. It has a sweet, nutty chewiness that we love.

Fillet of wild Barbue (species of fish in the Turbot family) with Spelt risotto

Molten chocolate cake with strawberry sorbet

Mille Feuille with strawberries and coconut ice cream

We had a wonderful time at Le 6 à Table, a convivial evening with dear friends, excellent wine and delicious and beautifully presented food. I highly recommend you plan to dine here if you happen to be spending time in or around Sablet. You won't regret it.

Le 6 à Table
6 Place Nationale
84330 Caromb
Tel: +33 4 90 62 37 91
website: http://pascal-poulain.com/

Michelin Announces the 2013 Stars and Bib Gourmand Restaurants for France

One of the most anticipated occurrences in France, or at least for foodies and restaurateurs is the annual announcement by Michelin of which restaurant and chefs have been deemed worthy by Michelin's infamous inspectors to keep or earn one, two or three stars in a run up to the release of the Michelin Red Guide.

The days and weeks leading up to publication day are given to endless debate, speculation and rumor on TV and in newspapers over who might lose or gain, a star. The results, provide either a very public triumph or a very public humiliation for the chefs concerned, and a corresponding rise or drop in revenues for their restaurants.

The complete list of Michelin star ratings for France was announced today for the 2013 edition of the Michelin Guide. One new restaurant, La Vague d'Or, a Saint-Tropez restaurant headed by the 35-year old chef Arnaud Donckele, was awarded the coveted three stars. This brings the total of three-star restaurants in France to 27.

In addition, there are five new two-star restaurants, bringing the total number of two-star restaurants in France to 82 and 39 restaurants got their first star, including two restaurants in the Vaucluse (the region in Provence where our house is located), La Closerie in Ansouis and Prévôt in Cavaillon, bringing the total number of one star restaurants in France to 487.

Earlier this month, Michelin announced that 632 restaurants earned the Bib Gourmand award, Michelin's designation for good cuisine at a reasonable price. Defined as “Inspectors Favorites for Good Value,” Bib Gourmand restaurants offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for under 31 euros.

In 1933 André Michelin and his brother Édouard introduced the first countrywide French restaurant listings and introduced the Michelin star system for ranking food. One star indicates "very good cuisine in its category"; two stars represent "excellent cuisine, worth a detour"; and the rare three stars are awarded to restaurants offering "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."

Michelin "inspectors" are completely anonymous; they do not identify themselves, and their meals and expenses are paid for by Michelin, never by a restaurant being reviewed. Supposedly, Michelin goes to extraordinary lengths to maintain the anonymity of its inspectors. It is said that many of the company’s top executives have never met an inspector and inspectors themselves are advised not to disclose their line of work.

Here are the starred and Bib Gourmand restaurants listed in the 2013 Michelin guide located in the Vaucluse (there are no three-starred restaurants in the Vaucluse at this time). I have indicated which restaurants are newly starred or designated as Bib Gourmand restaurant plus provided links to the Bib Gourmand restaurants I have written about on Our House in Provence blog.

Star Restaurants in the Vaucluse

Bonnieux (La Bastide de Capelongue) **

Ansouis (La Closerie) * New
Avignon (Christian Etienne) *
Avignon (Le Diapason) *
Avignon (Le Saule Pleureur) *
Avignon (La Vielle Fontaine) *
Cavaillon (Prévôt) * New
Cucuron (La Petite Maison de Cucuron) *
Gargas (Domaine de la Coquillade) *
Gordes (Les Bories) *
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorge (Le Vivier) *
Joucas (Hostellerie Le Phébus et Spa) *
Lourmarin (Auberge La Fenière) *
Roaix (Le Grand Pré) *
Sérignan-du-Comtat (Le Pré du Moulin) *
Vaison-la-Romaine (Le Moulin à Huile) *

Bib Gourmand Restaurants in the Vaucluse

Avignon (L'Essentiel)
Avignon (Hiély-Lucullus) New
Bonnieux (L'Arôme) New
Cairanne (Coteaux et Fourchettes)
Caseneuve (Le Sanglier Paresseux)
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse (Philp) New
La Motte-d'Aigues (Le Lac)
Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes (Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises)
Uchaux (Côté Sud)
Vaison-la-Romaine (Le Brin d'Olivier)
Villars (La Table de Pablo)

There are 4282 restaurants in total listed in the 2013 Michelin guide. All restaurants listed in the Guide, regardless of star status, also get a "fork and spoon" designation, as a subjective indication of the overall comfort and quality of the restaurant. Rankings range from one to five: One fork and spoon represents a "comfortable restaurant" and five signifies a "luxurious restaurant".

Restaurants that Michelin deems unworthy are not included in the guide. Having said that, we have had many wonderful meals in little cafes and restaurants not included in the Guide. So don't let the Michelin Guide be your only consideration.

If you are interested in learning more about how Michelin does their inspections, here is one of the few on-the-record interviews with an inspector, actually more of an observation of an inspector at work.

Bon Appetit mes amis.