The Ambitious Kitchen team, i.e. Monique and Abra spent eight days in France learning about the food and wine culture. The first part of their trip was dedicated to the Rhone Valley while part two was dedicated to the Languedoc vineyard in Occitanie.
After leaving Avignon, Monique and her friend Abra continued their road trip with part two through Occitanie, in Southern France. They enjoyed some R&R at the beach at Marseillan-Plage, and feasted on some incredible meals for lunch and dinner at Le Bistro du Beach Garden. Maison Noilly Prat was also on the program - the distillery, which has been around since 1850, was right next to a beautiful harbor, and the vineyard behind it overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. They tasted each of Noilly Prat’s four flavors: Extra Dry, Original Dry, Rouge & Amber. In 1911 people started using Noilly Prat Original Dry flavor to make martinis in New York, and a legendary cocktail was born!
Lunch consisted of 2 different types of oysters, and two huge bowls of mussels cooked in a delicious, garlicky sauce made special at Le Saint Barth. An afternoon at the spa was waiting for them at Domaine Tarbouriech. After a relaxing moment, Monique and her friend ventured down to La Folie - the gastronomy-focused restaurant on the grounds. The vegetables all came from their own biodynamic garden and of course, the seafood came straight from the water nearby.
The following day, they set off for Village Castigno in Assignan, a little town nestled in vineyards and built by a Belgian couple, Marc and Tine Verstraete. They revived the village with houses, a wellness area, 3 restaurants, and a new winery with all organic wines. The buildings and decor in the town were all gorgeous shades of pink, purple & red to represent the natural colors of wine. [...]
Find out the other activities and the whole journey here: AK Travels: Occitanie, Southern France
All credits go to Monique Volz from ambitiouskitchen
