Château life
La Table de Colette, Chapon, Maison Valette, Les Sources de Vougeot, great Paris restaurants open in August, MORE
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GETAWAYS • Côte d’Or
Burgundian escape
Hoteliers Jerome and Alice Tourbier pioneered a new style of wine country hospitality when they opened Les Sources de Caudalie in 1999. Their formula? Find a prestigious wine-country location for a hotel — in this case, on the edge of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte Grand Cru Classé wine estate owned by Alice’s parents Daniel and Florence Cathiard — build or renovate a property with décor that reflects the region’s viniferous and local history, and complete the offer with a spa and wellness program and a gastronomic restaurant and a bistro.
The latest Les Sources property, Les Sources de Vougeot, has just debuted in the charming village of Gilly-les-Citeaux in the Côte d’Or. This hotel was created by renovating the 14th-century Château de Gilly, the former 6th-century residence of the Abbots of Citeaux. This complex of handsome stone buildings with steep roofs tomettes (traditional flat Burgundian terra-cotta tiles) is surrounded by an ancient moat and beautiful gardens.
Though history and heritage are at the core of Les Sources de Vougeot’s identity, A.S.I. architects gave the hotel interiors a well-measured dose of contemporary minimalism, which works brilliantly with the historical buildings’ austere Cistercian architecture. Rooms here — each with their own respective, unique décor — are large and cosseting, with lovely views over the surrounding park and vineyards, or the interior courtyard where porters greet you with wicker luggage wagons. The striking spa, with an indoor pool, sauna, and hammam, is located in the stone-pillared medieval cellar where monks once stored kegs of wine. There’s also a large outdoor swimming pool and tennis court.
Les Sources de Vougeot has two restaurants, L’Auberge des Citeaux, a bistro, and Le Clos de la Tour, its gastronomic table. Both are run by the very talented young chef Julien Martin, who returned to his native Burgundy after winning a Michelin star in Provence and working at several of Les Sources hotels’ other kitchens.
Martin’s incisive and very elegant modern renderings of traditional Burgundian dishes, like John Dory with a sauce pochouse, are served at Le Clos de la Tour, perhaps the best new restaurant to open in Burgundy in some time. L’Auberge is very good as well, with classics like jambon persille and boeuf bourguignon.
Ultimately, Les Sources de Vougeot is one of those hotels where you just want to stay put for a week, because — aside from its warm hospitality, delicious food, and plush comfort — it’s supremely Burgundian. –Alec Lobrano
→ Les Sources de Vougeot (Gilly-lès-Cîteaux) • 2 Place du Château • L’Auberge des Cîteaux: Daily 12h-13h30, 19h-21h30 • Le Clos de la Tour: Wed-Sun dinner 19h-21h15, Sat-Sun lunch 12h-13h30 • Reserve.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Vacances d’Été: people-watching on the beach • Riding The Good Night Train, new overnight sleeper service between Paris and Berlin • The new European beach clubs bringing five-star style to the seaside.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
Chocolate heaven
WORK • Friday Routine
Vegetable-forward
JOSSELIN MARIE • chef & owner • La Table de Colette
Neighborhood you work in: 5th arr, near Panthéon
Neighbourhood you live in: Chatou, just outside Paris
It’s Friday afternoon. How are you rolling into the weekend?
Friday afternoon first means Friday night service, which is always an important one. Then it’s about figuring out what we’re going to do the next day with the children — activities, family time. I usually don’t work on weekends; for now the restaurant is open on Saturday evenings, but we’ll stop that by September. I’m a dad, so when I’m not at the restaurant, a lot of my time revolves around my kids. I do judo with my son, classic dad activities.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We’re constantly creating new dishes around seasonality. We just finished rhubarb season, and we’re already thinking about strawberries, zucchini, tomatoes — always anticipating what’s next. A lot of the creative process is about asking ourselves how to elevate a vegetable. Right now I’m obsessed with fennel, what works, what doesn’t, and how I personally like to eat it. So for a few weeks I’ll probably drive my wife and kids a little crazy before moving on to another vegetable.
We’ve been working this way for nearly ten years now, developing new techniques to present vegetables differently. We also reinvent sauces and charcuterie in more plant-based ways, using techniques from Japan or India while keeping everything aligned with the restaurant’s style.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
When I’m home, I actually like making very simple things, almost snack-style food. From time to time, for special occasions, we go to friends’ restaurants, including former team members who’ve opened their own places. With the kids, we try to keep things easy and adaptable. Near our home, we like Pizza Viva, which works exclusively with ancient wheat flours. It’s really great, and the children love it. For a more relaxed dinner with friends, especially because several of my friends are flexitarian and one is vegetarian, we often go to Maslow. I love the spirit of the place.
Any weekend getaways?
We often visit friends who run a farm in Normandy, near Bonnebosq. I love showing my children how vegetables grow and where milk comes from. I think it’s important for them to understand where food comes from and how we nourish ourselves.
What was your last great vacation?
Last summer we went to Saint-Cast in Brittany, between Saint-Malo and Saint-Brieuc near Cap Fréhel. It’s a family spot for us, a return to our roots and our family home. The area isn’t necessarily famous for gastronomy, but nearby in Cancale, you have to go to Roellinger. Of course, there’s the famous Château Richeux and its restaurant Le Coquillage, but there are also plenty of smaller, more affordable restaurants that are just as good — for example, Le Bistrot de Cancale. I really admire their ethical approach.
What store or service do you always recommend?
One thing I love about Paris is how many highly specialized shops you can still find, especially for kitchen equipment. E. Dehillerin is an absolute institution for cookware. The whole neighborhood around it is full of tiny shops where you can find the perfect offset spatula or highly specific tools for one precise use. I also love Olivier Roellinger’s spice shop whenever I need something very particular. Paris still has these niche stores where you can find truly exceptional products.
Another favorite is Maison Valette, which specializes in products from southwest France. I sometimes buy truffles there — their quality is incredible. They work directly with producers, so there’s no middleman, and the truffles are always at a beautiful stage of ripeness.
Where are you donating your time or money?
I’m co-president of an association called Bon pour le Climat. Whenever I can, I also cook dinners with Refettorio, an organization located beneath La Madeleine church that serves meals to people in need. I try to do it once or twice a year with my daughter, Colette. We help serve people who don’t necessarily have the means to eat in restaurants, using surplus ingredients and unsold food. I think it’s a beautiful initiative.
PARIS WORK & PLAY LINKS: Inside Tagwalk founder Alexandra Van Houtte’s Left Bank pad • Ode to my Parisian landlords’ bathrooms • France heats up — with hot sauce.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Holding Court
Pont Neuf 10 Years Summer Warehouse • La Cité Fertile (Pantin) • Fri @ 18h • GA, 20 € per
Quartet! • Sainte-Chapelle (1st Arr) • Fri @ 20h • cat 1, 66 € per
Le Festival des Essentiels • Montreuil, Gennevilliers, 20th, 12th, 18th arrs. • 01/08-09/08 • GA, free.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Open in August
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in Paris and surrounds. Paid subscribers can access the complete Nines archive.
Grand Véfour (1st arr), ancient Palais Royal restaurant and recent reboot by Paris Society make this a hot table to try, share catch of the day fish w/ beurre blanc and tipple from impressive cellar