Blog
Dear Friends of La Garrigue
Please don’t be jealous when reading the following letter, as in spite of the nice weather, the great wines, and fabulous food , not mentioning the sightseeing, we all had a pretty tough week, clocking just over 1200 kms in a week on the smooth Languedoc roads…..AS usual Seraphine and Christian, our hosts at the Gite in Bedarieux , looked after us very well and the accommodation and the food were second to none not to mention the wine who was as plentiful as needed…Fair enough, the water in the pool was on the cool side but it did not stopped a few of us taking the plunge . Once again the feedback has been really good and I am really beginning to enjoy my new career as a Wine Tours Operator. My new friends Linda and Paola provided 2 magnificent picnics for us. One at one of my favorite vineyard, Mas Gabriel ,and the other at the mills in Faugeres overlooking the vineyards all the way to the Med on a glorious afternoon. Our visits to the Mas Des Chimeres, Mas D’Alezon, Domaine de Clovalon and Mas De Daumas Gassac to name just a few were really appreciated by all and meeting the respective wine growers is always a pleasure. For me the highlight of the tour was a visit to the most incredible Pig farm ever on the Larzac plateau. This farm produces piglets only for the uses of the 3 Michelin stared Chefs in France and the males pigs are named after those celebrity chefs .Nicolas Brahic, the farmer is the most incredible farmer I had the pleasure of meeting. His whole philosophy, vision, passion, his approach to farming and of course the end product are mind blowing and my next ambition is to take a group of farmers and chefs to visit his “farm” as I am sure there is something there to be shared and copied . It will take more than a news letter to give you more details but if you are intrigued by what you just read give me a call and I will tell you all about it!
Meanwhile at La Garrigue Morgan and the team have been pretty busy and June 2016 is going to serve as a reference in term of the revenues and the numbers of covers. Our guest’s satisfaction is also getting better and this is reflected on the Trip Advisor website as well as our rating on Open Table. We still need to gain a few more places to place us amongst the best 20 restaurants in Edinburg and with your support and your reviews on Trip Advisorwe should get near to our goal. A recent rating in the Times mentioned La Garrigue as place to visit during the Edinburgh Festival and of course you don’t have to wait that long before paying us a wee visit.
The summer Lunch menu is doing well and the Speciality option also a good addition to our A La Carte. Mateusz and the team in the kitchen are beginning to gel and it shows on the quality of the food in term of presentation and flavours; they must received some good advices from someone in the know -how….hé-hè!
As you know by now I am always keen to take on a new dare and this year we have decided that we are going to celebrate the 14th of July with a Vegetarian Evening…I am putting the last touches to the menu and I am sure Marie Antoinette would have approved…..better than the “chop” any way!
Our last special event , the Asparagus Festival went very well and will be repeated next year and the theme, “cooking with Asparagus “ is a good base to have a series of dinner “cooking with….” giving us the opportunity to showcase a seasonal special product and create an interest on those sometime empty months.
In Line with some recents events and fashionable trend I hope the English rugby team is going to follow the example of their colleagues in football and do a “Brexit” as this will help France to win the then 5 nations as long as Wale, Scotland and Ireland decide stay put otherwise we will have to bring in some new rugbistic Nations such as Spain, Germany and Belgium to make up the numbers…food for thought?
To finish you will be happy to know that I will be back working Full time at La Garrigue in July and August, so to give Morgan the opportunity to take some time off before I resume with the wine tours in Septemberstarting with the special “Vendanges in Languedoc” tour starting the 18th until the 25th . Fancy a week in the sun before facing the following season? Give me a call I may be able to squeeze you in!
A bientôt,
J-Michel
Winner - Harpers French regional wine list 2013
Winner - Which? Scottish Restaurant of the Year 2010
Featured on "Ramsay's Best Restaurants"
La Garrigue - 0131 557 3032 or book online.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Please don’t be jealous when reading the following letter, as in spite of the nice weather, the great wines, and fabulous food , not mentioning the sightseeing, we all had a pretty tough week, clocking just over 1200 kms in a week on the smooth Languedoc roads…..AS usual Seraphine and Christian, our hosts at the Gite in Bedarieux , looked after us very well and the accommodation and the food were second to none not to mention the wine who was as plentiful as needed…Fair enough, the water in the pool was on the cool side but it did not stopped a few of us taking the plunge . Once again the feedback has been really good and I am really beginning to enjoy my new career as a Wine Tours Operator. My new friends Linda and Paola provided 2 magnificent picnics for us. One at one of my favorite vineyard, Mas Gabriel ,and the other at the mills in Faugeres overlooking the vineyards all the way to the Med on a glorious afternoon. Our visits to the Mas Des Chimeres, Mas D’Alezon, Domaine de Clovalon and Mas De Daumas Gassac to name just a few were really appreciated by all and meeting the respective wine growers is always a pleasure. For me the highlight of the tour was a visit to the most incredible Pig farm ever on the Larzac plateau. This farm produces piglets only for the uses of the 3 Michelin stared Chefs in France and the males pigs are named after those celebrity chefs .Nicolas Brahic, the farmer is the most incredible farmer I had the pleasure of meeting. His whole philosophy, vision, passion, his approach to farming and of course the end product are mind blowing and my next ambition is to take a group of farmers and chefs to visit his “farm” as I am sure there is something there to be shared and copied . It will take more than a news letter to give you more details but if you are intrigued by what you just read give me a call and I will tell you all about it!
Meanwhile at La Garrigue Morgan and the team have been pretty busy and June 2016 is going to serve as a reference in term of the revenues and the numbers of covers. Our guest’s satisfaction is also getting better and this is reflected on the Trip Advisor website as well as our rating on Open Table. We still need to gain a few more places to place us amongst the best 20 restaurants in Edinburg and with your support and your reviews on Trip Advisorwe should get near to our goal. A recent rating in the Times mentioned La Garrigue as place to visit during the Edinburgh Festival and of course you don’t have to wait that long before paying us a wee visit.
The summer Lunch menu is doing well and the Speciality option also a good addition to our A La Carte. Mateusz and the team in the kitchen are beginning to gel and it shows on the quality of the food in term of presentation and flavours; they must received some good advices from someone in the know -how….hé-hè!
As you know by now I am always keen to take on a new dare and this year we have decided that we are going to celebrate the 14th of July with a Vegetarian Evening…I am putting the last touches to the menu and I am sure Marie Antoinette would have approved…..better than the “chop” any way!
Our last special event , the Asparagus Festival went very well and will be repeated next year and the theme, “cooking with Asparagus “ is a good base to have a series of dinner “cooking with….” giving us the opportunity to showcase a seasonal special product and create an interest on those sometime empty months.
In Line with some recents events and fashionable trend I hope the English rugby team is going to follow the example of their colleagues in football and do a “Brexit” as this will help France to win the then 5 nations as long as Wale, Scotland and Ireland decide stay put otherwise we will have to bring in some new rugbistic Nations such as Spain, Germany and Belgium to make up the numbers…food for thought?
To finish you will be happy to know that I will be back working Full time at La Garrigue in July and August, so to give Morgan the opportunity to take some time off before I resume with the wine tours in Septemberstarting with the special “Vendanges in Languedoc” tour starting the 18th until the 25th . Fancy a week in the sun before facing the following season? Give me a call I may be able to squeeze you in!
A bientôt,
J-Michel
Winner - Harpers French regional wine list 2013
Winner - Which? Scottish Restaurant of the Year 2010
Featured on "Ramsay's Best Restaurants"
La Garrigue - 0131 557 3032 or book online.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter