Dining in a French Michelin-starred restaurant is the stuff of dreams and, as Annaliza Davis explains, it’s probably within your reach. Take a trip to the Vendée and indulge the senses…
Renowned as the birthplace of fine dining, France has no fewer than 632 Michelin-starred restaurants, known as tables étoilées (starred tables). You might assume that the menus of these enormously talented chefs are only accessible to those with enormously generous budgets but here’s the good news: you can dine in a Michelin-starred restaurant for under €30, and you don’t even need to book months in advance. In other words, there really is no reason to delay this gastronomic experience any longer!
Regular visitors will already know that food is taken seriously in France, and not only among the wealthy: over 20% of a French person’s income is spent on food, compared to 10.8% in the UK (according to data from Insee and the UK government). In fact, it was in France that the very concept of a restaurant emerged in 1765, its original aim being to ‘restore’ you with nourishing food; even today, the focus is on flavours, quality over quantity and the overall dining experience – and nowhere more so than in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
In the Vendée alone, there are currently six establishments to choose from, so let’s begin south of Nantes and follow the breathtaking wetlands down to Bretignolles-sur-Mer. Les Brisants is a modest-looking seafront restaurant attached to a comfortable and unassuming hotel that’s no more expensive than an ordinary stopover but offers the considerable advantage of being attached to a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Run by Jean-Marc and Josette Pérochon since 2005, Les Brisants is a wonderful place to enjoy gourmet dishes: it is amazing value for money, unpretentious and welcoming, with panoramic sea views and staff who are discreetly professional, explaining each dish that appears before you. The €32 lunch menu varies with seasonal produce but typically includes sea bream, scallops and a delectable chocolate dessert. Every plate is a visual delight showcasing local ingredients, while the flavour combinations are clearly those of an inventive chef; Jean-Marc often emerges to chat with guests, disarming them with easy humour. It’s no surprise that 70% of the clientèle are regulars.
You could stay the night then indulge at another table étoilée in nearby in Brem-sur- Mer, Les Genêts, whose talented chef Nicolas Coutand offers four-course dinners from €68 (€110 with wine); or you could head one hour inland to Château du Boisniard. This five-star hotel is minutes from the Puy du Fou theme park, yet it feels beguilingly hidden in the rural village of Chambretaud. The late evening sun warms the château and surrounding parkland, complete with peacocks, and the Michelin-starred La Table du Boisniard is invitingly illuminated through the tall trees.
An experience like no other
While the hotel has grand proportions, turret rooms and luxurious wooden cabins, the brightly-lit restaurant feels welcoming and contemporary, animated by a young staff that moves in harmony like a choreographed ballet, highly trained yet charming and attentive.
You’ll receive soft descriptions – in English or French – of each dish, from the appetisers to the citrus-infused butters that accompany the mouth-watering bread, and those delectable morsels served with your coffee. Try Valentin Morice’s iconic scallops individually wrapped in celery ravioli, the wood-smoked beef or the tender trout with hints of curry, all partnered with vegetables grown in the château grounds, or indulge in the cheeses presented on a cart then dexterously sliced and served to order. Two or three hours will quickly evaporate, you’ll feel pampered, pleasantly full and wonderfully content, yet a two-course lunch with coffee starts at €39 and three- course dinner at €57, which is unbelievable value for such an unforgettable experience.
Elsewhere in the Vendée, the table étoilée Restaurant La Robe in Montaigu (35 minutes south of Nantes) is run by Xavier Giraudet, offering three-course lunches with coffee from €29 and specialising in modern cuisine paired with excellent wines. Twenty minutes southwest of here in Montréverd you’ll find La Chabotterie, whose chef Benjamin Patissier gained his star in March 2022. Here, lunch starts at €52 while a six-course dinner is €115, featuring locally-sourced lamb, seafood from the nearby coast and vegetables from the region’s farms. Finally, if you’re feeling extravagant, drive over the bridge to the Île de Noirmoutier, where you’ll find La Marine, where Alexandre Couillon is the only chef to be honoured with a third Michelin star this year. In a rustic-chic atmosphere, you can savour six courses for €160 (€220 with wine) that feature flame-grilled Noirmoutier fish, vegetables from Couillon’s own gardens, and perhaps citrus and sea-lettuce sorbet. The menu changes daily and is sure to impress.
The chefs in the Vendée have careers as varied as their signature dishes, but they share a passion for showcasing the region’s finest ingredients. As Jean-Marc Pérochon says, the best cuisine is all about proximity: if the chef gets it right, you should be able to taste the provenance of every dish. Come to a Michelin- starred restaurant in the Vendée and you’ll certainly get the flavour of the region… and probably a taste for fine dining, too!
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