aixcentric

The restaurant ‘Louison’ at Chateau Lacoste along with its chef Gérard Passedat has just been awarded a Michelin star

in this year’s new listing. Only recently established, the restaurant’s title is a nod to the wonderful spider by Louise Bourgeois which sits on a mirror of water at the entrance to the domaine.

What is Chateau Lacoste?

This large vineyard, in the countryside outside Aix near Le Puy Saint Reparade, is the extraordinary setting for a cutting-edge artworks centre. Big names in contemporary art and architecture were invited to choose a place on the domaine and given the freedom to create installations or artworks to suit the location: Tadao Ando has enhanced a Romanesque chapel, perched on a hill with views of the Alps; Tom Shannon has contributed a super-shiny water drop that reflects trees and sky, and there are works by Tracey Emin, Alexander Calder, Andy Goldsworthy and Frank Gehry. A walk around the art works takes about two hours.

The whole place is  in a constant state of evolution.  Last year, Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei installed a sinuous stone walkway, the Ruyi Path, symbolising good fortune in Chinese history but made out of cobbles from Marseille.

A hotel has been opened as well as two restaurants, ‘Louison’, plus ‘Mallmann Provence’, the only European outlet for the renowned Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann.  Gérard Passedat already has 3 stars for his ‘Le Petit Nice – Passedat’ down on the coast in Marseille, and leads the kitchens in ‘Le Mole’ at MuCEM and ‘Albertine’ in Les Docks.

However, casual visitors who want to do the two-hour tour in walking boots and need a simple meal are not forgotten.

The gardens of the old vineyard buildings are the prettily Provencal setting for simple lunches and wines, served from counters made from wooden wine barrels – what else? 

Details:  https://chateau-la-coste.com/en/