Alain Ducasse’s Provençal inn, La Bastide de Moustiers, renowned for its beautiful aesthetic has a new visual identity, with new chef and menu as well as new tablewares and art treasures.
This glorious seventeenth-century farmhouse is Alain Ducasse’s personal project – an inn filled with treasures gathered from around the world. It nestles in the heart of the Verdon reserve with its limestone cliffs and tumultuous river, its larches and cedars and is surrounded by a glorious four-hectare garden filled with lavender, cypress, white oak and roses.
The organic vegetable garden and herb gardens are filled with produce named with Faïence labels, including valerian, 15 varieties of basil as well as artichokes, 30 varieties of tomatoes and 10 varieties of courgettes, including the violin courgette that Ducasse particularly favours. “Farming a vegetable garden at the Bastide de Moustiers is an essential commitment”, says Ducasse; “it expresses the earthly roots of my cuisine and my attachment to Provence”.
From the ancient stone and lime paint, to every vase and piece of furniture, the details at La Bastide de Moustiers is authentic and carefully sourced. Local craftsmen have made the carpets, the sconces, glass and other architectural elements including the stunning floor tiles. Every room in the restaurant is decorated with Alain Ducasse’s own treasures including artwork, rare ceramics and lacquered woods. Each guest room also has its own identity, furnished with pieces often personally purchased by Ducasse. There is of course a heated pool and the inn can arrange local climbing, walking and cycling, trips to the Sainte-Croix lake, as well as its much-admired gourmet picnics.
Ingredients used in the Michelin-starred restaurant under Frédéric Garnier, who has worked with Ducasse for two decades, are sourced from the garden as well as local producers. From breakfast on the terrace to the scholarly alchemy of dinner, the menu changes daily and according to the season: nature brought to the table with a respect for taste and texture, Garnier cooking as ‘close to nature’ as possible.
Tablewares are from porcelain makers ‘Non sans Raison’ and the glass by ‘Zafferano of Treviso’, all made specially for La Bastide de Moustiers.