A very special treat for us today, but it was my birthday. 🎈

The sun was shining as we headed off to this small village for lunch. Not any ordinary lunch, as this restaurant has a Michelin Star. We’ve never eaten in a place quite as flash. 

I’ve mentioned Bélesta before. It is a very small village on a rocky outcrop. The location is famous for winemaking – of course. The restaurant is in a beautifully converted wine cellar that was built in 1925. 

We were one of only three couples dining there today so we got a lot of attention. 

We decided we’d go for the dégustation menu of eight courses – Le Menu Ephémère. 

All diets were ignored for the duration of the meal which lasted just over three hours. 

Eight courses actually turned into eleven with the addition of pre-entrees and coffee!

We selected a bottle of red wine from the neighbouring location of Latour de France to accompany our meals. 

Mick stared with a craft ale made by the winemaker (and we think the owner). 

I did take photos of our meals for research purposes as Mick and I like to get some ideas for entertaining when we’re at home, especially for our own dégustation lunches we have with our friends Helen & Derek and Susanne & Steve. I even took notes which was a good thing because by the time we were up to the second course we had forgotten some of the elements in the previous one. 

Now for most of you, if you are still reading this post, that will be enough ‘sharing’ of food and drinks. So I won’t be offended if this is as far as you go. 

………………………………………………………….

But, if you’re interested in what the menu entailed, keep reading. Every course had at least six elements. 

Appetiser with the aperitif–>

Deep fried goodies of very short pastry filled with spinach and lemon. 

Pre-entree tasting platter. 

Mick thought this was a great use of lentils – simply scattered on the plate as decoration. Apparently he hates lentils.

The dishes included

• a small bowl of corn presented four ways,
• butternut pumpkin and celeriac soup,
• cold quail breast with a crumble of something yummy. 

First course – where the waiter dressed the salad with nut oil using a small pipette. 

A biscuit base with chutney topped with celeriac, potato and pumpkin done differently- pickled, poached and ?  There was fresh fig and pickled zucchini all topped with roasted pumpkin seeds. Oh, and in the background is the butternut pumpkin ice cream. 

Second course:

Chicken, foie gras and water chestnut terrine in biscuit pastry served with red cabbage jelly topped with radish done different ways and corn ice cream. There was a bowl of pulled chicken thigh meat with mustard seeds to share. 

Third course:

Sea scallops with celery ravioli and butter sauce (which I wasn’t a big fan of). 

Fourth course:

My least favourite course: sole topped with caviar served with butternut pumpkin and sweet onion sauce. 

Fifth course: almost forgot to get a photo …

Deer fillet coated in cacao nibs served with puréed turnip covered in marrow foam. It was supposed to resemble a log on the plate. 

Sixth course:

A selection of cheeses – goat, sheep and cow – we were told to eat them in a clockwise direction. The last one included truffles in a Camembert. The surprise on this plate was a dollop of caramel sauce. 

Seventh course:

Parsley ice cream with yoghurt, crystallised basil leaves and semi-candied carrots. 

Eighth course:

Sweet potato ice cream with cheesecake balls, sago pudding and clementines served on a round of banana bread. 

Coffee:

This came with mini macaroons, chocolates and jellies. 

Phew!!!!!

We walked past the cellar to get to the restaurant- it was impressive. 

There was a definite theme of butternut, which is in season over here, and a strong preference for (vegetable-flavoured) ice creams. 

No dinner tonight.