July 13, 2023 |
Summer in the city getting you down? Louis Vuitton has got you covered, kicking off this year’s flock to the French coast with a new match made in culinary heaven. Handing over the helm of its Saint-Tropez restaurant at the White 1921 Hotel to Michelin-star recipient Arnaud Donckele (also chef of the restaurant La Vague d’Or at Cheval Blanc St-Tropez) and crowned pastry chef Maxime Frédéric (head of the Louis Vuitton café and chocolate shop for the LV Dream exhibition), the two friends, Cheval Blanc Paris colleagues and Norman chefs are ready to take your tastebuds on a trip.
For the duration of their residence, the duo have prepared quite the summer soirée. Sip on afternoon tea fit for the Saint-Tropez sun or chow down on an orange blossom flavoured brioche – that’s Louis Vuitton monogrammed, naturally. You can also enjoy a sweet treat with desserts ranging from chocolate bars to tarte tropézienne, and from sorbet to atypically unsweet ice cream. Follow that with an evening of Sushi made with Camargue rice served beside a sea bream, John Dory and other local fish ceviche. Pulled from the land and sea of France’s coast region, this dining experience merges the Mediterranean Sea (mackerel, sardines and Genoese caramote prawns) with in-season produce from Provençal market gardeners (artichokes, aubergines, hazelnuts and beefsteak tomatoes). Then, the menu is gastronomically jet set with truffle-stuffed Italian zitone pasta, finely-flavoured shrimp tartare and Moroccan-spiced lamb chops. Is your mouth watering yet?
If you’re lucky enough to stop-off for a meal, you’ll hardly feel as if you’ve ever left the crystal blue waters of Côte d’Azur’s blissful beachside with the maison’s new By The Pool resort collection cropping up in the blue-and-white azulejo tile pattern found across the restaurant’s tableware and cushions. Pieces from the house’s Objets Nomades collection, including the Zanellato/Bortotto Lanterns and the Origami Flowers by Atelier Oï, enliven the experience.
Notes on the new menu describe the eating experience as “an authentic, joyous culinary trip that stays true to Louis Vuitton’s spirit of travel.” Now that’s a tasty getaway!
Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton. Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric are at Louis Vuitton Hotel White 1921 in Saint-Tropez. The restaurant is open from Monday to Sunday for tea at 3-6pm and dinner from 7:30-11pm.
