From Nice to Nîmes, the flavors of the South are everywhere: in the markets, among producers, market gardeners, cheese makers, with fishermen and breeders, even in the ice cream parlors which celebrate the incomparable flavors of Provence.
Nathalie Helal receives Frank Cerutti, starred chef who retired this summer after thirty years with Alain Ducasse. He lives in Nice, his hometown, after having worked in the restaurants of theHotel in Paris and Louis XV-Alain Ducasse in Monaco, and shares with us his passion for the cuisine of the Riviera and the good products of the region.
We stay in Nice to talk about the soca, this traditional culinary specialty of Nice cuisine, made with chickpea flour and olive oil, cooked and browned in a wood-fired oven, prepared Marie-The Pisano to Socca of the courseand then we go to Peymeinade, near Grasse, to meet George Monteirowhose goat cheeses are prized by the best restaurants in the region.
We make a short stop at Mandelieucapital of the mimosa, to taste the honey mimosa ice creamspecially prepared for this city by the ice cream chef at Louisa, Laurent Rombi.
We end this “Gourmet stage” in Nîmes in the company of Gilles Talianiformer chef of the restaurant The Old Theatera Nîmes institution since 1989, which Anthony Bonnot and Julien Pico recently took over.