Cooking up Some Serious Sunshine in Cotignac!

Just in case you missed it on the wires, we had a visit from some of our best loved foodies on instagram last week and were lucky enough to enjoy a day full of late summer sun paired with brilliant locally sourced food.

Writers and passionate cooks Alexandra Dudley, Laura Jackson and Billy & Jack came to our little provençal village of Cotignac to discover the local gastronomy, learn more about our wines and enjoy a bit of slow living away from the bustle of London.

Alexandra Dudley

An artist, author and entrepreneur; Alexandra’s first cookbook, Land and Sea, is filled with sustainable and seasonal recipes. As well as menu developing and food styling, Alexandra also hosts supper clubs and workshops in her home in East London.

Laura Jackson

A cookbook author, TV presenter, and the other half of the Jackson & Levine supperclub, Laura has just collaborated with vintage-inspired label Rixo on a beautiful capsule collection full of prints, sequins and ruffles! On another note, Jackson & Levine’s second collection for Habitat sold out in record time, but should be back in stock soon, just in time for your Christmas shopping!

Billy & Jack

Founded by Billy Wright and Jack Layer, two fun and inventive chefs, who were both were finalists on BBC’s Masterchef in 2016. They finished the show as runners up and decided to team up to run fantastic supper clubs and catering events. They create playful and quirky takes on classic british dishes.

Our guests stayed just outside Cotignac in the beautiful Domaine Saint-Joseph, whose owner Charlotte Baring is a talented interior designer. Awaiting our visitors were a few Mirabeau goodies, gifts from Bastide, Le Chameau and Barbour (yes, it did rain…!) and of course a magnum of Pure in the fridge!

We kicked the evening off with an arty Cocktail at La Galerie, in the center of the village, where we served rainbow coloured nibbles and plenty of pink. Our thanks to owners and collectors John and Simon for hosting us in such a fantastic setting, surrounded by interesting art pieces. We drank our Classic rosé, as well as our sparkler La Folie and ate potato and smoked salmon canapés, deviled eggs, beetroot and raspberry soup and fresh organic veggies with red pepper dips.

Tuesday is market day and always the best day in the village for visitors! Just about every village in Provence has a weekly market, and Cotignac is no exception. From organic veggies to fresh fish from our amazing fishmonger, saffron and olives, our guests chose the very best products Provence has to offer to inspire them for a slap up lunch. We stopped for a mandatory coffee and pastry from our brilliant boulangerie along the way, before heading back to the house to start the lunch preparations.

While Alexandra, Jack and Billy were cooking up a storm in the kitchen, Laura and our founder Jeany were styling a beautiful table outside, with tableware kindly sent to us by Anthropologie and fig scented candles gifted by Bastide teamed with flowers from the market and our garden.

The lunch was just how it should be: lazy, long and full of laughter under the Mulberry trees, that were just about hanging on to their leaves. We loved the fresh, grilled sea-bream with salsa verde, courgette and candy beet salad, saffron potatoes, fried courgette flowers stuffed with herbs and ricotta, roasted figs and plums with basil-infused whipped cream, and much more… We drank Pure and Classic, both being a perfect pairing to fresh and mediterranean food.

Thanks to a great group of people who were all so interested in our way of life, not to mention the brilliant cooking that came out of the little Bastide’s kitchen. You are all (seriously!) welcome back anytime!

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