Chateau du Deffay an Ancient Family Castle in Brittany

In Brittany there  is a wonderful and authentic "Château" which is surprisingly an affordable Bed & Breakfast owned for long time by the same ancient family. Its name is "Châuteau du Deffay" and is located in the beautiful "Brière Regional Natural Park" in the north west of France. We have visited it in May 2019 and we assigned it a 20/20 score for the beautiful room. They serve a very healthy and home made French breakfast in their ancient dining room. Also the place is run by husband and wife who are exquisite hosts. We strongly recommend it.

Ideally positionned between Nantes and La Baule, between beaches and countryside, the castle of Deffay is located in the middle of a rommantic landscape of wood and ponds. Deffay is a important seignorial filled since the 15th century, and the current castle « neo renaissance » is habited since five generations by the family, evokes the rich history of the place, in particular the Vendeen epope of the Duchess of Berry in 1832. The large luxury rooms with old furniture, staircase with double flight, spacious bedrooms and comfortable are the living environment of the young couple, which lives and gives a new life to this place where they will accomodate you as a friend.

Near the Castle you can visit the little fairy village of "Breca" and have a water trip right there. Also you can taste regional gourmet specialties in the local restaurants. We also recommend to visit the town of Guerande with its quaint streets and buy the best salt in the world. Do not skip the fantastic coast of Brittany were there are lots of good surprise waiting for you.

Château du Deffay - Chambres d'hôtes

Address: 44160 Sainte-Reine-de-Bretagne, France

Phone: +33 6 15 78 01 90

Highlight by Paolo Emilio Centoni

Pictures by Luca Centoni

Restaurant le Georges in Chartres France

A dream dinner in a Michelin Star Restaurant located in the "Grand Monarch Hotel" of Chartres, France. We are talking about "Le Georges" that we assigned a 20/20 score points for gourmet, service and wines along the whole dinner courses.

At the centre of Chartres, the BEST WESTERN PREMIER Hôtel Grand Monarque invites you at the table of its gastronomic restaurant, Le Georges. Awarded with one Guide Michelin® star since 2009, this address has become, throughout the years, a must meeting place for all food lovers from Eure-et-Loir and elsewhere.

Baptized in honor of Georges Jallerat, Bertrand’ father and great grandfather  find a classic atmosphere typical of this historic house of Chartres, noted notes of a Modernity welcome.

Calm and luminous, the dining room offers a decoration subtly referring to the past of the Grand Monarch and to the Jallerat family who knew how to carry it to the firmament. In this cozy atmosphere, sit comfortably to sample seasonal dishes, featuring the great classic, such as the Pâté de Chartres, and the creative talents of Chef Nicolas Mendes.

The whole thing is accompanied by a wine carefully chosen by our sommelier in a cellar rich with several thousand references coming from the most beautiful French vineyards. 

The Chef at the age of 7, preparing an apple cake on Mother's Day, and seeing the sparkles in his mummy’s eye while she tasted it was the key Thomas Parnaud ‘s passion. Family cooking would influence his craft.

A catering school of Languedoc-Rousssillon region leaded him to some of the best establishment of the area, building great experiences.

Inspired by Claude Giraud, youngest two Michelin star French chef, a passionated man with a chef soul, very close to Joel Robuchon and Marc Veyrat.

Having working for four years with the two great chefs Joel Robuchon and Eric Frechon. His cooking is “lightness with an Asian touch” leading to a great achievement of Gault & Millau young chef of the year 2018 in Romania.

Thomas is a real team leader, sharing, and encouraging his fellow crew. Cooking is a school of humility; it must live with its time, based on classics, open-minded on costumer trends, world influences.

Best Western Premier Grand Monarque
22 Place des Épars
28000 Chartres

Tel: +33 2 37 18 15 15
info@monarque.fr

highlight by Paolo Emilio Centoni

pictures by Luca Centoni
  

Guy Bremond the Wine King in Chateauneuf du Pape

Guy Bremond Master Sommelier (on the right) and the chef Jean-Claude Altmayer (on the left)

We traveled in the top wine kingdom of the world precisely in Chateauneuf du Pape, France. There we met the master sommelier Guy Bremond and his chef Jean-Claude Altmayer of la Cave-Saint-Charles. We wanted to try their concept that they successfully exported in USA.

Basically, if you travel to France, you can book and go here having a wonderful wine tasting and even trying a culinary gourmet experience at the chef's table. But if you can't travel, well they can come to your house and do it there! Yes you can, just go on their website and you can book in advance the event for you and your friends.

Guy Bremond restored this beautiful and ancient cellar dated since the Templars age. It was part of the castle over it and now, after eight years of hard work of restoration, it is again a wonderful place where you can sip several wines from the area and fully understanding with his deep knowledge and explanations.

He selected several wines of his choice from the most interesting vineyards of the area and he served each one of them with a special decanter that he personally invented. It's like a huge glass that can be swirled before to pour the precious nectar in your tasting glass. All it happens in front of you meanwhile a relaxing candle light gives a fairy atmosphere and you can also feel the history that is still living in those aged walls.

Guy is really a passionate connoisseur and, although we had a lot of worldwide experiences with others like him, we have to admit that he proposes the wines as a painter would drawn his masterpiece; in other words he is a true sommelier artist.

Mr.Bremond lives into the up floors where he builded his own home nestled right into the wall of the chateau and with a view of the river Rhone valley.

Having always been destined for the culinary profession, over the course of his studies Guy Brémond fell in love with wine. At the age of 17, when working Relais & Châteaux alongside of André Chabert (who at that time led the Château de Rochegude), Guy tasted a Fonsalette '69 and a Rayas '76. From that moment on, his fate was sealed.

He threw himself into his wine studies, which led him to great success. He was spotted by a delegation of Chefs Sommeliers then was recruited by the legendary Hôtel Richemond in Geneva, one of the jewels of luxury hotel sector in the 1980s. At the age of 24, he became Head Sommelier, a rare responsibility at such a young age. He remained at the hotel for 8 years, before participating in the opening of the ultra-luxurious Grand Hôtel du Parc in Gstaad, where he spent a further 7 years.

After spending some time in China, and feeling somewhat homesick for his native land in Vaucluse, Guy returned to his Provencal roots. Thanks to an innovative idea, he became a pioneer of wine tourism; he was the first to open a 'multi-chateaux' wine cellar offering the tasting and sale of the best vintages of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Several successful years later, he acquired some magnificent cellars dating from the 13th Century, a stone's throw from the château. Although completely dilapidated, he saw their potential and had the courage and vision to tackle the monumental challenge of restoring them to their former glory; no small feat as the renovation works ultimately took 8 years to complete. He finally succeeded in transforming the cellars entirely into a spectacularly beautiful place.

Les Caves Saint Charles

10 Rue des Papes,

84230 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France

Phone: +33 4 90 39 13 85

Highlight by Paolo Emilio Centoni

Pictures by Luca Centoni