Languedoc pleasures, London displeasure

A trip to the handsome streets of Narbonne in the Languedoc began with a visit to their fabulous, award-winning food market, Les Halles, unmissable for any food lover. Or anyone feeling peckish in the slightest.

The move among the stall holders is to try and serve some hot, cooked food alongside the raw ingredients that have been their mainstay for many years. (There are several wine bars.) This option is fine for vendors of meat, fish and cheese but is less favourable to those selling vegetables, salads and fruit. I bought a kilo of wonderful cherries from a vendor in the centre but I felt rather sorry for him.

Less than 100 metres from Les Halles is Le Moussaillon (the cabin boy) which opened in 1998 and has changed very little since. It occupies a corner site and is run by an elderly couple with a young, tattooed waiter, baseball cap on backwards, as their assistant.

On every blackboard as well as the menu were oysters, a wide range of other shellfish, sea urchins and numerous cooked items. We had been advised to start with their carpaccio of prawns which appeared on their daily specials but was sadly not available. Instead, we began with a less thrilling carpaccio of tuna with red peppercorns, moved on to the pan con tomate topped with anchovies shown below and finished with a plate of excellently grilled langoustines (€44 for the whole lunch for two).

The food was good but it was the setting which will stay with me for a long time. We had a table outside on the boulevard. The sun was shining through the plane trees.

A couple of men at the next table shared a plateau de fruits de mer. And then the male owner came out to greet a party of four middle-aged customers, two of whom arrived on a motorcycle with the wife riding pillion. Once they had taken off their helmets and sat down, they both reached for their cigarettes and lit up. Old France still exists …

Le Moussaillon 19 Boulevard Dr Ferroul, 11100 Narbonne, France; tel: +33 (0)4 68 42 43 11

Old France certainly exists in the village of Cucugnan, high up in the wilds of Corbières, with a few memorable characters. The problem is that there are not that many of them.

Like so many villages in remote areas of France, this village is slowly being depopulated. Today, it has about 130 inhabitants; in 1846 it was 312. That is despite the attractions of its boulangerie, presided over by Roland Feuillas, who has accumulated and planted scores of ancient grains, and bakes in his wood-fired oven every morning, passing on his knowledge to an army of interns. 

Our evening aperitif was at a table, constructed by Feuillas, overlooking his cereals waving in the breeze with the mill in the background, surrounded by mountains overlooked by the ruined Cathar castle of Quéribus. 

Feuillas was installed at one end as he cut slices of his own bread and spread them thickly with a coarse and extremely delicious pork pâté while he held forth. Feuillas is a man who definitely likes the sound of his own voice.

Les Maîtres de mon Moulin 3 rue du Moulin, 11350 Cucugnan, France; tel +33 (0)4 68 33 55 03

It was then off to Logis Auberge du Vigneron (interior above) which for 40 years has been run by the same couple. A warm and engaging interior is supplemented by a terrace which boasts the view below, with vines and Roussillon's Maury over the hill.

An unusually attractive menu offered cleanly fried, crunchy baby artichokes with an interesting sobrasada sauce; an interesting version of a goats’ cheese starter; and main courses that included guinea fowl en croute with a sauce of morels and salt cod. But the owners have reached an age when they would like to sell. Anybody who would enjoy living in a small village that is admittedly extremely quiet during the winter months should apply. 

Logis Auberge du Vigneron 2 rue A Mir, 11350 Cucugnan, France; tel: +33 (0)4 68 45 03 00

Finally while in the Languedoc, to another village, La Livinière in the Minervois foothills of the Cévennes, which has witnessed a 50% drop in its population since the 19th century but today offers the perfect backdrop for a well-known London restaurateur to show off his culinary skills at the barbecue.

He is Trevor Gulliver of St John restaurant who once stayed with his family in our house while scouting for a property of his own. As his interest in winemaking grew he bought an old winery in La Livinière where every June he holds an extended Fête du Vin lunch.

It is very much St John transposed, with long tables for 70, laid up simply but elegantly. There were a couple of grills at the front by which stood Gulliver, barely recognisable in dark glasses under two, very different, hats. There was no shortage of their excellent Boulevard Napoléon red and white and a relatively simple menu with plenty of food for 70 hungry and thirsty guests. 

They included St John’s Canadian wine importer; the Dutch head sommelier and German-born maitresse d’ at Noma; Brian Trollip, CEO of Dishoom restaurants in London; and renowned chef Henry Harris from Bouchon Racine in London. And, obviously the most important person there, the local mayor.

A London scandal

Finally, back in the UK. I am no fan of awards for restaurants. Perhaps my disillusionment owes something to the terminology. I used to be a judge in the 50 Best Restaurants Awards many years ago until a disagreement over the word ‘best’ led to my resignation. (Was it the restaurant that you would like to visit most frequently, I asked?)

But last week the National Restaurant Award for the ‘best’ restaurant in the UK went to The Ritz in London which I believe to be scandalous. One leading London restaurateur I spoke to described this as ‘a kick in the teeth for all restaurateurs who are currently struggling in extremely difficult circumstances’.

Let me explain my feelings. Firstly, The Ritz is not an independent restaurant. It is part of a hotel owned by a Qatari investor. This ought to mean immediately that it should be in a classification headed ‘restaurants within hotels’ and compared to the increasing number of good restaurants one can find today in hotels in most UK cities.

The reason for this growth is obvious. Hotels have the rooms, the guests, the capital and the marketing sway that, combined, are the envy of independent restaurateurs. Staff costs are not what they are for the restaurateur who opens only for lunch and dinner. The profit from the rooms – and there is little change from £1,000 a night for a room at The Ritz – is another factor.

On top of this, and a growing market for many London hotels, is the highly profitable afternoon tea service, served at a time when most restaurants are closed. Available at The Ritz for £81 for adults and £59 for children and bookable in five time slots from 11.30 am until 7.30 pm, this is a highly profitable offer that independent restaurateurs can only dream of. It may be high on labour costs but has to be very good for food margins. Scones and cake for £81 …?

Once I had accepted the obligatory tie from the receptionist, we very much enjoyed our dinner at The Ritz (£498.38 for two in March 2023). I enjoyed everything about the experience including its 92-page wine list. But it was my one and only visit for the coming decade. Wrongly classified, The Ritz does not deserve this award, however skilful the Ritz chef John Williams MBE.

Every Sunday, Nick writes about restaurants. To stay abreast of his reviews, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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Nick Lander