E&T

After seven years in Rodez, extraterrestrials Émilie (La Messardière in Saint-Tropez, Le Jules Verne in Paris) and Thomas Roussey (Gagnaire in Courchevel, Le Balzac in Paris, Sébastien Bras in Le Suquet) established themselves in the spectacular Moulin de Cambelong along the Dourdou River, with its windowed dining room, wooden beams, roaring fireplace, light wood tables with cast-iron legs and ivory chairs. Believers in conscious sourcing, the couple honors the plant world in their dishes that are as subtle as they are striking. The night we went, the big prix-fixe menu featured all of the following: the bitterness of lemon and langoustine amplified as a tartare over jellied bouillon; tomato in its most essential forms (raw, dehydrated and confit), with basil and a silky deviled egg; summery saudade for the crisp zucchini, slow-roasted pepper and smoked eggplant triptych; slow-roasted monkfish in symbiosis with brown mushrooms; silky emulsified summer truffles with celtuce (asparagus lettuce), bacon and a kick of peppery nasturtium; Averyon veal sublimated by houttuynia (Chinese pepper), roasted beets and beetroot ketchup; before a very fresh roasted mirabelle plum dessert with a greengage plum iced parfait, and for the main dessert, raw Nectavigne peach and ice cream made from the same fruit, with a subtle touch of lemon verbena as a jelly and a powder; followed by toasted and candied almonds, along with almond ice cream; a spellbinding herbaceous pavlova with apricot and garden burnet; a sweet coffee ice cream with cacao strudel and mascarpone. // Tsampa 

FEELING THIRSTY? : A guaranteed delight awaits somewhere in their 300 natural labels to choose from, sourced from the region (La Mitat, a marcillac red from the Domaine du Verdus at €10 a glass) and from further away, like Hymnos, a volcanic Greek white wine from Jason Ligas (€75 a bottle) or Massale, a lovely Languedoc grenache from Opi d’Aqui (€57).  
PRICE: : Prix-fixe menus €45 (Thursday and Friday at lunch), €74, €86 and €106, kids’ menu €35 and €50.