What a knockout of a setting: a 16th-17th century château, remodeled in the 19th, lounging across a ten-hectare estate studded with towering cedars and panoramic views of the Monts de la Madeleine. When the sun’s out, it’s an al-fresco dining idyll; but when the weather’s not playing ball, retreat to the former wine cellar, now reborn as a loft-like dining room with just the right amount of rustic swagger. To keep diners on their toes, the restaurant hosts chef residencies, a culinary relay race featuring globetrotting talent from Japan, Colombia, France, China and beyond. On our visit, the baton was in the hands of Swedish chef Palle Paulsson, who trained at Le Chateaubriand under Iñaki Aizpitarte (you could do worse!). The evening’s lineup: line-caught bluefin tuna crudo slicked with ginger oil, tomatoes, olives and capers, jolted awake by a punchy saffron jelly; followed by cod reclining amid a plant-forward supporting cast – smashed potatoes, carrots, peas, fennel, dill, chives and almonds – brought together with a Scandi-classic Sandefjörd sauce (cream, milk, butter and parsley oil reduced to silken submission). Dessert? A summer-bright lemon posset with strawberries and mint, sharpened by a zingy elderflower granita. One month later, the chef moves on and the whole delicious circus begins again! And if you’re not ready to descend from the fairy tale, you don’t have to. To prolong the pleasure, stay the night: rooms, gîtes and treehouses dot the estate, plus ceramics and pottery workshops led by Maxime Vavasseur, founder of Atelier. · Adrien Nouviaire

FEELING THIRSTY? A nifty little wine edit: Goguette, a pure grenache from Julie Le Breton and Christophe Vial (€6.50 a glass), Tressallier Brut Nature, a sparkling white from Domaine des Bérioles (€29 a bottle), La Chapelle, a côte roannaise from Domaine des Pothiers (€38) and Berceau des Fées, a pure chenin from Tessa Laroche (€50).

PRICE: Appetizers €11-15, mains €19-26, desserts €8-10.