Something new in the southwest! After chef Antoine Chépy left, Christian Aguerre – a Kintoa pig farmer and an advocate for the region’s agricultural patrimony – handed the keys to his country inn over to a young couple from Normandy: Elodie Gosselin in the dining room, and Alexis Roger in the kitchen. After a stint at Le Baligan (Cabourg), the modest 24-year-old chef now skillfully terroir-izes the cuisine. For us, the day we went for lunch: a subtle combo of grilled leeks, sauce vierge, an egg-based vinaigrette, buckwheat seeds and garden herbs; a miraculous, crispy yet tender Kintoa pork chop aged for 18 months (the best we’ve ever had!) with sublime fat, titillated by piment d’Espelette and paired with vegetables from the garden – carrots, turnips, potatoes; before a delightful cream puff duo, one stuffed with white chocolate and tonka bean ganache, the other with dark chocolate ganache, and both paired with a Soustons peanut ice cream. Yum! // P.L.
FEELING THIRSTY? Nothing but local options: a Côtes-de-Gascogne red from the Domaine Laballe (€3.50 a glass), a Gaillac red from the Domaine de Brin (€30 a bottle), an organic Irouléguy white from the Domaine Arretxea (€44)… Or even Ihitia hard apple cider (€8.50 a bottle) and Etxeko Bob’s Beer (€5.50 for 330 ml).
PRICE: À la carte €34-42, kids’ menu €15.
