Mas dou Pastre....

Sometimes 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' so in my case that was the excuse to take an afternoon off and have a long leisurely lunch. Enjoying a relaxed lunch is my idea of a treat - kind of like playing hooky but without the same schoolroom consequences. The only detention I will face is a few longer days or late evenings catching up and so far those jobs are still waiting patiently for me. Funny how work commitments never tire of waiting and just grow the longer that you leave them....

Back to lunch. I will admit that I have become a bit French in my thoughts about lunch - put simply, I can't live without it. When I venture out for lunch I tend to eat at the same brasseries, not because I am unwilling to try new places but because it often just happens that way. Not this time as the friend I was lunching with had the brilliance to suggest the Mas dou Pastre in Eygalieres, a village nearby St Remy de Provence. This hotel de charme is a renovated farmhouse that has been converted to a small hotel with 17 rooms. They don't have a restaurant that is advertised as such but they do have a kitchen that prepares meal for their guests. With a little forward planning it is possible to eat there for lunch or dinner. We arrived, in this instance without warning and were greeted by a very hospitable woman who was only too happy to welcome us in.

The day was Mistral windy so we settled ourselves in the protected courtyard in front of the Mas. The lunch menu is simple - salads only - with a choice of ham, goat cheese or salmon. We opted for the chevre salad, topped with bacon, which was delicious. Big salads are summer's dish in this part of Provence. They are often served on over sized pottery plates, with a profusion of salad leaves, vegetables, meats and cheeses. Copious quantities of garlic and onion usually end up in there somewhere and a big basket of fresh bread accompanies the meal. These grandes assiettes of salad, as they are called, are generous and very colourful, much like Provence. We finished our lunch with finely sliced fresh strawberries - no further sugar needed - they were sweet enough. xv

Mas dou Pastre

Quartier Sainte Sixte

13810 Eygalieres

+33490959261

www.masdupastre.com

images - me