Le Garde Champêtre

The pitch is more than appealing. Partners from all walks of life (winemaker, restaurateur, photographer, architect…) breathing new life into a railway depot along a Champagne country road, a Japanese chef at the helm, a vegetable garden supplying most of the ingredients used, fire as the main cooking source, homemade bread, natural wines… plenty of reasons to stop in this lovely little village in the Aube.

And the promises are kept. The place is magnificent.

The team is charming and welcoming. The champagne list is insane.

But above all, it's Kazuya Miyashita's cooking that will dominate our memories: precise, elegant and raw all at once. It's not the first time we've said it: French terroir and Japanese craftsmanship go together beautifully when they're of this quality.

We'll leave with a sublime "Eric Maurois guinea fowl, spinach and spider crab" etched in our memories and a persistent urge to come back here as soon as possible…