Table d'hôte The
table d'hôte dinners are the nicest evenings of the week. (see photo
on the left) We start with an aperitif and then a 3 course menu with wine
and at the end, coffee or tea. We always ask the guests in the morning
if they want to participate and what kind of food they were particularly
not fond of. On this basis we make the menu. We got the impression that
guests enjoy eating at the house, as at the end of the dinner it was just
a small walk to their bedroom. Small children can eat in advance or join
in with the parents, this is something we always discuss with the parents.
For those who are not that familiar with the French language, the French
menus are not the easiest to understand, so you can easily end up with
some unusual French delicacies on your plate. We don’t serve those
kind of things at our Table d’hôte dinners.
The
wine
As we live in the middle of two wine regions, the wine is something which
does not go unmentioned at our table d’hôtes dinners. For
those who drive around in Beauvoir-sur-Mer, you will see some small vineyards
in peoples gardens. Particularly the fruity Rosé from the Vendée
(Fiefs Vendéen) we really like, as well as the white wine from
the Pays Vignoble Nantais (Muscadet, Grosplant and Muscadet de Sèvre
et Maine). Hemko is, among other things very fond of the red Bordeaux
and as Bordeaux is approx. 200 km south of us we like to call them a local
wine as well.
Background
Chambres
d'hôtes are not well known as a holiday concept to everyone. In
France they call it Bed & Breakfast à la francaise. The difference
from the English Bed & Breakfast is, however, that in France it is
also possible for the guests to have dinner at night with the owners(the
hôtes). There are a few rules from the French government to ensure
that chambres d'hôtes do not compete with the local restaurants.
Only guests who spend the night can join in on the table d’hôtes
dinners The owners have to participate in the dinner as well, and everybody
is sitting therefore at one large table. The maximum number of guests
is 15 persons. There is only a "menu of the day" (no menu cards)
and the price must include wine and coffee.
To
give a impression of the meals we served last year in the south of France,
below you will find a few examples
Starters |
Main
Courses |
Desserts |
Salade
Nicoise
Peches acidulés au jambon cru
Vichyssoise
Soupe de poisson
Gratin de coquilles St. Jacques
|
Coq au Vin
Ratatouille
Saltimbocca aux poires
Tomates farcies
Cailles au vin blanc
Poulet grillé et couscous au citron
|
Clafoutis
Omelette Norvégienne
Trio de chocolat
Tiramisu aux poires
Plateau de fromages
Glace au lavende
|
We
always start with an aperitif around 7.30. The price is 25 euro per person
for our table d'hôte dinner which includes aperitif, three course
menu with a appropriate wine selection and coffee or tea.
|