Provence: La Petite Maison

Tucked away in the southern Luberon Valley, Cucuron charms visitors with its huge mulberry trees, carp-filled stone-lined town pond, the delicious olive oil produced in the surrounding countryside and La Petite Maison, which has become one of the best restaurants in the south of France after a recent change of chef. The attractive dining room with pumpkin-colored paneling, snowy white table settings and contemporary art on display is now the preserve of amiable chef Eric Sapet, who came here after closing his own restaurant outside of Aix-en-Provence. Sapet has a terrific resume—he's worked at both La Tour d'Argent and Jacques Cagna in Paris—and a wonderful natural understanding of Provençal produce, which stars in seasonal billings on his brief but very good value fixed-price menus. At dinner recently, two of us had the same €40 menu, which began with a first course of truffle-perfumed eggs—kept in a tightly closed canning jar with a truffle for 72 hours—cooked en cocotte and served with red onion compote and toast wands topped with pata negra ham. Then came big firm steaks of lieu jaune (yellow pollack) with a chorizo "marmelade", stuffed piquillo peppers and broccoli pureed with local olive oil. The grand finale to this sublime meal was fresh financiers (sponge cake fingers) with saffron-spiked pear coulis accompanied by pears poached in violette syrup. Service was charming, there's a terrific wine list, and I left trying to dream up a reason to be back in Cucuron when the first asparagus from nearby Pertuis appear on the menu.

Lobster at La Petite Maison

Scallops at La Petite Maison

Place de l'Etang, Cucuron 04.90.68.21.99. Menus €40 and €60

Prices are per person without wine.

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Originally published in the April 2009 issue of France Today.