Auberge La Fenière

The Luberon town of Cadenet is, by any account, a special place. But it wouldn’t do justice to Auberge La Fenière to speak of it only in terms of location, without discussing the people behind it — specifically the third-generation chef/owner Nadia Sammut, who is, after her mother, the second chef to have overseen La Fenière’s kitchen in its Michelin-starred era. Ms. Sammut regards La Fenière as no mere restaurant or lodging but a Place of Life, pursuing health, environmental stewardship, education, and all manner of human flourishing alongside the practices of cooking and hospitality.

Of course those venerable practices are anything but neglected. As a hotel, La Fenière is a beautiful little gem, a mere six rooms decorated in a minimalist-chic style, packed with organic comforts, most of them overlooking the gardens, the olive groves, and the swimming pool. And as a restaurant, the MICHELIN-Starred Le Goût du Bonheur is an impressive one, not only for its culinary creativity and charming atmosphere but for the fact that it manages to effortlessly avoid gluten and dairy without feeling in any way impoverished; its “vegetal and marine” flavors are accompanied by thoughtfully chosen natural and biodynamic wines.