La Table de Xavier Mathieu

Born and raised in Marseille, Xavier Mathieu is a true-blue Provençal lad. He was introduced to the world of gourmet cuisine by a family friend, master chef, Roger Vergé and finished his apprenticeship with Joël Robuchon in Paris before returning to this splendid family home in the heart of the sweet-scented scrubland of Luberon. Xavier, who sports a distinctive white shock of hair, breathes new life into Provençal traditions and each dish offers a new twist on his roots. Pistou, beans, garlic and basil soup; leg of lamb baked in hot Garrigue sand: his recipes are surprising, highly personal, and influenced both by his region and travels to distant lands (jambalaya of crayfish tails, sweetcorn and potatoes). To be sampled in the swish exclusive setting of a refurbished drystone farmhouse whose foundations date back to the Order of the Knights Templar of Malta.