Paul Bocuse - Lyon

Paul Bocuse is often regarded as the father of "nouvelle French cuisine". He is famous for using the freshest ingredients in his high quality dishes. He has held three Michelin stars longer than any other chef (50 years!!), and was recently awarded "Chef of the Century". He has created a brand for himself, including universities & culinary institutes in 12 different countries, brasseries, and awards under his name. He has trained many chefs that have then themselves been awarded Michelin stars. His brand is also associated with Les Halles de Lyon, a combination of a food market and a conglomerate of different restaurants. We had the pleasure of visiting Les Halles during our trip to Lyon and I loved it! We hopped between the different restaurants, having oysters in one place, frog legs in another...and their selection of cheeses was beyond incredible. 

We went to Paul Bocuse's main restaurant, L'Auberge du Pont de Collognes. It was an experience like no other. The decor, the portions, the choices (and the prices!) were extravagant. They offered us so much food, I was sad to say I barely sampled the 30+ cheese selection and the 5 trays of desserts that came out since I was so full. Everything was wonderful, none the less. I think our collective favorite dish was the rack of lamb roasted with thyme. It was simple but flavorful. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures (although these photos don't do the cheese or dessert selection justice)!

Entrance to the restaurant

Paul Bocuse Plates

Amuse Bouche

Traditional Lyon Quenelle of pike with crayfish

Duck meat dodine stuffed with foie gras and pistachios

Casserole of lobster a l'Armoricaine (this was amazing!)

Rack of lamb roasted with thyme

Cut rack of lamb (standout dish!)

Red mullet dressed in crusty potato scales

Fillet of Beef Rossini with Perigeux sauce (the sauce was the highlight!)

The extremely extensive cheese selection: 

Earl Grey Chocolate Mousse

Birthday Celebration

Just a few of the myriad of dessert options that we were too full to enjoy

And here are a few snapshots of our stay in Lyon.

Look at the amount of gelato flavors at this gelato store in Vieux Lyon! 

La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere

View from the Basilique 

Cap Ferret & Oysters

About an hour away from Bordeaux is an area called Lege-Cap Ferret. Cap Ferret is a tiny but popular town to vacation at on the Atlantic Coast. It is also famous for their farmed oysters! We walked along their coast and saw the oyster farms, each with attached little shacks that sell oysters and wine for us to enjoy. We found the most amazing restaurant, called The Bouchon du Ferret and begged them to take us in despite being fully booked. With some convincing, they let us sit at the bar and we enjoyed oysters as fresh as they come and some fresh grilled fish. 

Bordeaux

I think my favorite stop in France was our visit to Bordeaux. We stayed at Chateau Cordeillan Bages which was a charming little hotel with an amazing two Michelin-star awarded restaurant, run by Chef Jean-Luc Rocha. The restaurant had less than twenty tables, with excellent service and divine cuisine.

We also took time to visit the town of Bordeaux with it's beautiful waterfront. And best of all, we went wine tasting! We got an inside look at the wine making business in France and were welcomed into the homes of the wine makers themselves. I loved it there so much I considered moving to Bordeaux to run my own winery! 

Amuse Bouche

Marinated meager (white fish) and langoustine, roasted, with sesame crisp

Gamba Ravioli with a shellfish emulsion

Fillet of Turbot, pear and celery crumble with artichokes (my personal favorite)

Skate wing

Roasted fillet of Challans duckling with pepper glaze

Cheese Selection

Pre-dessert mousse

Sweets selection

The main church in the town of Bordeaux

Amazing Water Reflection

Vines at one of the wineries we visited

Some of the wine makers at Chateau Meyney

Colorful cheese selection at an Asparagus Festival we stopped at

Black Ham

In front of Chateau Cordeillan-Bages