Le Cloître
In an old olive grove stands the splendid 17th century convent, "Les Minimes", in Mane-en-Provence. It houses the restaurant "Le Cloître," where Jérôme Roy, the former “Second” to the masters Thierry Marx and Michel Troisgros, works a kind of magic. His creations in this setting bring to mind the Provencal novels of Jean Gionot, and in particular the short tale “The Man who Planted Trees.” It tells of a widowed shepherd who sets out to reforest a barren valley to overcome his grief. The result is a brittle paradise - transcendence through nature.
Roy harmonizes razor clams with spruce, prawns with marigold, veal with green tea, smoked fish roe with sweet corn, monkfish, salted prunes and porcini mushrooms. Disparate elements, joined in tender balance, transcend the sum of their parts. Every dish is an invitation to slowly savor the harmonic interplay of tastes. This interplay can contain a teasing shiver, brought forth by the first desert’s combination of cherry plums, elderberries and tapioca. Citrus traces and subtle bitter notes restrain colorful exuberance. With a persistent underpinning of light butters or olive oil emulsions, Le Cloître’s chef provokes a sense of unity through contrast, pairing serenity and agitation.
"Cooking I always think of as light, natural," he says, adjectives that describe perfectly the landscape of his symphonic talent.
