Camacho Watcho

I admit that we made quite a few mistakes in Provence when it came to eating. First, we visited the area during the *slow* days of the week and second, we just didn’t think much to make reservations to eat anywhere. In a sleepy area like the Luberon, it just seemed contradictory to need to plan anything in advance.

I was highly anticipating the food we’d devour for dinners. I had lists of entrees, ingredients and the restaurants in which to find these delectables, but I didn’t have the Provencal mindset to go along with these. For instance, some restaurants are open all days but Monday and Tuesday. Others are open just for lunch on these days but not for dinner, and so on. Information posted in guidebooks (even recent ones) was found to be generally out of date.

We encountered restaurants that were closed for the evening (despite our previous research) and other restaurants that were “full” for the evening. And while I love the concept of a place being considered “full” at 7:30pm, as there is only one sitting and diners have the table for the night, my heart broke as I looked around the restaurant at all the happy people clinking their glasses. Turning sadly to leave the restaurant, I decided that the next trip would take better planning.

It was time to take some advice. Our inn owner suggested that he call for reservations for us the following evening at a restaurant that he highly recommended. This is how we came to dine at Le Fournil on our final evening.

Le Fournil was on our list of places to try while in Provence. We had, however, previously stopped by for lunch while in Bonnieux, but found it closed (of course). Upon our return the next day for our 7:30pm dinner reservation, however, we found a bustling restaurant that was, thankfully, open. Without a second thought, we both ordered the menu which included an amuse, salad, entree, cheese and dessert.

Asparagus was in season while we were in town, so it wasn’t surprising when a chilled asparagus soup arrived for our starter course. We both were giddy at how asparagus-y it tasted. And while I apologize for my lack of descriptive food writing here, simple food can sometimes only be described that simply. So I’ll say it again: it was the ultimate in asparagus-y. Served chilled, the grassy qualities came forward — a clean and refreshing way to start the meal.

I love how French eat their meals with an abundance of bread to mop up the sauces — not letting a morsel go to waste. I so badly wanted to sop up the rest of the asparagus soup with warm bread and was thankful when the man eating next to us did that very thing. Following suit, we left not a drop on our plates; going through three bread bowls in total.

Following the soup, we each had a salad course; mine a second asparagus course (pictured above). I love asparagus! Following were two of the most amazing entrees — lamb for me and pigeon for Kyle.

And, of course, we mopped these plates clean as well. SO MUCH YUMMY BREAD!

Perhaps we were a bit aggressive to both order the menu with the cheese course. We had no idea that we each would receive a platter for five generous servings of cheese with a salad as well. No matter, we dug into the cheeses, doing as much damage as we could before moving on to dessert — strawberry tiramisu for Kyle and a chocolate mousse for me.

Finally — Our best meal in Provence!

Earlier this summer, Kyle and I took a trip to Europe. Our initial intentions were to hit northern Spain, but as we got around to actually booking tickets and seeing what was available, our plans changed.

Our final itinerary, which we dubbed Milan to Madrid, had us arriving into Milan, training it to Nice, renting a car and spending several days in Provence, then on to Barcelona and finally out of Madrid.

My next few posts will hit on the fabulous food of this trip. I thought it only appropriate to start with my favorite breakfast, which we had each morning in Provence.


Our time in Provence was spent in the hilly area of the Luberon. We drove aimlessly through small towns and countryside, taking in the vineyards and cherry groves. At times we consulted a map, but for the most part we just made up our minds as we went along. The countryside is gorgeous — stone buildings created from the rocks that are scattered throughout the fields and the poppy fields were in full bloom. A couple weeks later and we would have been there for lavender season — maybe next time.


Each day we started out with breakfast at our inn. Simple pleasures like toasted baguette and croissants with butter and jam and homemade yogurt served outside made for an idyllic start to the day. And despite the many espressos we enjoyed on our trip, we easily polished off a big carafe of cafe Americano with our meal each morning, ensuring we were fully caffeinated for our days of wandering.