La Queue

Cours Saleya · Nice · 39.57€

What to buy

• White asparagus · 1 bunchThe largest you can find. The kind that need real time in the water and reward you for giving it to them.
• Green asparagus · 1 bunchBuy both. It is the first week of both and choosing seems beside the point.
• Salmon · 1 large pieceSkin on. Ask for a clean cut. You’ll know the right piece when you see it.
• Eggs · 6From the vegetable vendor. Included without thinking.
• Strawberries · 1 barquetteFirst of the proper season. Buy them even if they’re slightly early.

Before you start

• Peel the white asparagus from just below the tip to the base. Snap the woody ends. Leave the green whole, snap the ends.
• Soft boil two eggs, eight minutes, ice bath, peel, set aside on a small plate.
• Cut the salmon into two portions if sharing. Pat dry. Salt the skin and leave it alone for a few minutes.
• Open the wine now.

The side — asparagus, mustard vinaigrette, soft egg

• 01Bring a wide pan of salted water to a boil. White asparagus in first, ten minutes. Green in after five, so both finish together.
• 02While they cook, whisk a teaspoon of Dijon with a splash of white wine vinegar, then whisk in three tablespoons of good olive oil. Season well. Keep it warm.
• 03Drain the asparagus, arrange on a plate, spoon the vinaigrette over while everything is still hot. Halve the eggs and place alongside without fuss.

The main — pan-roasted salmon, beurre noisette, capers, parsley

• 01Heat a heavy pan until it is properly hot. A little oil, no butter yet. Salmon skin side down. Do not touch it, do not move it, do not check it. Four minutes.
• 02Flip once, one minute, done. Remove to a warm plate.
• 03Turn the heat to medium. Add a generous knob of butter and let it foam and then brown until the kitchen smells of hazelnuts and April and something worth staying home for.
• 04Add a tablespoon of capers, a handful of roughly chopped parsley, a squeeze of lemon. Spoon over the salmon immediately and don’t wait.

After

• Strawberries from the bowl, standing up, no sugar, no ceremony. The only honest way to eat the first good ones of spring.

The stage you stopped seeing

• The oyster man has been there every Tuesday for years. The L-shaped corner, one side the traditional fish stand, iced and compartmentalized and exactly what you expect, the other side the shucking station, the white wine already open, the small cocktail tables arranged just so. A stage, unmistakably. A man who understood that selling oysters was never really about the oysters.
• You had walked past it dozens of times without seeing it. Not because it wasn’t there. Because you weren’t. Some register of the brain that allows for proper looking had been occupied elsewhere, by the logistics of arrival, by the noise of becoming, by whatever it is that keeps a person moving through a market without actually being in one.
• Then one Tuesday in April it was just there. The same corner. The same man. The same performance. And you saw it.
• The Cours Saleya runs two performances simultaneously and has always done so. The first is for the tourists, which is to say it is for everyone, and it is magnificent and it knows it. The second is for the people who live here, and it is quieter and more specific and you only access it through a kind of proof. The proof is not the language, though the language helps. It is not the correct pronunciation of Niçois, though that earns something. The proof, most reliably, is the dog.
• Tibo at your side says what the accent cannot. It says you walk here on Tuesdays not because you are passing through but because this is what Tuesday looks like. The vendors read it before you’ve opened your mouth. The American in you recedes. The imperfect French stops mattering. The dog has already done the translation, and what he has translated is simply: this one lives here. At the fish counter, that makes a difference.
• You’re not entirely sure what else changed that morning. Enough time, maybe. Enough distance from the life that preceded this one. Enough mornings on the Promenade, enough sunlight through the same kitchen window, enough Tuesdays that began the same way until they became, without announcement, the shape of your actual life rather than a version of it you were still deciding about.
• The oyster man opened a shell for someone while you watched. He did it the way people do things they have done ten thousand times, which is to say he did it like it was the first time, because the crowd required it. You did not approach him. You watched from the distance that first visits require, the observer’s position, the one you were not yet ready to leave. You bought your fish and your eggs and your strawberries and you went home.
• The following Tuesday he saw you coming and greeted you warmly. Which was his way of saying what the market had already decided: you live here now.

Le Boeuf du Soir

Super U · Nice · Solo

What to buy

• Ground beef · 300gNo more for one. Though the leftovers will thank you tomorrow.
• Yellow onion · 1Standard sweet onion. Nothing fancy.
• Garlic · 3 cloves
• Red pepper · 1Goes into the beef, not stuffed. Diced, cooked down, becomes part of it.
• Tinned tomatoes · 400gUse the whole tin. The extra tomato only makes it better.
• Saffron · a pinchYou deserve the rice. Solo night. Nick hates ground beef.
• Salad leaves, cucumber, cherry tomatoesMake double. Tomorrow’s lunch is already sorted.

From the fridge

• ParsleyFrom Tuesday’s market shop. Finishing the beef and the salad.
• Lemon · 1
• Olive oil

The spices — double them and go for it

• Cumin · 2 heaped tsp
• Coriander · 2 heaped tsp
• Cinnamon · a pinchTrust it.
• Chilli flakesTo your preference. Be generous.

The beef

• 01Dice the onion fairly small. Into the heavy pan over medium heat with a good glug of olive oil. Eight minutes. Don’t rush it. That’s the foundation of everything tonight.
• 02Dice the pepper roughly, nothing too precious. Mince the garlic. When the onion is soft and has a little color, pepper and garlic in together. Three or four minutes until the pepper softens and the garlic is fragrant.
• 03Beef in. Break it up as it goes, get it moving, let it sit for a moment before stirring. That’s where the flavor comes from. No pink remaining.
• 04Spices in all at once. Stir through and let them toast in the pan for a full minute. Don’t skip this. You’ll smell the difference immediately.
• 05Whole tin of tomatoes in. A good pinch of salt. Stir everything together, turn the heat down, lid off. Fifteen minutes to reduce and thicken.
• 06Fresh parsley over the top, squeeze of lemon. Taste for salt and heat. Done.

The saffron rice

• 01A small pinch of saffron into a little warm water while the beef simmers. Let it bloom for a few minutes until the water turns deep gold.
• 02Cook rice by absorption method, adding the saffron water with the stock or plain water. The color and the perfume do the rest.

Fenouil et Feu

Supermarché · Nice · Solo · Market closed

What to buy

• Daurade · 1 filetSkin on. Ask for a clean cut. Score the skin two or three times at home, not deep, just through.
• Fennel · 1 bulbFronds intact. Save every frond. They finish the plate.
• Grenailles · small bagThe buckshot potatoes. Thin-skinned, waxy, harvested early. Never peel them. The skin is the point.
• Radishes · 1 bunchThe freshest in the case. Sliced thin into the salad.
• Avocado · 1Ripe. Press gently at the stem end to check.

From home

• Salad greensWhatever you have.
• Hard boiled eggsHalved, placed without ceremony.
• CucumberSliced thin.
• Garlic · a few clovesUnpeeled. Roasted alongside the potatoes.
• Honey · 1 spoonfulThe good kind. Warmed with piment d’Espelette. Delicate. The perfect addition.
• Piment d’Espelette · a pinchBought in Saint-Jean de Luz. Not heat exactly. A suggestion of it.
• Dijon, white wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon

Before you start

• Oven to 200°C.
• Score the fish skin two or three times, not deep, just through. Salt both sides generously, skin especially. Leave it out to breathe.
• Slice the fennel into wedges, root intact so the layers hold together. Save every frond.
• Make the salad dressing now. Teaspoon of Dijon, splash of white wine vinegar, three tablespoons of olive oil, salt. Set aside. Don’t dress until the last moment.

The grenailles

• 01Grenailles and unpeeled garlic into a roasting pan with olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Into the oven for 15 minutes.
• 02Out of the oven. Press each potato flat with the back of a spoon until it splits and opens. More olive oil over the cut surfaces. Back into the oven for the last eight minutes alongside the fish. The split surfaces catch and go golden. That’s the whole point of the grenaille.

The fish

• 01Heavy pan on high heat until properly hot. Thin film of olive oil, let it shimmer.
• 02Daurade in skin side down. Press gently for the first thirty seconds so the skin makes full contact with the pan. Do not move it after that. Ninety seconds.
• 03Flip once, flesh side down, thirty seconds to seal.
• 04Lay the fennel wedges into the center of the roasting pan. Daurade skin side up on top of the fennel. Into the 200°C oven for eight minutes. The fish finishes gently over the fennel, which perfumes it from underneath.

The honey finish

• Small spoonful of honey, good pinch of piment d’Espelette, stirred together and warmed briefly until it loosens and the spice blooms. Drizzle over the fish the moment it comes out of the oven. Just the fish. Let it run into the fennel beneath. Fennel fronds over everything. Lemon on the side.

The salad

• Greens, radish sliced thin, cucumber, avocado scooped and placed, hard boiled egg halved on top. Dress at the last moment with the Dijon vinaigrette, light hand.

The jar that isn't there

• There is a honey in Hondarribia you cannot find outside of Hondarribia. You know this because you have looked. It came from a small shop near the port, in a town you kept calling the wrong name for years until Nick corrected you, in a Basque Country that sits just over the Spanish border from Biarritz and looks nothing like what France has prepared you for. Half-timbered buildings painted in deep red and green. Fishing boats. The smell of the sea coming in from the Bay of Biscay. You ate it that afternoon on something, with a glass of something, with Nick, and you brought the jar home because you always bring one thing home from a place that surprises you.
• It’s gone now. You’ve looked for it in Nice and not found it. It exists somewhere in the world but not on your shelf.
• So on a grey Monday in April, cooking alone, Nick’s bag on a different flight, you reached for where the jar should have been and built the feeling of it instead. The piment d’Espelette from Saint-Jean de Luz. Your regular honey. Warmed together in a small spoon until the spice bloomed. Drizzled over the daurade the moment it came out of the oven.
• It was right. The dish was right. The honey was right enough. But the jar from the port is still missing. And you still look for it.

Le Retour

Cours Saleya · Nice · Welcome home · For two

What to buy

• Salmon · 2 pavésSkin on. Ask for a clean cut. Score the skin at home, salt both sides, leave it to breathe.

From home

• Young potatoesBoiled first, then smashed and roasted. This is the move.
• Fennel · 1 bulbSliced into wedges, root intact.
• SpinachA generous amount. It collapses to almost nothing.
• Shallot · 1Finely sliced.
• Garlic · 3 clovesMinced.
• LemonZested and juiced.
• ButterA good piece, room temperature.
• Piment d’Espelette · double pinchIt earned it.
• Parsley or fennel frondsTo finish.

The grenailles — crispier this time

• 01Boil the potatoes in well salted cold water until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let them steam dry in the colander for a full minute. Wet potatoes won’t crisp.
• 02Onto a sheet pan, not a roasting pan. More surface area, more air, more crisp. Press each one flat and hard with the back of a heavy glass. You want them nearly falling apart at the edges. Those ragged edges are where the crisp comes from.
• 03Generous olive oil over every cut surface. 220°C, 25 minutes. Do not open the oven. Do not touch them.

The fennel

• Onto the same sheet pan alongside the potatoes. Olive oil, salt. In at the same time, out at the same time.

The butter sauce

• Small saucepan on the lowest heat. Butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, double pinch of piment d’Espelette. Let it melt together gently until combined and fragrant. Off the heat. It just needs to stay warm, not cook further.

The salmon

• 01Heavy pan on high heat until properly hot. Thin film of oil. Salmon skin side down. Press gently for thirty seconds so the skin makes full contact. Do not move it. Four minutes.
• 02Flip once, ninety seconds on the flesh side. Out onto a warm plate. Spoon the butter sauce over immediately while it rests.

The spinach

• Same pan, heat to medium. Shallot and garlic in, two minutes until soft. The salmon fond left in the pan goes into the spinach. That’s the bonus. Spinach in, toss until just wilted, two to three minutes. Squeeze of lemon, salt, done.

The plate

• Spinach down first. Salmon on top, skin up so it stays crisp. Fennel wedge alongside. Potatoes at the back, crackling and dark at the edges. Butter sauce over the fish. Fennel fronds or parsley over everything.

Pre-love

• There is a gesture that exists before the person arrives. The lei at the bottom of the jetway in Hawaii. The glass of champagne lifted from a tray at the threshold of an event. The thing that says: I was already thinking about you while you were still in transit.
• The villa was quiet in a specific way. Not empty. Waiting.
• Nick’s bag was somewhere over France on a different plane, delayed in the particular way that travel delays are, which is to say without explanation and without apology and with no indication of when it would resolve. He would arrive when he arrived. In the meantime there was the kitchen and the salmon and the question of what to do with the fennel.
• You cooked without consulting anyone. No one to taste the butter sauce, no one to say more lemon or less. The decisions were yours entirely, which is its own kind of freedom and its own kind of loneliness, though loneliness is too heavy a word for what a quiet villa on a Tuesday afternoon actually feels like. It feels like anticipation. It feels like the skin of a salmon pressed into a hot pan with nobody watching.
• He came home to a plate. The skin nearly black and crackling, the potatoes absolutely destroyed in the best possible way, the butter sauce catching in the scoring. His bag arrived the next day. The meal was the lei. The light left on. The thing that said: I knew you were coming and I started without you.

Le Jardin de Jeudi

Oreka · Cours Saleya · Nice · 35.71€ + 9€ burrata · For two

What to buy

• Fèvettes · a generous bagThe young ones. Pods bright green and firm. Shell them at home and taste one raw before you do anything else.
• Asparagus · 1 bunchThe best there. Stand them in a glass of water when you get home until you’re ready.
• Courgettes · 3With their flowers still attached if possible. The flowers are not decoration.
• Radishes · 1 bunchKept raw. Kept whole. The sharp contrast the plate needs.
• Burrata · 1 largeThe centerpiece. Everything else arranges itself around it.

From home

• Eggs · 2 per personAt room temperature, as they should be. In France they live on the counter, not in the fridge. The cold chain was never broken at the farm so it need not begin in your kitchen.
• Shallot · 1Finely sliced.
• Garlic · 2 clovesMinced.
• LemonZested and juiced.
• ParsleyRoughly chopped. Over everything at the end.
• ButterFor the omelette.
• Olive oilYour best. It goes directly on the burrata.
• Flaky saltOn the burrata. Not negotiable.

Before you start

• Burrata out 15 minutes before serving. Cold burrata is a lesser burrata.
• Lemon zested and juiced. Parsley chopped. Everything within reach before anything goes on the heat.

The courgettes

• 01Halved lengthways, cut side up on a sheet pan. Olive oil, salt. 200°C for 20 minutes until golden at the edges.
• 02The flowers in for the last five minutes only. They need almost no time and the heat undoes them completely.

The fèvettes

• Shell them from their pods. Into well salted boiling water for two minutes. Out with a slotted spoon into cold water immediately. Drain and set aside. At this age they barely need cooking at all.

The asparagus

• Snap the woody ends. Into the same boiling water, three to four minutes depending on thickness. Out while still bright green, into cold water alongside the fèvettes. Drain and set aside.

The sauté

• Wide pan, medium heat, olive oil. Shallot in first, two minutes until soft. Garlic in, one minute. Fèvettes and asparagus in together, toss gently to warm through and take on the garlic. Two minutes maximum. Squeeze of lemon, salt, off the heat.

The omelette — two minutes, back to back

• 01Two eggs per omelette, beaten briefly with a fork. Not too vigorously — you want some texture. Season with salt.
• 02Butter in a small non-stick pan on medium high heat. When it foams and just subsides, eggs in. Let the edges set slightly, work them inward gently with a spatula.
• 03When barely set in the center, still slightly wet on top, fold in thirds away from you onto the plate. Pale gold outside, soft and creamy within. Do Nick’s first, keep it warm, then yours.

The plate

• Warm fèvettes and asparagus arranged to one side. Courgettes alongside, flowers intact. Raw radishes whole and vivid. Burrata torn in half, placed in the center, cream spilling toward the vegetables. Flaky salt on the burrata. Your best olive oil in a thread over everything. Lemon zest scattered. Parsley over the whole plate. Lemon wedge at the rim. Omelette folded simply alongside.

Tibo & Harvey’s Favourite Carrot Dog Cookies

The kitchen · Nice · Makes many · Recipe by James Welby

What you need

• Blended oats · 250g2 cups. Blended to a fine powder in the food processor.
• Carrots · 120g1 cup. Grated generously.
• Egg · 1At room temperature.
• Olive oil · 2 tablespoons
• Water · 2 to 4 tablespoonsAs needed. Add little by little until the dough holds together.

Preparation

• 01Oven to 175°C.
• 02Oats into the food processor. Blend until they turn into a fine powder. Add the grated carrots and blend again until combined.
• 03Add the egg and olive oil. Mix.
• 04Add water little by little until the dough holds together. It should be firm, not sticky.
• 05Shape into small cookies. Press down onto a non-stick sheet.
• 06Bake for 20 minutes until firm and slightly golden.

Fumée et Safran

Antibes market · Nick’s find · For two · Weber charcoal grill

What to buy

• Lamb chops · 2 per personThe best cut available. Nick found these in Antibes. That’s the standard.
• Asparagus · 1 bunchSnapped and ready for the grill.
• Jasmine riceEnough for two.

From home

• GarlicCrushed.
• Olive oilGenerous.
• Cumin · heaped tsp
• Coriander · heaped tsp
• Piment d’Espelette · a pinch
• LemonZested and juiced.
• ParsleyFresh, roughly chopped. In the marinade and over the plate.
• Rosemary · fresh from the gardenStripped for the marinade. Whole sprigs saved for the coals.
• OnionQuartered, for the grill.
• Saffron · a small pinchBloomed in warm water for the rice.

Next time

• Cucumber sauce. Cold, yogurt, garlic, fresh herbs. Against charcoal lamb it would have been exactly right. A drizzle, not a dip. Don’t forget.

The marinade — at least 90 minutes before

• Crushed garlic, olive oil, cumin, coriander, piment d’Espelette, lemon zest and juice, parsley, rosemary stripped and roughly chopped, salt. Everything into a bowl, chops in, coat well. Two hours is better than one.

The saffron rice

• 01A small pinch of saffron into a little warm water. Let it bloom for ten minutes until the water turns deep gold.
• 02Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear. Absorption method, one part rice, one and a half parts water, saffron water added in. Lid on, 18 minutes. Do not lift the lid. Off the heat, lid stays on, it finishes in its own steam. Fluff with a fork just before serving.

The coals

• 01Light at least 40 minutes before you want to cook. No shortcuts. Wait until every coal is white and glowing with no black remaining.
• 02Just before the lamb goes on, throw two whole rosemary sprigs directly onto the coals. The smoke starts immediately and it is extraordinary.

The grill

• 01Onion quarters brushed with olive oil on first. They need a few more minutes than the lamb.
• 02Asparagus brushed with olive oil and salt alongside. Three to four minutes, turn once.
• 03Chops out of the marinade, excess dripped off. On the coals. Four to five minutes first side. Do not move them. Flip once when the color creeps up the sides. Four to five minutes second side.
• 04Off the grill. Rest three minutes before you plate.

After — close the Weber

• Vents down to a quarter open. Let the coals die slowly. Don’t walk away until they’re clearly fading.

The plate

• Saffron rice in the bowl. Lamb chops alongside. Grilled asparagus and onion. Fresh parsley over the lamb. Lemon if you want it.

The fire that came with the house

• The Weber came with the villa. Left behind by whoever lived here before, or perhaps before them, sitting on the terrace the way things sit when they belong to a place rather than a person. You didn’t bring it. You didn’t choose it. You just found it there and recognised it immediately, the way a Coke bottle fits your hand before you’ve even decided to pick it up.
• The grill has been part of your life since childhood in Southern California. You cannot locate the first one. It predates memory, which means it predates almost everything that can be narrated. Someone was always grilling. The smoke was always part of the air. You absorbed it the way children absorb the things that will matter to them forever, which is to say without noticing, without choosing, without any sense that this was something being added rather than something that had always been there.
• Nice doesn’t grill. Not like this. The city has its socca and its pissaladière, its pan bagnat, its fish cooked with restraint on a stovetop. The Weber on the terrace is a different grammar entirely. Southern California speaking through a Mediterranean evening.
• Nick found the lamb in Antibes. He always knows what to look for. But the fire was yours before he arrived, before Nice, before any of the lives that preceded this one. You threw the rosemary on the coals and the smoke went up into the April sky and for a moment the Côte d’Azur and a childhood backyard were briefly, precisely the same place.

Culottées

Cours Saleya · Nice · 48.76€ · For two · A grey day braise

What to buy

• Noix de joue de boeuf · 600 to 700gAsk for the noix, the central muscle, trimmed and clean. Deep burgundy, almost purple. Dense with connective tissue. The tougher it looks raw the better it becomes after two hours.
• Carrots · a generous bunchSome for the braise, some for glazing alongside. Two jobs, one bunch.
• Céleri-rave · 1 headPeeled and roughly cubed. Goes into the braise.
• Poireaux · 1White and pale green only, roughly chopped.
• Mushrooms · a good handfulHalved or left whole. In for the last 30 minutes only.
• Bouquet garni · pot au feuFrom the market. The right herbs in the right proportions.
• Bread · a miche or sourdoughSomething that tears and holds through a long dinner.
• Wine · 2 bottles Côtes de BourgOne for the pot, one for the table. Nothing precious. The wine becomes the sauce.

From home

• Onion · 1Quartered.
• Garlic · 1 headHalved crossways, unpeeled.
• Celery · 2 stalksRoughly chopped. Reserve the leaves. They go on the plate at the end.
• Tomato paste · 1 tablespoonStirred into the fond before the wine. Adds depth and colour.
• Anchovy · 1 or 2 filletsThey dissolve to nothing and make everything taste more of itself.
• Orange · 1 strip of peelThe surprise that earns its place. Don’t skip it.
• Worcestershire sauceA splash during the reduction if the sweetness needs cutting.
• Olive oil, salt, butter

The grenailles

• Boil until just tender. Drain, steam dry for a full minute. Onto a sheet pan, press each one flat and hard. Generous olive oil over every cut surface. 220°C, 25 minutes. Do not touch them. You know how to do this now.

The glazed carrots

• 01Carrots peeled and cut on the diagonal into similar sized pieces. Into a wide shallow pan in a single layer. Butter, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, water just to barely cover.
• 02Medium heat from cold, uncovered. Simmer until the water evaporates and the butter and sugar reduce to a glaze that coats the carrots. Stay close at the end. Keep them moving. Fresh parsley over the top.

The braise

• 01Oven to 160°C, Viande rouge Légumes setting. Pat the cheeks completely dry. Salt generously on all sides. Leave them to breathe.
• 02Le Creuset on high heat. Oil shimmering and almost smoking. Cheeks in batches, do not crowd. Leave completely alone for three to four minutes until a deep mahogany crust forms. That crust is everything. Louis-Camille Maillard, French chemist, early 20th century, discovered it by accident while studying protein synthesis. He never knew his name would end up in every serious kitchen in the world. Flip once, three to four minutes the other side. Out onto a plate.
• 03Heat to medium. Anchovy fillets in, let them melt into the fond, thirty seconds. Tomato paste in alongside, stir together for one minute until it darkens and smells nutty. All aromatics in — carrots, onion, celery, leek, céleri-rave, garlic, orange peel, bouquet garni. Stir everything, scrape up the fond from the bottom, soften five minutes. Every dark bit that comes up is flavour going into the sauce.
• 04Whole bottle of wine in. Listen to it hit the hot pot. Meat back on top of the vegetables, nestled in. Lid on tight. Into the oven. Two and a half hours. Don’t open for the first 90 minutes.

The reduction

• 01Meat out, onto a plate to rest. Everything through a fine sieve into a wide saucepan, pressing the vegetables firmly to extract every drop. Discard the aromatics. They have given everything they had.
• 02Medium heat, uncovered, active simmer. Stir occasionally. The spoon test: run your finger across the back of a dipped spoon. If the line holds clean the sauce is ready.
• 03A splash of Worcestershire if the sweetness needs cutting. A knob of cold butter swirled in at the end for shine. Taste for salt. Meat back in, gentle heat, lid on.

The plate

• A wide shallow bowl, warmed. The beef cheek placed deliberately off center, dark and yielding. A generous spoonful of the reduced sauce over and around, almost black. Glazed carrots alongside, shining and copper at the edges. Mushrooms and parsnips nestled in. Smashed grenailles crackling and golden. Celery leaves scattered over the top, bright and slightly bitter against the dark. Flaky salt. The bread already on the table.

Chlotato

Cours Saleya · Nice · For two · A gift from Chloé

What to buy

• Sweet potatoes · 2 largeUniform in size so they bake evenly. They tell you when they’re ready.
• Mushrooms · a good handfulHalved. Roasted hard until dark and slightly crispy at the edges.
• Cherry tomatoes · 1 punnetLeft whole. They go soft and jammy and slightly burst.
• Fennel · 1 bulbShaved as thin as you can for the slaw.
• Radishes · 1 bunchSliced thin into the slaw. The sharp contrast the plate needs.
• Lemon · 2Half for the slaw, half for the tahini if using.
• Fresh mint and parsley and fennel frondsAll three. For the slaw and to finish.

From home

• Gochujang butter · generousChloé’s gift. The reason this dish exists. One spoonful per potato, melted into every crevice while the flesh is still steaming.
• Crème d’Isigny · AOP NormandieCool and rich against the heat. Nick’s words: good partners.
• Onion · 1Finely sliced. Caramelised slowly in butter until soft, sweet and golden. 20 minutes minimum. Do not rush them.
• Olive oil, cumin, piment d’Espelette, salt, Maldon

The sweet potatoes

• Prick all over with a fork. Rub with olive oil and salt. Onto a sheet pan directly. 200°C for 45 to 55 minutes until a knife goes through with no resistance. Don’t rush them. They tell you when they’re ready.

The mushrooms and tomatoes

• Same oven, separate sheet pan. Mushrooms halved, olive oil, cumin, piment d’Espelette, salt. Cherry tomatoes whole alongside, just olive oil and salt. 25 minutes until the mushrooms are dark and slightly crispy at the edges and the tomatoes are soft, jammy and slightly burst.

The caramelised onions

• Medium low heat, butter, pinch of salt. 20 minutes minimum. Do not rush them. Soft, sweet, golden. A topper, not an afterthought.

The slaw

• Fennel shaved as thin as you can. Radishes sliced thin. Lemon juice, good olive oil, salt, fresh mint through it. Toss and set aside. It gets better as it sits.

The plate

• Split the sweet potatoes open while still steaming, push the ends toward each other to open them wide. Gochujang butter in immediately — let it melt into every crevice. A spoonful of crème d’Isigny alongside. Caramelised onions over the top. Mushrooms and burst tomatoes alongside. Fennel fronds and fresh parsley scattered over. Maldon salt. The slaw in its own small bowl to the side, cool and sharp against everything warm.

Seoul Waffles

The kitchen · Nice · For one · What Thursday becomes on Friday

The idea

• —Not a recipe. A second life. The leftover sweet potato from Chlotato, pressed into a waffle iron on a Friday morning with the music low and the iron getting hot. Gochujang butter already through the flesh, caramelised onions already in, crème d’Isigny already worked through. Thursday did the hard work. Friday just had to show up.

What you need

• Leftover sweet potato fleshEverything scooped from the skins, onions and all. Cold from the fridge.
• Eggs · 32 into the batter, 1 fried on top.
• Plain flour · 2 tbspTo bind.
• SaltA good pinch.
• Butter or oilFor the iron and for frying the egg.

The batter

• —Scoop the cold sweet potato flesh into a bowl. The caramelised onions, the herbs, the gochujang butter already through it. Leave them in. Add two eggs beaten, two tablespoons of flour, a good pinch of salt. Mix until just combined. Thick and scoopable, not pourable. If it feels wet, press it gently in a clean tea towel first. Wet potato is the enemy of a crispy waffle.

The waffle

• 01Iron to 5. Oil it generously before each waffle. Spoon the batter in, press the lid down firmly.
• 02Do not open it. Wait until the steam stops escaping from the sides. That’s your signal. Four to five minutes.
• 03If it needs more colour, turn to 6 and give it two more minutes. The natural sugar in the sweet potato and the gochujang butter will caramelise at the edges and go deeply, darkly right.

The egg

• —Butter in a small pan, medium heat. Crack the egg in. Baste with the butter until the white is just set and the yolk is still completely runny. Straight on top of the waffle. Don’t wait.

The plate

• —The waffle on the blue and white plate. The fried egg placed on top, yolk intact. A small spoonful of crème d’Isigny alongside if there’s any left. Maldon salt over the egg. Nothing else. The music still low.

Le Printemps dans le Four

La Corne d’Or · Sabrina Fruits · 54.74€ · For two · A late night table

What to buy · La Corne d'Or · 98 Corniche André de Joly

• Épaule d’agneau des Pyrénées · 1.225kgBone in. Ask them to score it, then go deeper yourself at home.
• Saint-Nectaire Fermier AOPA wedge. Raw milk. From the Auvergne. One of the great cheeses of France.
• Pain de SardaigneThin, crispy, baked with extra virgin olive oil. For the apéro.

What to buy · Sabrina Fruits · Cours Saleya

• Tomates héirloom · 3 varietiesThe large red, the deep burgundy, the yellow. Sliced for the tian. Mixed for colour.
• CourgettesWith their flowers if possible.
• Oignons · 2Sliced thin. The soft sweet bed the tian sits on.
• RadishesFor the apéro. With cold butter and flaky salt. The French way.
• Lemon · 2Both. Zested and juiced into the marinade.

From home

• Épices d’agneauVirginie’s blend. Cumin forward. Moroccan. A gift from a friend. Irreplaceable.
• Garlic · 1 whole headBroken into cloves, crushed but unpeeled. Into the marinade and the roasting dish.
• Fresh thymeFor the tian, scattered through every layer.
• Olive oil, salt, pepperGenerous throughout.

The apéro

• —Radishes with cold butter and flaky salt. Hold by the leaves, spread butter directly onto the radish, dip in salt, one bite. Standing at the counter. Saint-Nectaire on Pain de Sardaigne alongside. A glass of something open. This is not a snack. This is lunch.

The marinade · as early as possible

• —Virginie’s épices d’agneau with generous olive oil, the whole head of garlic broken and crushed but unpeeled, both lemons zested and juiced, salt. A thick fragrant paste. Work it into every incision, coat every surface. Marinate in the same ceramic dish you’ll roast it in. Room temperature, not the fridge. Two to three hours minimum.

The incisions

• —The butcher scores it but go deeper yourself. A sharp knife, 2 to 3 centimetres deep, into the thickest muscle on both sides. Push your finger into each one to open it. Four or five cuts per side. The spices need a direct route to the centre of the meat.

The lamb · in at 18:00

• 01160°C, Viande rouge Légumes setting. Lid on. Leave it completely alone for two hours.
• 02At 20:00 lid off for the final 30 minutes. The garlic in the incisions will caramelise and turn golden. The pan juices will go deep and dark and fragrant. Don’t touch it until it’s time.

The tian · in at 19:15

• 01Olive oil over the base of the large oval gratin dish. Onions down first in a single layer, salt, thyme, olive oil.
• 02Alternate overlapping rounds of courgette and all three tomato varieties, like roof tiles, mixing the colours as you go. Tuck thin slices of garlic between the rounds. Scatter thyme throughout.
• 03Generous olive oil over the whole surface. Salt. No cover. Into the oven alongside the lamb for the last hour and forty five minutes.

Out at 20:30

• —Lamb onto the blue and white serving platter. Pull the meat apart along the incisions with two forks, it won’t need a knife. Squeeze every roasted garlic clove out of its skin directly onto the meat. Pour the dark pan juices over everything. Bring it to the table as it is. Unapologetic, generous, smelling of Morocco and Provence simultaneously. Tian alongside, straight from the gratin dish.

On Virginie's spices · a note for the reader

• The jar came from a friend and cannot be replicated exactly. But the profile is cumin forward, with coriander alongside it, a whisper of cinnamon, and what might be dried rose petals somewhere underneath. If you’re building your own blend, start there. The cumin is the spine. Everything else is the story around it.

The missing pearl

• Couscous. It belongs under the lamb, catching every drop of those dark pan juices, and it wasn’t there. Not because it was forgotten exactly. The wine was open. The apartment smelled extraordinary and there was no one in it yet but the dogs. The call was still running. Adding one more pot, one more decision, would have required a kind of presence the evening wasn’t asking for. So it didn’t happen. Nick noticed at the table. He was right to notice. Next time the couscous comes first.

La Conversion

Le Panier Gourmand · Nice · 14.95€ · For two · Nick’s find

What to buy

• Ramps · ail des ours · 1 bunchLeaves and bulbs intact. They are here for three weeks a year and then they are gone until next April. Buy more than you think you need.
• Asparagus · 1 bunchSnapped and ready.
• Peas · a generous handfulFresh if possible.
• Lemon · 1

From home

• Ramp butterMade from the first batch. Generous, softened. See the note below.
• Vialone Nano · 250gThe Venetian rice. Shorter and rounder than carnaroli. It moves on the plate. Venetians call it all’onda, like a wave.
• White wine · 1 glassOpen before you start.
• Stock · chicken · 1 litreHot, never cold. Warming on low heat throughout.
• Shallot or leekFinely diced. The quiet foundation.
• ParmesanA good handful, grated.
• Fresh mintFor the side.
• Olive oil, butter, salt

On the ramp butter · a note for the reader

• —Ramp butter is made by blanching the leaves briefly, blitzing them with cold unsalted butter and salt, then rolling in parchment and chilling. The ratio is roughly 150 to 200 grams of ramps to 250 grams of good butter. Make it while the season is open. Roll a log and freeze it. In July when the ramps are long gone you will unwrap it and the whole of late April comes back. Nick found them at Le Panier Gourmand. You may find them elsewhere. You have approximately three weeks.

The risotto

• 01Wide heavy pan, medium heat, olive oil and a small knob of butter. Shallot in, gentle, eight minutes until completely soft and translucent. No colour.
• 02Rice in. Toast for two minutes, stirring constantly, until the edges of each grain turn slightly translucent. That is when the wine goes in. One generous glass. Stir until completely absorbed. The kitchen will smell immediately right.
• 03Stock in, one ladle at a time, medium heat throughout. Add the next only when the previous is absorbed. Stir regularly. This takes 18 to 20 minutes for Vialone Nano. Taste a grain near the end. You want it tender with just the faintest resistance at the very centre. Not chalky. Not soft. Barely done.
• 04Off the heat immediately. Ramp butter in, generous. Fresh ramps sliced thin, bulbs and leaves both, in now. Parmesan. Lemon zest. Stir vigorously for a full minute, really work it, building the creaminess. The fresh ramps will wilt slightly in the heat. Taste for salt. Lid on. Two minutes rest. Don’t touch it.

The side · asparagus and peas with mint

• —Boiling salted water. Asparagus in for three minutes. Peas in for the last minute alongside. Drain while still steaming. Olive oil, lemon juice, mint torn through, salt. Toss gently. Set alongside.

The plate

• —Lid off. Shake the pan gently. It should move like a wave. Into warm bowls, let it settle and spread on its own. Asparagus and peas alongside. A few fresh ramp leaves over the top. More parmesan if you want it. Lemon zest one more time. Olive oil in a thin thread over everything. Call Nick.

The conversion

• Nick said “babe, I found ramps” the way people say things they have always known. Casually. Completely. As if the sentence required no translation. In Southern California, where I am from, nobody finds ramps. Nobody says ramps. The word did not exist in any kitchen I grew up in, which were perfectly good kitchens that produced perfectly good food and simply had no occasion to discuss wild Appalachian garlic at any point during my entire childhood. I nodded as if I knew exactly what he meant. I did not know what he meant. I looked it up after he left the room.
• Growing up in Southern California, ramps meant nothing. The word arrived without a referent. No season that contained them, no market that carried them, no one who had ever said: these are here for three weeks and then they are gone and you should pay attention. Then Nice. Then Le Panier Gourmand. Then Nick walking in with a bunch of something wild and saying he had found them, the way he says things he knows are good before you have caught up.
• There are two expressions of the same ingredient in this bowl. The butter, which is the concentrated, cooked, patient version. The fresh ramps stirred in at the end, which are the raw, grassy, slightly sharp version, still alive in the heat. The lemon holds both of them together and makes them more of themselves.
• We sat down at the table as the sun was going. The first bite happened in the last of the light. The window was open. The bowl was warm. Converted. Completely and without reservation.

Jimmy’s World’s Best Choc Chip Cookies

The kitchen · Nice · Makes many · Recipe by James Welby

A note on the cookie in France

• —France gave the world the madeleine, the financier, the canelé, the macaron, and approximately four hundred years of pâtisserie tradition built on precision, technique, and the quiet conviction that restraint is its own form of excellence. The chocolate chip cookie arrived from America and ignored all of that. It is large, it is irregular, it is aggressively sweet, it runs butter into every available surface and considers this a virtue. The French were not immediately impressed.
• —Then something shifted. Somewhere around the 2010s, American-style cookie shops began appearing in Paris, then Lyon, then Nice. Long queues formed. The cookie, it turned out, offered something the madeleine did not: immediate, unapologetic comfort. No fork required. No plate. No ceremony. Just a warm irregular thing that smells of browned butter and makes no apologies for what it is.
• —The French word for cookie is simply le cookie. They did not bother to translate it, which is its own form of respect. Jimmy’s version, with its browned butter and its 24 hour cure and its inherited pan bang, would be understood immediately on both sides of the Atlantic. It is American in its generosity and French in its insistence on doing the thing properly.

What you need

• Unsalted butter · 225g1 cup. Browned. See the note below. This is the first decision and it is the right one.
• Brown sugar · 225g1 cup.
• White sugar · 113g½ cup.
• All purpose flour · 280g2¼ cups.
• Baking soda · 1 tsp
• Sea salt · 1 tspPlus more for finishing. Maldon.
• Vanilla paste · 1 tbspPaste, not extract. It matters.
• Dark chocolate · 225g60% minimum. Bars, not chips. Chop them yourself. The shards and irregular pieces are the point.
• Eggs · 2 cold1 whole egg and 1 yolk only. Cold from the fridge. In France they live on the counter. Put these two back in ahead of time.

On browning the butter

• —Cube the butter and heat in a light coloured saucepan on medium heat. Whisk occasionally. The butter will foam, then the foam will subside, then the water will evaporate and the scent will change to something nutty and sweet and the liquid will turn amber. That is the moment. Off the heat immediately. Pour into a bowl with the brown sugar and whisk in. The butter continues to cook in the sugar so do not walk away after you pour. This is the Maillard reaction doing what it always does — building flavour that no amount of time in the oven can create afterward.

The dough · patience required

• 01Once the browned butter and brown sugar mixture has cooled slightly, add 1 cold egg and 1 cold egg yolk. Whisk vigorously for 2 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes. Repeat the whisking and resting 3 times. This builds structure and creates the chew.
• 02Sift the flour, baking soda and sea salt into the wet ingredients. Use a spatula. Fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
• 03Fold in the chopped chocolate and shards. Add the vanilla paste. Stir gently to distribute.

The 24 hour cure · non-negotiable

• —Cover the dough and refrigerate for 24 hours. This is not a suggestion. The cure develops flavour, controls spread, and deepens the colour. The cookie you eat tomorrow is a different object entirely from the cookie you could bake today. Wait.

The bake and the pan bang

• 01Oven to 175°C (350°F). Scoop the dough onto a lined baking sheet, leaving room for spread.
• 02Bake for 10 to 12 minutes total. At the 8 minute mark, remove from the oven and bang the pan firmly on the stovetop. Return to the oven. Repeat every 2 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the centres look underdone. They will set as they cool. Trust this.
• 03Remove from the oven. Sprinkle immediately with sea salt. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Do not move them before then.

The pan bang · a note on the inheritance

• —There are techniques you learn from cookbooks and techniques you learn from watching someone who learned from watching someone else. The pan bang belongs to the second category.
• —My mother banged the pan. She did it without explaining why, the way people do things that have always worked. The bang deflates the puffed centre, redistributes the butter, creates the crinkled surface and the chew that no other method produces. It looks violent. It is, in fact, precise. A religion in itself. Repeated on faith until the edges tell you it is done.
• —I bang the pan in Nice now. The kitchen is different. The oven is different. The chocolate is French and the salt is Maldon and the butter is from Normandy. Everything is different except the technique, which arrived from my mother’s kitchen without a recipe card and will leave, eventually, the same way.

Le Charbon

The villa · Nice · For four · Chloé and Nick’s bulgogi · The last ramps of the season

What to bring

• Ramps · ail des oursWhatever the market still has. The season is closing. Buy them anyway.
• Scallions · 3 largeFor the pa muchim. Long thin ribbons, not rounds.
• Lettuce · 1 headWhole leaves for wrapping the bulgogi. Butter lettuce if possible.

Ask your guests to bring

• Bulgogi · marinatedChloé’s recipe. Her marinade. Her instinct for the grill. Some things you do not attempt to replicate.
• The charcoalTrue friends do not ask what to bring. They assess the situation and arrive with what the evening actually needs.

From home

• Gochugaru · 1 tbspKorean chilli flakes. The heat and the colour of the pa muchim.
• Rice vinegar · 1 tbspThe cut. Add more than you think. It should be bright and sharp first.
• Sesame oil · 1 tspThe finish. Underneath everything else.
• Sugar · a pinchNot more.
• Short grain or jasmine ricePlain. No saffron tonight. The Korean table wants the rice clean and simple. It is the quiet thing that makes everything else louder.
• Olive oil, sea salt, MaldonFor the ramps.

The pa muchim · make at 18:00

• 01Slice the scallions into long thin strips, julienne style, about 6 to 8 centimetres. You want length, not rounds. Fine ribbons. A sharp knife and patience.
• 02Into a bowl of ice cold water for 10 minutes. This curls them slightly and takes the raw edge off without wilting them. Drain and pat completely dry. Wet scallions dilute everything.
• 03Mix the dressing: gochugaru, rice vinegar, sesame oil, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt. Taste it. It should be sharp, spicy, slightly sweet, with the sesame underneath. Add more vinegar until it is bright first, rich second.
• 04Toss the dry scallions through the dressing. Leave it alone for at least 30 minutes. It improves as it sits.

The ramps · on the grill

• —Trim the very base of the roots. Leave everything else intact. Toss with olive oil and salt. On the grill whole, 3 to 4 minutes, turning once. The leaves will char and crisp slightly, the bulbs will soften and go sweet. You will know when they are done by the smell. Maldon over the top while still warm. Nothing else required.

The rice · on at 19:30

• —Rinse until the water runs clear. Absorption method, one part rice to one and a half parts water, lid on, 18 minutes. Do not lift the lid. It will be ready exactly when the grill is done.

Chloé's pork belly marinade · not technically bulgogi but adapted from one

• —1 nashi pear, roughly chopped · ½ red onion, roughly chopped · 1 spring onion · 2 tsp minced ginger · 2 tbsp sesame oil · 4 tbsp soy sauce · 2 to 4 tbsp brown sugar, to taste · 6 to 8 cloves garlic.
• —Roughly chop all the fresh ingredients. Not too fine or it clings to the meat and burns on the grill. Do not puree the pear or the onion. Chloé tried this. She would not recommend it.
• —Combine everything. Add gochujang if you want heat through the marinade rather than alongside it. She calls this her next experiment.
• —Marinate for 36 hours minimum. She made this on a Friday night after work for a Saturday dinner. That is the kind of cook she is. The pork belly was the star of the evening. The 36 hours is why.
• —The same marinade works on chicken wings. Oven or pan fry if the grill isn’t available. But the grill is always best. She said so herself.

Chloé's ssamjang · the dipping sauce

• —Chloé left a container of ssamjang. There is just enough for one more batch. Use it.
• —¼ cup ssamjang · 1 clove garlic, minced · 1 generous tsp sesame oil, for flavour and to make the texture glossier and smoother · honey to taste.
• —Add gochujang if you want more heat, but since the evening already had gochujang butter on the table, Chloé kept them separate. Good instinct. Sesame seeds would add nuttiness. A finely chopped shallot next time. Lime juice depending on the marinade and the cut. She makes it up as she goes. Adjust the ratios to your taste and see what you have lying around. This is the instruction.

Le Charbon · a note on the evening

• The table was set before they arrived. Blue and white plates, the candle lit, Nice going dark in the window behind everything, the mountains holding the last of the blue hour light before the city took over.
• Chloé and Nick arrived at seven with the bulgogi marinated and the charcoal. The charcoal. True friends do not ask what to bring. They assess the situation and arrive with what the evening actually needs.
• The grill was theirs. The pa muchim and the rice and the grilled ramps were ours. The table was everyone’s.
• The ramps were good. Charred at the edges, sweet at the bulb, smoky from the Weber. They were also, after weeks of anticipation and three euros a bunch and the whole arc of the season building toward them, slightly overrated. The wanting had been more than the having. This is not a complaint. It is a note for next April: the ramps are worth grilling. They are not worth the reverence.
• The bulgogi was the star. Chloé’s recipe, her marinade, her instinct for the grill. The pa muchim she received with warmth and grace, which is the most you can ask of a Korean cook presented with an American’s interpretation of a Korean classic trying his best in France. She was gracious. The bulgogi spoke for itself.
• The leftovers go back on the table tomorrow. Keep the charcoal. They left it.

La Revanche

Épicerie · Boucher · Nice · 93.17€ · For two · A rainy Cinco de Mayo

The context

• On May 5th 1862, the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla. It remains one of the more surprising results in military history. On May 5th 2026, an American and a Canadian in Nice cooked a French chicken with Mexican spices and called it dinner. The French lost again. Nobody was surprised this time.

What to buy · Chez le boucher

• Poulet entier · 1Label Rouge if possible. 20.05€. Pouvez-vous l’ouvrir en crapaudine? Could you spatchcock it for me?

What to buy · À l'épicerie

• Citrons verts · 3Limes. Zest all three before juicing anything.
• Haricots noirs · 1 boîteBlack beans. Drained before using.
• Jalapeños · 1 boîteSome in the beans with their brine. The rest on the table.
• Riz parfuméJasmine rice. Sold in France as riz parfumé, meaning fragrant. Correct.
• Maïs douxSweet corn. Bio if possible. Vacuum cooked is fine.
• Ail · 1 têteGarlic. Half crushed for the roasting base, half sliced for the beans.
• Oignons · 21 sliced into rounds for the roasting base. 1 diced small for the beans.
• Bière · cervezaCold. For the cook and the table.
• TequilaAlso for the cook and the table. This is not optional on Cinco de Mayo.

From home

• Beurre · butterSoftened. For under the skin.
• Persil frais · fresh parsleyFinely chopped. For the herb butter.
• Ciboulette · fresh chivesSnipped. For the herb butter and to finish the corn.
• Piment d’EspeletteThe spine of everything tonight.
• Cumin · 1 tspFor the spice rub and the beans.
• Coriandre moulue · 1 tspGround coriander. For the spice rub.
• Crème fraîcheFor the lime crema.
• Huile d’olive, sel

The herb butter · make first

• —Softened butter, finely chopped parsley, snipped chives, lime zest, a generous pinch of piment d’Espelette, salt. Mix with a fork until fully combined. Taste it. Bright, herby, piment sitting underneath everything.

The spice rub

• —Cumin 1 tsp · ground coriander 1 tsp · piment d’Espelette ½ tsp · olive oil 2 tbsp · squeeze of lime · salt. Mix into a loose paste. It should smell of Mexico and feel like it belongs on a French bird.

The chicken · in at 18:30

• 01Pat completely dry. Loosen the skin gently starting at the cavity end, working your fingers between skin and breast meat without tearing. Push the herb butter underneath, spreading over both breasts as far toward the legs as you can reach. Press from outside the skin to spread evenly.
• 02Lay sliced onion rings and crushed garlic in the white ceramic Le Creuset roasting dish. Chicken on top, skin side up. Spice rub massaged all over every surface outside. Squeeze of lime over everything.
• 03200°C, uncovered, 60 minutes. Pierce the thigh at 60 minutes, juices should run clear.

The beans · at 19:00

• —Diced onion and sliced garlic in olive oil, medium heat, five minutes. Cumin and piment d’Espelette in, one minute. Tin of beans drained and in. A good spoonful of jalapeños with their brine. Squeeze of lime, salt. Low heat, lid on. More jalapeños on the table.

The rice · at 19:30

• —Rinse until the water runs clear. Absorption method, one part rice to one and a half parts water, lid on, 12 minutes. Off the heat, lid stays on. Lime zest and juice stirred through just before serving.

The corn · at 19:45

• —Kernels cut from the cob into a hot pan with butter, piment d’Espelette, squeeze of lime, salt. Five minutes until slightly caramelised at the edges. Chives snipped over at the end.

The lime crema · at 19:45

• —Crème fraîche, lime juice and zest, pinch of piment d’Espelette, salt. Stir and set aside. Goes over everything.

La Revanche

• Nick grumbled at the idea of a Mexican dinner. He is Canadian, which is not the same as French, but he was in France, eating French chicken, on a holiday that celebrates the defeat of France, so the distinction felt academic. The cook is American. He does not require permission to observe Cinco de Mayo in Nice. The chicken went in at 18:30.
• The herb butter is French. The spice rub is Mexican. The bird is the negotiated peace between two cuisines that have never actually been at war, mediated by an American in a villa on Mont Boron on a rainy Tuesday in May. It is the most diplomatic thing to come out of this kitchen.
• The corn was number two. The rice and beans were so great. The chicken was incontrovertible.
• It is hard to say exactly what role the cerveza and tequila played in arriving at that particular word. The evening doesn’t require an audit. Mexico won. Again. The cook is pleased.
• By the time the plates were cleared the rain had gone. The windows were open. Nice was 21°C and entirely itself again. The evening had no complaints.

Si Baba Goon Bub

Épicerie · Boucher · Nice · 79.16€ · For two · Ascension Thursday · First rack of lamb

What to buy · Chez le boucher

• Carré d’agneau · 1 rackUn carré d’agneau pour deux personnes, s’il vous plaît. · Pouvez-vous le préparer et le manchonner? French the bones. Et pouvez-vous quadriller le gras? Score the fat cap in a crosshatch.

À l'épicerie

• Champignons · mixedBrown and white. A generous handful.
• Asperges · 1 bunchSnapped and ready.
• Charlotte potatoes · 600gPommes à gratin if they ask. La variété pour ne pas se tromper.
• Crème liquide · 300ml30cl. For the dauphinoise.
• Gruyère ou ComtéA good handful, grated.
• Moutarde de DijonGenerous. Though next time, less generous.
• Citron · 1

From home

• Romarin fraisFresh rosemary from the garden. The same plant that went on the Weber coals for Fumée et Safran.
• Thym séchéDried thyme from the spice rack. Fine for a dauphinoise. Nobody will know.
• Ail · garlicThroughout. In the cream, in the dish, pressed into the lamb, in the mushrooms.
• Beurre Le Gall · unsaltedThe best thing on the shelf. Gold foil, high fat, Breton. Grand Cru on the label means the cream was selected and cultured before churning.
• Huile d’olive, sel, noix de muscade

The dauphinoise · begin at 15:30

• 01Peel and slice the Charlottes 2mm thin on a mandoline. Do not rinse. The starch binds the gratin.
• 02Warm 300ml cream gently with one garlic clove sliced thin, a pinch of dried thyme, salt, a pinch of nutmeg. Infuse ten minutes off the heat.
• 03Butter the gratin dish generously. Rub with a halved garlic clove. Layer the potato rounds overlapping like roof tiles, seasoning each layer with salt and thyme, scattering garlic through. Pour the warm cream slowly over everything. Gruyère generously on top. Cover with foil.
• 04Into the oven at 160°C at 16:00. 45 minutes covered. Foil off, oven to 180°C, 20 to 30 minutes uncovered until deeply golden and a knife goes through with no resistance. Out at roughly 18:45. Holds warm covered on the counter for 30 minutes while the lamb takes the oven.

The lamb · out of the fridge at 18:00

• —Score the fat cap in a crosshatch, not deep, just through the fat. Dijon mustard all over every surface. Crushed garlic pressed in. Rosemary stripped and chopped fine. Dried thyme. Olive oil. Salt. Leave at room temperature for at least 90 minutes.

The sear · 19:05

• —Cast iron on the highest heat until almost smoking. Fat side down first, two to three minutes until golden. It will release naturally when it’s ready. Meat side, one minute. Straight into the 200°C oven, bones pointing up, fat side up. Timer for 18 minutes for pink and blushing at the centre.

The mushrooms · 19:15

• —Same cast iron, the lamb fat still in it. Butter in, let it foam. Mushrooms cut side down, leave them alone for three to four minutes until they colour. Garlic and thyme in, toss gently. Three to four more minutes until dark and fragrant. Salt at the end.

The asparagus · 19:20

• —Boiling salted water. Three to four minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain, olive oil, lemon, flaky salt. Next time: a garlic clove in the water. Nick noticed.

The carve · 19:28

• —Lamb out. Tent loosely with foil. Rest ten minutes. Then between each bone, one clean cut per rib. The rest is the plate.

On Ascension Thursday

• Today is the fortieth day after Easter, the day the church marks the ascension of Christ into heaven. In France it is a jour férié, which means the schools close and the offices close and the country makes the bridge to the weekend if it possibly can. The markets are reduced. The bells ring from the church down the hill.
• France stripped the flesh from its Catholic calendar in 1789 and kept only the bones. A poet named Fabre d’Églantine renamed the months after what was actually happening outside. May became Floéral, the month of flowers. He was guillotined before he saw it abolished. Napoleon brought back January in 1806 because the rest of Europe had not followed France into that particular experiment.
• The bells are still ringing. The rosemary came from the garden. The rack of lamb is pink and blushing at the centre and smells of mustard and thyme and the fat rendered in a cast iron pan. The dauphinoise crust is not a beginner’s crust.
• This was the first rack of lamb cooked in this kitchen. It will not be the last.

Les Charlotte Rescapées

La Corne d’Or · Nice · Nick’s treat · For two · The bonus potatoes find their purpose

What to buy · La Corne d'Or · 98 Corniche André de Joly

• Tranches de gigot d’agneauLamb shank steaks. Cross cut. Two generous pieces.
• Chimichurri marinade · maisonFrom the butcher. Do not attempt to replicate it. Just ask for it.

On La Corne d'Or

• Maître artisan boucherie traiteur on the Corniche André de Joly. Direct from producers, circuit court, everything made in house. The chimichurri is theirs. The quality is theirs. The result is yours.

From home

• Charlotte potatoesThe survivors from the dauphinoise surplus. Already boiled. Waiting in the fridge since Thursday.
• Haricots vertsGreen beans. A generous handful. Topped and tailed.
• Romarin fraisFresh rosemary from the garden. Stripped and chopped.
• Sel fuméSmoked salt. For the top of the potatoes.
• Huile d’olive, sel, poivre

The rescued Charlottes

• —Already boiled from the dauphinoise surplus. Smash each one flat on a sheet pan. Olive oil generously over every cut surface. Fresh rosemary scattered over. Smoked salt. 220°C, 25 minutes. Do not touch them. The smoked salt and the rosemary will caramelise at the edges and the cut surfaces will go golden and deeply crisp. These potatoes have been waiting for this moment since Thursday.

The lamb shank steaks · on the charcoal

• 01Marinated in La Corne d’Or’s chimichurri. Out of the fridge 30 minutes before the coals are ready.
• 02Coals to white and glowing, 40 minutes. Direct heat. Steaks on, 6 to 8 minutes per side. The chimichurri will char and caramelise at the edges. Don’t walk away. Flip when the colour creeps up the sides.
• 03Off the grill. Rest 5 minutes. Fresh parsley scattered over.

The green beans

• —Boiling salted water. Three to four minutes until bright green and just tender. Drain, olive oil, salt. Alongside.

Les Charlotte Rescapées

• These potatoes began as dauphinoise on Ascension Thursday. What remained was too good to waste and not enough for a gratin. They sat in the fridge for two days, waiting.
• On Saturday evening they went onto a sheet pan with rosemary from the garden and smoked salt and olive oil and twenty five minutes at 220°C. They came out golden and crispy and smelling of the same herb that had been on the lamb rack two nights before.
• Nick’s verdict on the plate arrived in order of enthusiasm. They’re crispy. They’re delicious. They’re potatoes. The lamb went unmentioned. His mouth was full. The beans received one word. The potatoes received three sentences.
• The meal ended. The plates were cleared. He was still talking about it. That is the moment.

Le Labyrinthe

Grand Frais · Cagnes-sur-Mer · 86.26€ · For three · Maeght in the afternoon · Charcoal in the evening

What to buy · Grand Frais · 119 Avenue des Alpes · Cagnes-sur-Mer

• Brochettes · assortedBeef, chicken, lamb. Already marinated. 44.10€. Ask for three kinds and trust them completely.

Le potager

• Courgettes zéphyrThe striped ones if they have them. Sliced lengthways into planks.
• Courgette blanche · 1Same treatment.
• Aubergine violette · 1Sliced into rounds. Source carefully. A bad one cannot be saved by fire.
• Poivrons · 1kgLarge red. Halved and seeded.
• Tomates grappeVine tomatoes. Halved, cut side down on the grill. 2 to 3 minutes only.
• Cébettes · 2 bunchesSpring onions. Left whole. For the calçot char. These are the star of the grill.
• Persil lisse et friséBoth. For finishing everything.
• Fraises France · 750gThe best ones in the box.
• Charlotte potatoes · 1.4kgPDT four purée pot on the receipt. Boil first, smash, roast.

Le fromager

• Crème fraîche épaisseFor the strawberries.

From home

• Romarin fraisFrom the garden. For the potatoes.
• Sel fuméSmoked salt. Over everything as it comes off the grill.
• FetaCrumbled over the warm grilled vegetables. Nick’s instinct. Correct.
• Vinaigre balsamique vieilliAged balsamic. A few drops over the strawberries only. Not a drizzle.
• Huile d’olive, Maldon, ail

The wine

• La Roque · Marne Brune Miocène · Malbec 2023Fabien Jouves. Terroir du Causse. Biodynamique. One of the serious natural wine producers in the Cahors appellation. Ancient marine sediment under the vines.
• Haute Vigne · 2021 · Vin de FranceA. Gallety négociant. La Montagne. Saint-Montan. Southern Ardèche.

The potatoes · start the moment you walk in

• 01Into well-salted boiling water. 15 to 20 minutes until a knife slides through. Drain. Back into the hot pot on low heat, no water, until completely steam dry. This matters. Wet potato is the enemy of a crispy smash.
• 02Spread on a tray to cool. When cool, smash each one flat with the bottom of a glass. Generous olive oil over every cut surface. Fresh rosemary. Smoked salt. 220°C, 25 minutes. Do not touch them.

The brochettes · on the charcoal

• —Coals lit 40 minutes before dinner. White and glowing before anything goes on. Brochettes out of the fridge 30 minutes before the coals are ready.
• 01Beef · highest heat · 3 to 4 minutes per side · the marinade will char at the edges · don’t walk away.
• 02Chicken · slightly cooler part of the grill · 4 to 5 minutes per side · check the centre · no pink.
• 03Lamb · direct heat · 3 to 4 minutes per side · pull when just blushing inside.
• 04Rest all three under foil 5 minutes. Parsley scattered over.

The grilled vegetables

• —Everything oiled and salted before they go on. Grill after the brochettes come off, the coals slightly lower now, which is exactly right.
• 01Cébettes first · whole · 4 to 5 minutes · blackened outside, sweet within · the calçot move.
• 02Poivrons and courgettes · 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• 03Aubergine · same, if the aubergine is good. Source it carefully.
• 04Tomates · cut side down · 2 to 3 minutes only.
• 05Everything off the grill onto a warm platter. Smoked salt immediately. Olive oil. Torn parsley. Feta crumbled over the top while still warm.

The strawberries

• —Sliced, sugared, left to sit until the juices run. A squeeze of lemon. Into bowls. A generous spoon of crème fraîche. A few drops of aged balsamic over the cream. The balsamic and the strawberry juice will bleed together at the edges. That’s the whole dessert.

Le Labyrinthe

• The Fondation Maeght sits above Saint-Paul-de-Vence on a hill that looks like it was put there for the purpose. Josep Lluís Sert designed it in 1964, a Catalan architect in exile after the Spanish Civil War, a close friend of Miró and Calder and the whole circle that Aimé Maeght had gathered around him. Sert understood that the building and the garden were the same thing. You don’t visit the Fondation Maeght. You move through it. The Miró Labyrinth is the proof: ceramic sculptures tucked into the paths, no single route, no right way. You find what you find in the order you happen to find it.
• The plan for dinner was a butterflied leg of lamb, romesco from scratch, calçots properly charred. The dinner that happened was brochettes from La Corne d’Or, jarred romesco improved with sherry vinegar, spring onions doing the calçot work. Every substitution led somewhere better than the original intention.
• The labyrinth and the dinner are the same story. You don’t find the right way. You find a way. And it turns out to be right.
• Javier named the entry Brochette. He was there for all of it, the foundation and the garden and the evening and the grill. He said he was happy all around. He said the grilled vegetables won. He did not elaborate on the eggplant.
• The laughter made it worth recording. That’s the whole entry.