Best of France This Weekend in NYC

This weekend, Times Square in Manhattan will be transformed into a huge French marketplace called Best of France.

The September 26 and 27 event is organized by the non-profit group of the same name, whose purpose is to promote the image of France and "French expertise and savoir-faire" abroad. The event is presented in conjunction with Atout France.

Entrance to Best of France is free, but tickets must be purchased for special events such as the VIP Opening Night Reception and the Grand Wine Tastings presented by top NYC sommeliers. 

Event exhibitors and programs are organized by themes: Cuisine, Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Culture, Technology and Innovation.  

The list of exhibitors and sponsors includes Air France, Back-Roads, Club Med, Clarins, Croisi Europe, Delta, Diptyque, Galeries Lafayette, Laguiole, Lancome, Le Boat, L'Oreal, Moulin Rouge, Parfums de France, RailEurope, Sofitel, Tartine et Chocolat, Valrhona, YSL and many more. The cities of Cannes, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris will be on hand, as will regional tourist offices (Bordeaux/Aquitaine, the Rhône Alpes the Midi-Pyrénées, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, etc.) and the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The full exhibitor list is here.

At the Inauguration on Saturday at 11 am (Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets), 130 French and American kids will be unraveling huge US and French flags. Following the two national anthems, they'll also unravel the largest “marinière” (the iconic striped, knitted sweater) in the world. How large you ask? It's  22' long by 44' wide.

The show highlights are listed here. On the Culinary Stage all weekend, chefs--including Christian Tetedoie, Eric Kayser, Michel Bras and others--will be doing demos.

On the main stage (Times Square at 46th St.), Francophone singers and French artists (such as 16 Moulin Rouge dancers, a first in NYC) will perform. Other offerings include art exhibits, a French book store, book signings, fashion shows on a 45-foot runway, a kids fashion show casting call, live demos by French craftsmen making artisanal products, a French market and "bistro areas."

Volunteers are still needed and can compete to win a trip to Paris; info on volunteering is here. 

The public is invited to enter to win a week in luxury rental in Chamonix (with a six-day ski pass) and a week-long French river cruise. Anyone can enter...you don't have to attend the event to win...just fill out the form here.

For all the details, visit the Best of France website here...and follow them on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and Pinterest.

An Artist Blossoms in St. Remy

Born on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, Willy Dabriou was raised in Paris and came down to Provence to study art in Avignon. He settled in St. Remy in 1996. I've known Willy for years: he and his partner, Cornelius Alsen, have a thriving home-rental and management business here and are involved in lots of local activities. I see them at parties, gallery openings, concerts--and even once bumped into them on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. I knew Willy was a world traveler with a particular passion for North Africa. But I only found out recently that, trapped inside, was a talented artist just dying to bust out. (He also sings beautifully--but that's a story for another day.)

About a year ago, Willy finally gave in to the artistic urge and started making jewelry: beautiful one-of-a-kind necklaces and bracelets crafted from shells, exotic beads, buttons, mother of pearl and more. Then came handbags, belts and the Moroccan-style slippers known as baboushes. Word began to spread and people began to buy. So Willy converted a guest-house on his own property into a workshop and showroom, which is open to the public for the next few weeks. Here you'll find necklaces starting at 35€, belts priced at 35€, funky and fun wool hats and a few gorgeous calfskin handbags (including one draped in skunk pelts, which Willy pronounces skoonk). The selection changes just about every day as new pieces are finished. Custom orders are welcome so if you have a favorite outfit missing that certain something, bring it in or send Willy a photo and he'll create the perfect accessory.

Each time he has a large number of new creations, Willy stages a fashion show, complete with gorgeous models, great music, Champagne, a red carpet and a motorcycle (no fashion show should be without one!). Drop Willy an email and he'll add you to the invite list.

Willy's studio and showroom will be open to the public until January 13th so feel free to drop in. You'll know you're in the right place when you see the blue-hatted mannequin at the gate. If nothing else, you'll make a new friend: a charming and talented designer who had the courage to follow his bliss and transform his passion into an exciting new profession.

Willy Dabriou

#4, rue Emile Daillan

St.-Remy-de-Provence

06-26-57-18-10

willydabrioukreations.com

willy@dabriou.fr

Photos: Willy set up the mannequin to make it easy to find his studio on his residential street; Willy's serene workshop overlooks the garden; a sampling from the newest "Afro-Glam" collection; the letters on the wall out front stand for Willy Dabriou Kreations; dusk falls on the garden, done up for the holidays.

A Garden Grows on St. Barts

I’ve spent lots of time in the Caribbean and the French island of St. Barts remains one of my all-time favorites. So when my friend James Jondreau told me he was on his way there, I asked him to keep an eye out for juicy news. James is a chef and serious Francophile who splits his time between New York and the Hamptons. “But if I had my way,” he says, “I’d definitely add St. Barts to that list!” On his last trip, James was lucky enough to stay at the very-tony Le Toiny, where he found an interesting story right under his feet: a chef who’s growing his own produce despite some very strong odds. For more about James, visit his blog CafeJondreau.com or email him at jajondreau@gmail.com. Meanwhile, here's what he wanted to share.

Local is an oxymoron on the chic French island of St. Barts, where virtually all the food arrives by plane from Guadeloupe or France. The tiny island is known as "the St. Tropez of the Caribbean" and its grand super marche is stocked with French cheese, pâté and aisles of Champagne. Nothing grows on the rocky island and there is zero agriculture. So for Hotel Le Toiny executive chef Stéphane Mazières to have a garden, like so many other chefs these days, seemed about as likely as winning the lottery. 

But when Guy Lombard arrived at the five-star Le Toiny three years ago as the new manager, Mazières’ dream began to take shape.

“Growing up in France, my parents always had a vegetable garden,” Guy explains. Later he oversaw the garden at Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson’s hotel in the Atlas Mountains near Marrakesh. Despite being told repeatedly that nothing would thrive on St. Barts, Guy decided to give a shot. He was determined to keep food costs under control and to improve the quality and supply of herbs and vegetables for Mazières’ exquisitely beautiful presentations.

Together they decide what to grow. Le Toiny sits high on a hill and has a little land leading to a beach where coconut palms once grew and enriched the soil. Rather than the typical glass-enclosed temperature-controlled greenhouses, the duo went with green cylindrical tents commonly known as hoop houses or hoop-style greenhouses. The temperature hovers around 80 degrees in St. Barts year round, so the tents provide protection from the intense sun--and from the ubiquitous, voracious iguanas.

Guy started with one greenhouse and today has three; one is hydroponic and all are organic. They yield a wide range of produce, including tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers and herbs such as basil, coriander and chervil. Le Toiny’s “garden” now supplies 80% of the restaurant’s herbs and about 30% of the vegetables.

“It definitely save some money,” Guy reports, “but locally we also play an education role as we have school children come over for educational projects such as biodiversity.”

Le Toiny, with 15 private bungalows, is one of the most-exclusive properties on St. Barts.  The island has nearly five dozen restaurants--most of them French--and Le Toiny’s Le Gaïac is considered among the very best.  Mazières was named a Relais & Châteaux Grand Chef in 2010, the only one in North America that year.

If you’re a foodie, you might want to know about Le Toiny’s new Bon Vivant package, good from March 1 to December 19, 2012. The promo includes a four-night stay in an ocean-view villa with private pool and terrace, two one-hour spa treatments, meals at some of the island’s premiere culinary venues and a 90-minute class at Absolutely Wine, a new wine bar and school. The Bon Vivant package also includes round trip airport transfers, a convertible SMART car and breakfast daily. For more info on Le Toiny, click here.

If you’re planning a trip to St. Barts this winter, here are some events that might appeal. There will be a traditional Christmas Village (December 19 to 23, 2011), with a European-style market and festivities at the harbor in Gustavia. The annual New Year’s Eve Regatta (December 31, 2011) is a “just-for-fun” sail around the island, open to visiting and local boats alike. The St. Sylvester New Year’s Celebration (December 31, 2011) offers live music throughout the evening and fireworks on the docks at midnight. And the St. Bart’s MusicFestival (Jan 7 to 19, 2012) features top classical, opera, ballet and jazz. For more info on the island and its events, click here. 

And whether you’re already a fan of St. Barts or just dreaming of visiting one day, you may want to check out this gorgeous book: In the Spirit of St. Barths by Pamela Fiori, published in April, 2011 by Assouline. You can order it from the publisher here.

Photos: Le Toiny chef Stéphane Mazières; one of Le Toiny's three hoop-style greenhouses; grilled filet of turbot, with home-grown zucchini, oyster tartar, and lemongrass sauce; all Le Toiny villas have private pools like this one; the hotel's private beach.  

New Boutique Hotel on the Île de Ré

OK so this this has nothing to do with Provence...but it's new and sounds extremely inviting so I thought you'd like to know. The owners of the 20-room Hôtel de Toiras, a Relais & Châteaux and the first five-star hotel on the tiny island of Île de Ré, opened a sister property last week: the nine-room Villa Clarisse. The two hotels are just a short stroll from each other. And guess what? Pierre-Yves Rochon did the interiors. He's the very-fancy French designer who did some of the most-famous hotels in the world, including the Four Seasons Georges V, the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo and the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat, to name just a few. 

Villa Clarisse occupies a beautiful 17th-century house in the heart of the port of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Charente-Maritime. Surrounded by 17th century fortifications, Saint-Martin-de-Ré is a sliver of land jutting into the Atlantic, 19 miles from La Rochelle. La Rochelle, in turn, is just off the Atlantic Coast roughly halfway between Nantes and Bordeaux. The Île de Ré has been linked to La Rochelle by a 1.8 mile bridge since 1988 and is known for its wonderful beaches, biking, hiking, forests, salt marshes and more. 

All Villa Clarisse guest rooms are a minimum of 30 square meters. All feature original, working fireplaces and views over Saint-Martin. The hotel has a heated, open-air pool (open year round), a hammam and a spa with treatment rooms set within the hotel gardens. 

Villa Clarisse serves breakfast, tea and light meals during the day. Guests are encouraged to eat their main meals at La Table d’Olivia in the Hôtel de Toiras where the modern French cuisine of exec chef Thierry Bouhier is enhanced by a consulting arrangement with the Michelin two-star  restaurant Coutanceau in La Rochelle. The seasonal menu changes daily. Guests may book gastronomy packages that include lunch at Coutanceau and dinner at La Table d’Olivia.

Rooms at Villa Clarisse start at €175. Their website may not be fully operational yet but you can try it here. To reserve, go to the Hotel de Toiras website here.