Photos from top: 1. Jean-Jacques Prévôt (in hat) and his kitchen brigade. 2, 6, 8, 9: Seth and Allison ordered the 85€ tasting menu, a tsunami of dishes which included all the plates you see here...and much more. 3. The restaurant is celebrating its 31st anniversary in Cavaillon. 7. Portrait of a Restaurant Family: Jean-Jacques; his daughter Sandra Rose and his wife, Sylviane. 10. Melons figure prominently in the decor. 11. Allison and Sandra Rose talk food in the kitchen. 12. Each season, Jean-Jacques creates a ''burger'' from seasonal ingredients other than beef. The burgers are available to go.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Restaurant Prévôt: Melon Crazy in Cavaillon
Last
summer, my Brooklyn, New York-based friend Seth Unger visited Provence for the
first time...and I’m sure it won’t be his last. He and his family loved every
moment: the wedding they attended, their hotel, the landscape, the food
and wine. But one restaurant stood out and knowing how foodie
Seth is, I wanted to hear all about it; what he sent appears below. But first, a bit about Seth: He grew up in Miami Beach
and ran the switchboard at the Royal Palm, the hotel his great grandfather built in 1939. In
1993 he met his wife, Allison,
while attending Columbia University in New York. Seth went on to run an indie
label, work in the fight against AIDS and do web design. In 2001, he
joined Mike Bloomberg's Mayoral campaign in New York City and, after the
victory, worked in the Mayor's Office where he created NYC TV, Channel 25, in 2003. Four years later, he quit
to be a stay-at-home dad to his new twin daughters, now 5. In 2009, Hamburger
expert and filmmaker George Motz convinced Seth to help him with the NYC Food Film Festival, which they later brought to Chicago as well.
In 2011, Seth's company, Food * Films * America, launched its first iPhone app, Burger GPS, which locates great burgers all over America. Today,
Seth continues to expand the Food Film Festival series and consults. To reach
him, you can email him, follow
him on Twitter, find him on Facebook or follow his blog
Condimented. And here’s Seth’s review!
From the moment you step
through the door of Restaurant Prevot,
you’ll know that this chef really
likes melon. You’ll see melon paintings, melon topiaries, melon sculptures...
and all sorts of melony provisions in the mini melon boutique next to the
entrance. But this is no tourist trap. Quite the reverse: it’s a destination
restaurant drawing foodies from all over who know the stellar reputation of
chef/owner Jean-Jacques Prévôt. For 30 years, Jean-Jacques has been unfailingly
dedicated to promoting the local produce, crafting inventive dishes and
infusing the restaurant with his hospitality and warmth. Chances are you’ll be
greeted by Jean-Jacques' daughter Sandra Rose, who oversees the dining room and
loves to chat. Sylviane Prévôt, Jean-Jacques’ wife, works in the kitchen.
Menus are created around
seasonal locally sourced ingredients: asparagus from March to May, mushrooms in
October and November, game in December and so forth.
But the most important menu,
the one for which the chef is known, is the melon-based menu of summer. Cavaillon is the melon capital of Europe;
Cavaillon melons are the little ones with dark green stripes, known to be
incredibly sweet. Jean-Jacques
offers two Melon Tasting Menus (58€ or 69€, depending on the number of courses)
and a full à la carte menu (melon and non-melon dishes priced
€24 to €35.) The lunchtime three-course
prix fixe, which changes weekly, is €26—a good deal. In summer, Jean-Jacques
offers "Le Mac Prévôt," a ‘burger’ that contains no chopped beef, but
rather roasted foie gras, parmesan,
fried onions, chopped artichoke salad, lettuce and melon ketchup. The ‘’burgers’’ change with
the seasons too: In fall they’re made from mushroom and pumpkin; in winter from
black truffle; in spring from asparagus. And yes, the burgers are available for
takeout!
But the restaurant also offers a
degustation called the Menu Carte Blanche, for 85€ (or 115€ with four glasses
of wine). And since it was the height of melon season, and we had a hunch
there’d be lots of melon on it...we went for it. My wife and I are both melon
maniacs.
First came glasses of a sweet
homemade melon spirit called Melanis, served on hand-crushed ice. Then, a small
plate of mini treats: asparagus quiche with Kalamata olives, fresh melon balls
and more. Next was an edible spoon tapenade with a cup of rabbit confit with
fennel tempura. That was followed by a fritter and melon plate, and and a
fricassee of fried prawns and melon (which tasted, they told me, like beef
stew).
Then came fish and veal loin (with caramelized melon sauce), then
something called a Picnic Invitation: a gingham pouch sealed with a clothespin
and inside it, a small sandwich of goat cheese, rosemary, vegetables and melon
marmalade. The pre-dessert was a pineapple mango soufflé (hot and buttery on
the bottom, with toasted almonds on top). And the real dessert? A trio composed
of a bourbon milk shake, a strawberry-banana mille feuille and a pear-citrus sorbet. And as though we might
still be hungry (!), the chef finally sent out a tray of petits-fours.
Restaurant Prévôt is one of those rare
experiences that transports you to another place...the flavors, the creativity,
the hospitality. It may be the only restaurant in the world that serves an all
melon menu, executed to perfection to boot.
After the meal, Jean-Jacques
said to me "Partage La Passion!" meaning we share the passion for food.
And I say: I’ll never visit Provence without a trip to Prévôt!
Restaurant Prévôt's Melon
Menu and melon dishes are served from May through the end of September, as long
as the fruit is in its prime. The restaurant also offers cooking classes; see the
website for details. Restaurant Prévôt, 353 Avenue Verdun, Cavaillon, France, tel +33 (0)4 90 71 32 43. The website is here and you can email them: contact@restaurant-prevot.com. Prévôt is also on Twitter and Facebook.
Photos from top: 1. Jean-Jacques Prévôt (in hat) and his kitchen brigade. 2, 6, 8, 9: Seth and Allison ordered the 85€ tasting menu, a tsunami of dishes which included all the plates you see here...and much more. 3. The restaurant is celebrating its 31st anniversary in Cavaillon. 7. Portrait of a Restaurant Family: Jean-Jacques; his daughter Sandra Rose and his wife, Sylviane. 10. Melons figure prominently in the decor. 11. Allison and Sandra Rose talk food in the kitchen. 12. Each season, Jean-Jacques creates a ''burger'' from seasonal ingredients other than beef. The burgers are available to go.
Photos from top: 1. Jean-Jacques Prévôt (in hat) and his kitchen brigade. 2, 6, 8, 9: Seth and Allison ordered the 85€ tasting menu, a tsunami of dishes which included all the plates you see here...and much more. 3. The restaurant is celebrating its 31st anniversary in Cavaillon. 7. Portrait of a Restaurant Family: Jean-Jacques; his daughter Sandra Rose and his wife, Sylviane. 10. Melons figure prominently in the decor. 11. Allison and Sandra Rose talk food in the kitchen. 12. Each season, Jean-Jacques creates a ''burger'' from seasonal ingredients other than beef. The burgers are available to go.
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Bonjour. This sounds like a wonderful restaurant. Nothing says "summer" or "le Midi" to me more than a melon de Cavaillon. They are so sweet and juicy! There is a local French chef in Seattle named Thierry Rautureau (of "Rover's" fame.) He is known as "The Chef in the Hat," and he and Jean-Jacques Prevot could be twins! :-) Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love Cavaillon melons, so this sounds like a great place to place on the 'to go' list!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteSo funny to ready this post...we are heading over to Provence (Lourmarin) this afternoon and have this restaurant on our list of places to go because I thought I would write about it on my blog!
I am thoroughly enjoying my exploration of your blog!
Dear Julie,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this article inspired trip Seth.
This is a wonderful story about our restaurant.
See you in Cavaillon
Sandra-Rose Prévôt
Sandra,
DeleteCan't wait to return!
-Seth