Picnic Lunches
On an Original Escape, your Upland Manager will provide you with a healthy, varied and nutritionally balanced deli-style packed-lunch, freshly made every day.
A wide selection of locally produced and often organic fruits and vegetables, meats and cheeses, bread, grains and pulses will be used, giving you the opportunity to really savour the flavours of the Mercantour. Try cured ham from the village butcher, cheeses from local farmers, delicious salads of seasonal vegetables, fresh fruit and home-baked fruit tarts.
If you have chosen a No-Frills Hosted Escape, you will find a wide choice of delicious picnic ingredients available to buy in the nearby town of Guillaumes, as well as local specialities from St Martin’s tiny village shop.
Evening Meals
Jean Louis’ passion is cooking – there have been chefs in his family for generations – and the menus at the Hotel La Vallière reflect his love affair with the local cuisine and the influences of Nice. Seasonal vegetables, with fresh tomatoes, courgettes and peppers featuring strongly, complement local lamb (gigot d’agneau), rabbit, game and veal. Autumn is mushroom season, and Jean-Louis heads out with a basket to gather the sanguin, which grow only under conifers.
Proximity to the former border with Italy is revealed in a selection of local pasta specialities – the best is pumpkin ravioli in walnut sauce. Marvellous local cheeses, cow, ewe and goat, are sourced direct from nearby farms. There are a number of good restaurants within 20 minutes drive of St Martin. This area of France is of course famous for its rosé wines, light, crisp and endlessly adaptable.
