Juan-les-Pins: Viva Llorca

The pretty beach town of Juan-les-Pins has been an important incubator for gastronomic talent—Alain Ducasse started his climb to fame from the kitchens of the Hôtel Juana here, and more recently so did Christian Morisset, who is now at Le Figuier de Saint-Esprit in Antibes. This summer, true to form, I’m predicting it will lay claim to the hottest new table on the Riviera—La Passagère, in the Hôtel Belles Rives, just taken over by brilliant chef Alain Llorca.

Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald once frolicked at the Belles Rive, which has long had one of the loveliest if most unsung seaside terraces in the south of France. Now, after leaving the Moulin de Mougins and closing his Café in Vallauris, Llorca has set up shop in this terrific spot.

I’ve been a huge fan of Llorca’s ever since I first tasted his cooking at the Chantecler, at the Hôtel Négresco in Nice when he was head chef there in the late 1990s. He has a unique ability to be earthy and refined at once, and beyond a wonderfully playful gastronomic imagination, his signature is a very personal take on Mediterranean cuisine that includes Spanish (his parents are of Catalan origin), Italian and southern French input.

Given the restaurant’s prime location overlooking La Grande Bleue, it’s no surprise that locally caught seafood has pride of place on Llorca’s new menu. Llorca says he intends to change his menu often, inspired by the catch of the day and the best seasonal Provençal produce. A sampling of his winter menu gives a tantalizing preview of summer pleasures to come: A first course of foie gras was prepared in two ways—in a terrine with a green tomato chutney and steamed with a garnish of capers and Swiss chard. Delicate artichoke ravioli were served with Iberian ham and truffles; and stuffed oven-roasted Mediterranean sea bass, with an exquisite sauce of its cooking juices, came with a royale of potatoes spiked with Espelette pepper.

Llorca is now also masterminding the kitchen at Café Juana in Hôtel Juana, the sister hotel of the Belles Rives, just a short walk away. His Café menu is simpler and less expensive, including such dishes as artichoke and asparagus risotto with white truffles and rack of lamb roasted in an olive crust.

La Passagère d’Alain Llorca, Hôtel Belles Rives, 33 blvd Edouard Baudoin, Juan-les-Pins, 04.93.61.02.79. €70 per person without wine

Café Juana, Hôtel Juana, 19 ave Gallice, Juan-les-Pins, 04.93.61.08.70. €50 per person without wine

Originally published in the May 2009 issue of France Today

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