<a target="_blank" href="http://vincentcuisinierdecampagne.blogspot.com/">Restaurant La Galottière</a>

19 Rue de la Galottière,&nbsp;37140 Ingrandes-de-Touraine,&nbsp;France

<a target="_blank">+33 2 47 96 17 21</a>&nbsp;

When I am travelling in winegrowing
regions, I generally do not look to Michelin for restaurant guidance. I talk to
the local producers. They know firsthand whose popularity is waning, whose star
is ascendant and, most importantly, who are the new chefs in the region. On my
first day on the Loire to research <a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/articles/loire-valley-cabernet-franc-dec-2014">my
recent article on Cabernet Franc</a>, I was surprised to hear every winemaker mentioning
the same cook, a gentleman they all just called Vincent. No family name, merely
Vincent. More soberly, he calls himself only ‘cuisinier de campagne’, or country
cook. Some admirers have already found another moniker, Chef of Mother Earth.

His real name is Vincent
Simon. With his wife, Olivia, he once ran a very successful and highly
acclaimed restaurant near Liege in Belgium, but was tired of the grind of managing
such a large operation. So they sold it and opened a much smaller place in
Ingrandes-en-Touraine, a little village a half hour’s drive west of Tours on
the border of the appellation of Bourgueil. The at most fifteen guests that
they receive each evening are comfortably seated in the living room of an old
manor house that once belonged to a family of winemakers. The ducks, geese and
chickens that are served spend their days scratching, pecking and crooning in
the nearby vineyards, but sleep at night in the property’s lovely stone barns,
as do a warren of rabbits. It is like those long ago dinners on grandmother’s farm.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1419378248227-Vincent+Exterior+Shot+article.JPG"> 

Everything
here is charming, serene and, most importantly for Vincent Simon, in harmony with
nature. While the surrounding meadows curve softly into the hillocks, the Loire
runs its course below. The air is pure and the clouds waft on the horizon at
sunset. His goal is to turn the earth into music. All of the vegetables come
from his own gardens. The free-range eggs are the base not only for pastry,
croissants and wafers, but also ice cream and ‘oeufs en meurette’. The poultry will
eventually end up in the oven. “I intend,” he says, “to offer only the finest chicken
to my customers. All of the animals have had the freedom to roam.”<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1419378013741-Vincent+Chickens+in+Vineyard.JPG"> Chickens roaming freely about the vineyards

I was lucky enough to have had
the opportunity to dine here with friends on my third evening in the region. At
the five spacious tables, we were only thirteen guests. Harvest had only ended
the night before, but it was already cold and wet, so we enjoyed a winter’s
menu, which included amongst many other delights a delicate aspic of chicken
and lentils, a basted pie of fresh bream from the Loire, a stuffed goose
terrine in its own juice and a confit of pig’s cheek with parsnip.&nbsp;After an enticing&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;q=2012+Vouvray+Clos+Baudoin+">2012 Vouvray Clos Baudoin</a> from François Chidaine and the still incredibly youthful&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;q=2011+Bourgueil+Grand+Mont+">2011 Bourgueil Grand Mont</a> from Domaine de la Chevalerie, we finished the evening on&nbsp;Yannick Amirault’s&nbsp;superb 2005 <a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/wines?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;search-filter=reviews&amp;q=2005+Bourgueil+La+Petite+Cave">Bourgueil La Petite Cave</a>, which one of my guests described poetically as “reminiscent of a forest after a rainstorm.”<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1419378036362-Vincent+Goose+Terrine.JPG"> Stuffed goose terrine in its own juice 

Simon has already bought an additional few acres nearby where he hopes
to run his own pigs, sheep and perhaps even a few cows. Moreover, he now has a
few rows of vine whose fermented fruit will one day be served by the glass. The
wine list is only local and includes not only the well-known estates, but also those
from friends that he has cultivated in or near Bourgueil who share his ideals. There is much talk today among locovores about restaurants like Noma in
Copenhagen or Fäviken in northern Sweden, but once an establishment becomes too
famous it often loses a touch of its luster. Vincent Simon has only been open since
June of 2013, so it’s not too late to enjoy the original thrill. That is what I
did! Being a bit solipsistic, I went back all alone the next day between my last
morning’s appointment and the first in the afternoon for their luncheon menu,
which cost only €18. With this quality of fresh ingredients at that price, it
is hardly surprising that La Galottière is generally booked out long in
advance. To borrow a phrase from Michelin, Chez Vincent is certainly worth a
detour for any gourmet travelling along the Loire.--Joel B. Payne

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