Verge: Wild and Infinite Skill

Roger Vergé’s menu, probably the most expensive of all, has a certain exuberance and wildness of style, though as a rule he controls it with infinite skill. The limitations of haute cuisine mean little to Vergé—no other three-star chef would make buckwheat blinis to go with Beluga caviar, for instance.

Far more than his neighbour, Louis Outhier, he has accepted the challenge of his region and bases several dishes on Provençal recipes. The gâteau de lapin dans sa gelée au Chablis is authentically rural, down to the odd bone which may stick in your throat. The catch of the Mediterranean fishermen (with whom Vergé likes to mix) appears in his terrine de rascasse and biscuit de loup. Believing in strong tastes, he uses all the herbs of the mountains with a free hand.