I first washed up on the shores of France almost two and a half years ago to cook at the Cannes Film Festival. It was the start of a six month tour cooking my way around the country. Six months turning into eight which turned into a year which has miraculously morphed into two and a half. Don't ask me how... The moral of this story - careful what you wish for! It might actually come true. Anyways, before we fired up our panini machines and hot plates (more on that another time), all the cooks in the group - about 24 of us - were treated to a whirlwind of excursions around Cannes and Nice.
the cooks and managers with the American Pavilion
Our second day in Cannes began with a visit to Moulin de Mougins (which means Windmill of Mougins, Mougins being the town), a restaurant renowned throughout the continent. It was run for decades by the legendary chef Roger Vergé who maintained his 3-Michelin star rating the entire time. I believe he still owns it but has turned over his whisks to a French-trained and muy caliente Spaniard, Alain Llorca who was previously the chef at Le Negresco in Nice. He received two stars but is determined to regain that elusive third star. The restaurant, and the entire property for that matter, is a beautiful old stone building from centuries ago with an antique stone olive press in the entrance.
chef Alain Llorca on the right, with his sous chef
