The story
Set in the heart of the Alpilles, Le Relais du Castelet occupies a restored 12th-century hunting lodge—an ancient mas that once served as a stagecoach relay. The restaurant sits at the end of a dirt track, surrounded by olive groves, between the Abbaye de Montmajour and the Moulin de Daudet. This is the Provencal countryside as it should be: cicadas, pétanque, and the long summer sun on a shaded terrace.
The kitchen is guided by the seasons and what the potager yields. The team describes their cooking as traditional and generous, built on fresh, local ingredients sourced exclusively through short supply chains. Recent inspiration includes a poached peach on a salted almond sablé, with smoked Crau hay ice cream, a crunchy pistachio tuile, and fig-tree oil. Wines are chosen with care from passionate local vignerons.
The restaurant has earned a Michelin recommendation, a fitting recognition for a table that marries rustic setting with precise, ingredient-driven cooking. Whether you come for a set lunch or a private event, the welcome is warm and the setting deeply Provencal.
Recognition
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History
After working at the legendary Bistrot du Paradou, Jean-Baptiste Bert set down his knives in a splendid mas stone farmhouse in Fontvieille, in the heart of the Vallée des Baux. Enjoyed underneath the trellis in the summer or around the fireplace in the winter, his seasonal cuisine mostly relies on local gems and is a real treat! For us, the day we went for lunch: a trio of perfectly crisp asparagus from Barbegal, with farm-fresh sheep’s milk yogurt and slivers of sheep’s milk tomme cheese from the Mas Reynaud; sensational rockfish soup intensified by some good homemade rouille; extremely tender beef cheek stew with a reduction, boulangère potatoes and pan-fried carrots; before a delicious chocolate mousse tucked into a vanilla cream emulsion. // G.LeP.
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