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Some of you may have hit on this page because you were looking for terroir restaurant with rooms in Cley next the Sea; others may simply want to find out what's happening at our new place, Grillou, in the southern French department of Ariège Pyrénées. So a quick catch-up for those who don't know: after nearly nine very full-on and successful years in Cley, terroir closed its doors at the end of 2006 when we decided to move lock, stock and barrel to one of our favourite parts of our favourite country, the French Pyrénées.
The house that housed terroir-as-was was sold and has reverted to a private
home, and surprisingly quickly and with remarkably little angst, we found and
fell for our next home, Grillou, where we've been living now for almost three years.
about grillou  Grillou is a 300 year old stone farmhouse literally in the middle of the woods, in the foothills of the Pyrénées, almost at the end of its track with just one other (out of sight) house a few hundred metres beyond. We're just 3 kilometres or so from our nearest village, Rimont, which has a boulangerie, an epicerie-bar and a rather good restaurant, and surrounded by beautiful scenery. When we came to view the house we were seduced by the absolute peace: all you can hear are cowbells, crickets (the 'grilloux') and birdsong. After a serious amount of work (!), we'll be opening Grillou to guests (you can read more about that below and on the next page).
Ariège Pyrénées is the 'other' south of France: still largely unknown even to the French, it's a rural department with just six main towns, many small villages and hamlets, some of the most stunning scenery in the country and a surprisingly lively and alternative cultural scene including some of France's best summer festivals.
(Biased? Moi?). You can find us on the map wedged between Aude, Haute-Garonne and Andorra, believe it or not slightly farther south than Nice; or try this website, which is a great introduction to the area. Concern for the environment is strong here: the core of the department encompasses France's newest Parc Naturel Régional, of which we are a part, and there are many small organic and biodynamic producers around (not always certified), many of whom have opted out of successful city lives in France and elsewhere to live a simpler life here. The area is fantastic for walking, with endless well-marked paths for all levels; for birding; for photography and painting; or just for chilling with a picnic by a river or at one of the mountain cols with fantastic views right into Spain and Andorra. Getting here from the UK or anywhere in northern Europe is pretty straightforward: both Carcassonne and Toulouse airports are just over an hour and a half away; if you prefer to take the train the TGV will bring you to Toulouse with a local connection to Foix, just half an hour away. Once you're here, a car is pretty much essential though. If you're bringing your own car, it's perfectly possible to drive from Calais or Boulogne in one (long) day, though we ourselves would break the journey usually somewhere near Chartres. Here's a better look at Grillou ...
about us
We are Kalba Meadows and John Curtis; together we ran terroir restaurant with rooms in our home in Cley next the Sea, north Norfolk from 1998 to 2006. terroir, despite its low key approach and ultra-modest size, became increasingly well known and won a number of awards, including Les Routiers Regional Restaurant of the Year and Local Food Supporter of the Year (twice), plus several environmental awards such as the Business in the Community Award of Excellence for environmental responsibility. We come, respectively, from the worlds of person centred therapy and social work; we're into food, wine, walking, contemplation, birds and wildlife, growing things, environmental stuff, writing, living and being.
In England we were early members of, and passionate participants in, the Slow
Food movement: we've come here to live more Slowly and more simply, to find time, space and balance, and to share this magical place from time to time with like-minded others.
so watch this space ...
... because you haven't quite seen the last of us yet! Although Grillou is first and foremost our own home, we're in the throes of creating some space for guests (to be honest, we'd miss you if we didn't!) - full details
on the next page.
when?
Well, after eighteen
months of planning and then a full year of serious twenty-four-seven-style work,
the end is finally within our (distant) sights ... Although Grillou was by no means a ruin
when we moved in, it was very much a product of the 1980s, complete with
Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen type paint effects, blue bidets and dribbly showers; it
was also, being originally a couple of smaller houses plus animal sheds and
barns, a bit of a maze and so needed some creative tinkering with layout and
walls to bring out its best. For many months now our small team of craftsmen
have been busy wiring, plumbing, knocking down some internal walls, making new
openings, insulating, hemp plastering, doing creative things with reclaimed wood
and stone and all the rest, while we've worked alongside doing everything else,
including much of the demolition, tiling, laying and sanding wooden floors,
painting, lime washing, tadelakting, laying stone for terraces ...
And now for the bad
news. Although we'd hoped (and expected) to be ready to receive our first guests
in summer this year, the last phase of the work, the creation of a new
dining room, has proved to have rather more to do with straws and camels than we
or our artisans anticipated. (The unforeseen and rather urgent need for a new
ridge beam in the barn didn't help, either ...). All of which is a roundabout
way of saying ... sorry, but we're going to be late! We'll now be open - yes,
definitely! - from 1 April 2011, and will be taking bookings from, we hope,
January 2011. Watch this space ...
© Kalba Meadows 2008-10. Last update 25 March 2010.
Award winning neighbourhood restaurant with rooms, unique seasonal vegetable cooking and fine organic wines; lonslow, pleasurable dining; chic, boutique style acc re |
