NH Hotel, Lyon St Exupéry airportI recently spent a week touring the Luberon, and was frankly underwhelmed on many fronts, not least the food. Avoiding expensive and tourist-infested places was easy, however finding alternative places to eat was less so. On a couple of occasions I resorted to buying some bread, cheese and fruit from the local market and picnicking in a beauty spot. At Isle-sur-la-Sorgue I had a couple of fairly agreeable lunches but pleasant places to eat an evening meal in small Luberon towns - in Apt, at least, where I was staying - are thin on the ground. You would be forgiven for thinking the national dish of Provence is pizza.
I flew back to Brussels from Lyon, where I arrived with a few hours to spare before my flight. Lyon St Exupery airport, which caters mostly to the likes of Easyjet, doesn't boast much in the way of gourmet dining, but the NH Hotel at the airport had a nice-looking restaurant offering a 16-euro two-course lunch during the week. I calculated that I had two and a half hours to kill, so I went for the 22-euro formula, which throws in a third course and a glass of wine. It was quite delicious, well served by courteous and well-trained staff, although I apologise if I can't remember what I had. Some kind of fish as a main course, I think. Chef himself came out to greet each table individually and ask how we had enjoyed the lunch.
"I've just spent a week in Provence, and this is the best meal I've had all week!" I told him. He beamed.
Only on my return did I check out the restaurant on the internet and found it was part of the Nhube concept restaurants designed for the Spanish NH hotel chain by famed Catalan chef Ferran Adria. Well of course! I should have guessed. Nhube restaurants can be found in many NH hotels in Spain and elsewhere, many of them at airports.
Next time I won't bother going further than Lyon, aptly named "la capitale gourmande".
I may not ever make it to El Bulli but at least I've sampled a little of Ferran Adria's magic