FROM THE GARDEN TO THE LOCAL TERROIR
At Les Chênes Verts, the organic kitchen garden is fully part of life at the guesthouse. Grown by Patrick, the manager, it changes with the seasons and makes it possible to return to a simple, local, and down-to-earth approach. This garden naturally belongs to the Luberon environment, an area known for the richness of its local terroir, its producers, its markets, and the diversity of its local produce.
Beyond the kitchen garden, staying at Les Chênes Verts also makes it possible to better discover the flavours of the region, between fruit, vegetables, olive oil, honey, cheeses, and other productions from the area. Between direct sales, farmers’ markets, and local producers, the Luberon offers many opportunities to discover a local, close-to-home agriculture and a food heritage closely linked to Provence.
In Patrick’s
gardenLIFE IN THE GARDEN
At Les Chênes Verts, the garden holds an important place in the life of the guesthouse. Patrick, the manager, grows this organic kitchen garden in the Luberon himself, following the rhythm of the seasons and the natural development of the plantings.
This daily presence in the kitchen garden helps maintain a concrete link with the soil, the vegetables, the plants, and the harvests. The garden changes over the year, without seeking to produce continuously, but by respecting growing periods and the needs of each plant.
It is Patrick who takes charge of the Les Chênes Verts kitchen garden and follows its development day by day. He prepares the plantings, maintains the crops, and harvests what reaches maturity according to the periods of the year.
The kitchen garden remains on the scale of the guesthouse: it is not a farm operation, but a space cultivated on site, as close as possible to the needs of the house. This regular presence in the garden also helps keep a direct link with the soil and with the produce from each crop.
The kitchen garden naturally changes over the year. Plantings are not the same in spring, in summer, or when temperatures begin to drop, which makes it possible to follow a rhythm closer to natural cycles.
This change gives the garden a living, renewed character. Each period brings its own crops, its harvests, and its maintenance needs, with attention paid to the season, the climate, and the development of each plant.
When harvests allow, certain kitchen-garden produce can find its place in the Les Chênes Verts kitchen. The idea remains simple: use what is available at the right time, without trying to make people believe that the entire table d’hôtes relies solely on the garden’s production.
This link between growing and cooking gives more meaning to the produce served. A vegetable, an aromatic herb, or a fruit grown on site can thus go from the garden to the plate, depending on the season and on what Patrick has been able to harvest.
Current harvests
THE LOCAL TERROIR
The Luberon stands out for the diversity of its agricultural and artisanal production. Depending on the areas and the seasons, you can find fruit, vegetables, olive oil, honey, cheeses, wine, and also certain more specific products such as truffles.
This richness of the local terroir makes it possible to discover varied flavours throughout the year. Between producers, farms, markets, and direct-sale outlets, each part of the area offers its own specialities and its local consumption habits.
Fruit and vegetables hold an important place in the local diet of the Luberon. Their presence varies depending on the time of year, which makes it possible to discover different productions over the seasons and to better understand the rhythm of growing.
At markets, with certain producers, or through direct sales, this diversity can be found on the stalls. Choosing a seasonal product also helps you stay more connected to the area, to its agricultural habits, and to the reality of the work carried out in fields and gardens.
Olive oil is among the products closely associated with the Luberon and, more broadly, with Provence. Olive trees have a visible place in the landscape and contribute to the agricultural identity of the area.
Depending on the producers, olives can be turned into oil or offered in other forms. This work highlights local know-how linked to olive growing, harvesting, and the processing of the fruit.
The Luberon also offers a wide variety of farm and artisanal products. Honey, cheeses, certain milk-based products, wine, and also bread complement the productions that can be found from local producers and at certain markets.
This diversity reflects the agricultural richness of the area, between livestock farming, viticulture, beekeeping, and artisanal processing. Depending on the areas, it is also possible to discover goat’s cheese, juices, cereals, or other specialities from local know-how.
From the market to the
houseMEET THE PRODUCERS
To find local products in the Luberon, several options exist depending on the communes and the days of the week. Direct farm sales, markets, producer shops, or certain collective points of sale make it easier to get closer to the origin of the products.
These different channels also provide an opportunity to get to know the producers better, their working methods, and the specialities offered in each part of the area. For visitors, it is a simple way to extend the discovery of the Luberon through its agriculture and its local terroir.
Direct sales make it possible to buy from a producer without going through a long chain of intermediaries. Depending on the farms, this can take the form of a farm shop, a stand, or a welcome organised at certain times of the week.
This way of buying also makes it easier to exchange with the producer. The consumer can better know the origin of the product, how it was grown or processed, as well as the periods when it is truly available.
Producer shops and collective points of sale make it possible to find in one place several references from farms and holdings in the area. They can bring together fruit, vegetables, honey, cheeses, bread, or other locally processed products.
This type of shop offers a practical solution for discovering different productions without multiplying journeys. It also makes it possible to keep a local approach, with an offer built around producers and farmers from the Luberon.
Markets are another way to discover local Luberon produce. Depending on the communes and the days, they bring together producers, artisans, and different local actors around an offer that can combine fruit, vegetables, honey, cheeses, olive oil, or artisanal specialities.
Farmers’ markets more particularly make it possible to highlight local production and the direct relationship with those who grow or process the products. For visitors, it is also a simple moment to see the diversity of the local terroir and better understand the region’s eating habits.
Growing with the seasonsBUY CLOSER TO HOME
Choosing products from the Luberon also makes it possible to better support the producers who work in the area. Direct sales, markets, farms, or collective points of sale contribute to an economy closer to production sites and local habits.
This approach is based in particular on short supply chains, which bring the producer closer to the consumer and give greater visibility to the work carried out on farms. It also helps to maintain a close-to-home agriculture and an offer linked to the seasons, know-how, and the resources of the area.
Short supply chains make it possible to reduce the number of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer. In the Luberon, they can take different forms: farm sales, farmers’ markets, collective shops, or another local distribution point.
This way of operating makes it easier to better understand the origin of the products and the work carried out on site. It also makes it possible to give a larger share to local production, by maintaining a direct link with farmers and local actors.
Consuming locally also means taking production periods into account. Not all fruit, vegetables, or farm products are available all year round, especially when they come directly from a farm or a producer in the Luberon.
Following the season therefore makes it possible to better respect the rhythm of growing and to discover an offer that changes over the months. This habit also gives more meaning to buying local, by staying connected to the agricultural reality of the area rather than to a permanent availability of the same products.
Supporting producers does not only happen through buying at the farm. Local shops, markets, collective points of sale, and certain artisans also contribute to highlighting local production.
In the Luberon, these different actors help circulate local-terroir products and maintain an economic activity linked to the area. They also make it easier for visitors to discover know-how, specialities, and productions from the region.
UNDERSTANDING THE PRODUCTS
These three notions are often linked, but they do not mean the same thing. A product can be organic without being local, be produced in the Luberon without being from organic farming, or even be sold through a short supply chain without meeting these two criteria.
Making this distinction helps to better understand a product’s origin, its production method, and the way it reaches the consumer. It is also an important point for choosing according to your priorities, whether they concern proximity, compliance with specifications, or the direct link with the producer.
An organic product comes from a production method governed by precise rules. In organic farming, practices must comply with specifications that concern, in particular, methods of cultivation, livestock farming, and processing.
However, this certification does not provide information about the distance travelled by the product. An organic food can be grown in the Luberon as well as in another region. For the consumer, it is therefore useful to distinguish the production method from the geographical origin.
A local product is first and foremost defined by its geographical proximity to the place where it is bought or consumed. In the Luberon, a fruit, a vegetable, a cheese, or an oil can thus come from a nearby producer without necessarily being certified organic.
This distinction is important to avoid shortcuts. Buying local makes it possible to favour proximity and to better identify the origin of the product, while the organic label provides information about the production method. The two approaches can complement each other, but they are not automatically linked.
The flavours of
ProvenceAT THE TABLE IN PROVENCE
Luberon cuisine relies largely on the productions of its area. Olive oil, vegetables, fruit, honey, cheeses, bread, wine, and also truffles can be part of simple recipes, often linked to the seasons and to the habits of Provence.
This diversity of products contributes to the local culinary identity. It makes it possible to discover flavours that vary depending on the villages, markets, and producers encountered, while keeping a direct link with the local terroir and the region’s gastronomic heritage.
In the Luberon, cuisine remains closely linked to products available locally. Vegetables, olive oil, fruit, honey, and also certain cheeses make it possible to compose simple dishes where the product keeps a central place.
This approach highlights the flavours of the area more than fixed recipes. Depending on the seasons and the habits of each house, the cuisine can thus evolve while keeping a link with the local terroir, the producers, and the region’s food traditions.
In the Luberon, recipes can naturally evolve depending on harvests and the products available over the year. Summer vegetables, later fruit, and also certain farm products are not always found at the same time.
This seasonality directly influences the cuisine and makes it possible to vary preparations. It also gives more space to fresh products, local habits, and simple recipes that highlight what the area can offer at a given time.
A stay at Les Chênes Verts can also be an opportunity to discover the Luberon through its gastronomy. Between the table d’hôtes, markets, producers, and the specialities encountered from village to village, the cuisine becomes another way to explore the area.
This discovery complements the landscapes, heritage, and activities of the region. It makes it possible to better understand the link between agriculture, local products, and culinary habits, while giving a more concrete place to the flavours of the Luberon.
From Les Chênes Verts, several markets in the southern Luberon and the Pays d’Apt can be included in an outing. They make it possible to discover producers, artisans, and different local specialities, while visiting the villages and landscapes of the region.
For this section, it is preferable to present a short selection of markets that are truly relevant from La Bastidonne rather than an agenda that is too broad. Each market can be accompanied by its day, its opening times, the commune concerned, and, when the information is reliable, the type of producers present.
A house, a garden, a tableYOUR STAY
At Les Chênes Verts, Patrick’s kitchen garden naturally blends into the guesthouse environment. It recalls the link between the soil, the seasons, and the products that are part of the daily life of the place.
This approach also makes it possible to discover the Luberon differently, by giving a place to its agriculture, its producers, and its food heritage. The stay is therefore not limited to discovering the landscapes: it can also become a way to better understand the productions and flavours that are part of the local identity.
TO GO FURTHER
To know the origin of a product, the simplest way is to consult the information provided by the seller or to speak directly with the producer. At a market, on a farm, or in a specialist shop, it is possible to ask where the product was grown, raised, or processed.
Labels, the farm address, or indications of origin can also provide guidance. As the term “local” does not automatically correspond to a particular certification, it remains useful to check the origin rather than relying only on the product’s presentation.
Several specialities can easily extend the trip once you are back home. Olive oil, honey, certain artisanal preparations, wine, or olive-based products can, for example, make a tasty souvenir of the Luberon.
The choice mainly depends on storage conditions and the planned journey. For cheeses, fresh products, or certain farm preparations, it is preferable to ask the producer directly how to transport and store them.
Truffles are a particular production, linked to specific harvest periods and to areas suited to their cultivation. They may be offered by certain producers, at specialised markets, or during events organised around this product.
Before travelling, it is preferable to check the period, the place of sale, and the information provided by producers or tourist offices. Truffle availability is not constant throughout the year.
Some farms, holdings, estates, or producer shops welcome visitors directly, while others operate only by appointment or at specific times.
It is therefore advisable to check the visiting arrangements before setting off. Meeting a local producer can make it possible to discover their activity, better understand their work, and buy certain products directly at their place of production.
EXTEND THE DISCOVERY
Depending on the harvests, certain garden produce finds its place in Véronique’s cooking.
Discover the table d’hôtes ↗