Hotel & Restaurant Alain Chapel is set in the picturesque village of Mionnay. Alain Chapel's renowned concept of taste, based on blending regional tradition with refined gourmet techniques, is today perpetuated by Suzanne Chapel and chef Philippe Jousse, whose parents owned a boucherie-charcuterie in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in France. His grandparents had a farm at Saint-Denis-les-Ponts. Between the two, his childhood was filled with wonderful foods and the freshest of flavours. With a palate trained so early in life, it was natural that he studied and obtained his C.A.P. in cuisine. Jousse apprenticed with M. Malapris at Le Pavillon des Princes in Paris. From there, his work took him to Le Petit Montmorency in Paris, the army, then Le Chiberts in Paris and, finally, in 1982, to Mionnay, where he was chef de partie and second de cuisine at Restaurant Chapel. In 1989, he was half a world away, chef de cuisine at Restaurant Alain Chapel in Kobe, Japan; in July, when Alain Chapel passed away, Jousse returned to Mionnay and took over in the kitchen there. Savour «soufflé léger aux noisettes et thym frais, sorbet au citron de Menton» and other sublime specialities accompanied by fine wines. Each plate is an offering tribute to nature...