René Char at the table

In Provence, there is no strict separation between starter, main course, and dessert: people share a series of dishes placed on the table around bread and olive oil, from the humblest (soup, olives) to the most festive (Sunday aïoli), all washed down with local wine. The meal follows the rhythm of the seasons and the garden, and conversation counts as much as the contents of the plate.

The thread running through all of Char's cuisine: it binds the soup, emulsifies the aïoli, preserves the tapenade, and perfumes the bread. For a poet attached to the nourishing land of the Sorgue, the olive is the very emblem of Provençal authenticity.