Jean Coussau

In 1850, my great grandparents took over a grocer’s and inn on the route to Santiago de Compostela. My parents Bernard and Jeanne transformed this family inn into a hotel restaurant with a reputation as a place to stay and to dine. From a very early age I was brought up in this atmosphere, and as a matter of course, after Hotel Management School in Toulouse and about ten years travelling between restaurants across France and Europe, my wife, my brother Jacques and I took over what was to become Relais & Châteaux - Relais de la Poste. I am passionate about my native region of the Landes, its traditions, its culture, its lakes and its forests, as I am of the Atlantic Ocean and its wide open spaces. They all influence my cuisine which is one of diversity, as it draws on all the different produce from this area.

What is your Chef’s secret to preparing your star ingredient?

Asparagus has been on our menu for more than 60 years, and it’s one of our regular customers’ favorite dishes. Depending on the season, I cook it in different ways. Right now I’m offering it browned with little lamb sweetbreads on a ragout of small fresh morel mushrooms, or cooked simply in salted water with a hollandaise sauce.

How do you go about selecting your ingredients?

I was born just five kilometers from Magescq, and as far back as I can remember I have always known asparagus. As a child, I used to fetch water from the creek for preserving asparagus (the tap water had too much iron and would turn red). Still today, I rely exclusively on Magescq farmers who grow their asparagus in white sand rather than ortstein, even though this iron ore is quite common in the Landes. And I still work with two growers, Lalanne and Lafitte, who used to supply my father.