Fashion designer Simone Rocha on her perfect restaurant experience
Simone Rocha, among creatives invited by Wallpaper* guest editor Laila Gohar to share meaningful dining memories, recalls happy evenings at a mountainside haunt near Nice
Simone Rocha: When faced with only picking one meal in a restaurant, I find it hard to choose. But I have always loved La Chaumière, tucked in off the side of the road up a mountain above Nice.
The feeling of arriving at dusk after a salty day in the sea and finding its tiny sign in lights is always magical. I’ve been many times over the last 20 years with my family and friends, from being a kid rolling around in the boot of the car on the way back down, to bringing my daughters and them drawing on the table. I love the room. It is simple, with stone floors, small tables with white tablecloths (my favourite), and metal chairs with woven wicker bases.
The room centres around one open fire with a wooden block in front where the meat is prepared. It is very relaxed and feels low key. You could be in someone’s living room.
Everything is cooked on the fire, essentially magical meat and potatoes. To start, I would recommend the giant wicker basket of crisp crudités. Then the côte de boeuf and potatoes. And finally the apple tart, which is accompanied by a massive bucket of cream that is spooned onto your plate. Perfect!
This article appears as part of Laila Gohar’s guest editor section of the October 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands from 5 September on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Hugo is a design critic, curator and the co-founder of Bard, a gallery in Edinburgh dedicated to Scottish design and craft. A long-serving member of the Wallpaper* family, he has also been the design editor at Monocle and the brand director at Studioilse, Ilse Crawford's multi-faceted design studio. Today, Hugo wields his pen and opinions for a broad swathe of publications and panels. He has twice curated both the Object section of MIART (the Milan Contemporary Art Fair) and the Harewood House Biennial. He consults as a strategist and writer for clients ranging from Airbnb to Vitra, Ikea to Instagram, Erdem to The Goldsmith's Company. Hugo has this year returned to the Wallpaper* fold to cover the parental leave of Rosa Bertoli as Global Design Director.
-
Gardens & Villas offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living in California
Gardens & Villas, a home in Las Quintas, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Daniel Obasi discusses Lagos’ Amah members’ club, where vocation and wonder can meet
Amah, a new members’ club founded by photographer, art director and stylist Daniel Obasi, is a creative co-working space and meeting point for Lagos’ creative class
By Mazzi Odu Published
-
A closer look at Loewe’s delirious, erotically-charged collaboration with artist Richard Hawkins
‘Modern life has become a collage,’ said Jonathan Anderson after his A/W 2024 menswear show, which featured Los Angeles-based artist Richard Hawkins’ collages across sweaters and bags
By Jack Moss Published
-
The joy of AIX Rosé, sunshine in a glass
AIX Rosé, made in the sun-drenched hills of Côteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, is a dry, pale pink and aromatic, everyday luxury
By Simon Mills Published
-
How Debauve et Gallais and Marie Antoinette sparked a chocolate revolution
Paris chocolatier Debauve et Gallais is built on a sweet legacy, involving a chocolate coin designed to cure Marie Antoinette of her distaste for medicine
By James Gurney Published
-
Le Clarence: a culinary gem within Paris’ historic Golden Triangle
Le Clarence restaurant at The Hotel Dillon flies the flag for a new era of French luxury as the city gears up for the 2024 Olympic Games
By Melina Keays Published
-
L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château is a new limited-edition luxury cognac collection
L’Or de Jean Martell – Réserve du Château de Chanteloup is the first in the new luxury cognac series, perfect for toasting 2024
By Melina Keays Published
-
Château Galoupet is teaching the world how to drink more responsibly
From reviving an endangered Provençal ecosystem to revisiting wine packaging, Château Galoupet aims to transform winemaking from terroir to bottle
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Young chef Mallory Gabsi opens his first restaurant in Paris
25-year-old Belgian chef Mallory Gabsi has collaborated with designer Arnaud Behzadi to create a welcoming, contemporary restaurant in the heart of Paris
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Café Compagnon brings home comforts to the heart of Paris
Interior designer Gesa Hansen and restaurateur Charles Compagnon open an inviting Paris café and restaurant in the heart of the city
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Le Dôme by Foster + Partners perfectly blends architecture and landscape
Foster + Partners’ new winery for French producer Le Dôme is a perfectly balanced blend of architecture and landscape
By Natasha Levy Last updated