La Mère Poulard
Nestled in the in the heart of the mysterious medieval Mont Saint Michel, lies La Mère Poulard. Rosie Khdir discovers the charming history and delicious gastronomy behind this famous French restaurant and hotel.
It was back in 1888, when Annette and Victor Poulard opened their inn at Mont Saint Michel. The Island had been closed to the world during the years of the French Revolution in 1789 when it stood as a prison.
Annette’s two loves, other than her loyal husband Victor of course, were cooking and Mont Saint Michel, and after opening their Inn on the island, she fast became a culinary star. She had around seven hundred delicious recipes that earned her the nickname Mère Poulard, title of honour which distinguishes talents female chefs.
Of all her dishes, the most famous was her omelet which is now famous the world over. Guests today can still enjoy her glorious recipes in the Hotel of Mère Poulard. The restaurant adjoins the Omelet room where her famous dish is cooked over a wood fire, just as it was in times gone by, in the great fireplace.
Dinners can also taste the many other delightful dishes, from Normandy foie gras, salt meadow lamb from Mont Saint Michel, Brittany lobster, farm-raised poultry, vegetables of the season and the traditional Mère Poulard desserts and sweets.
The fame and popularity of Mère Poulard is displayed throughout the hotel with paintings and autographs from its famous visitors. Celebrities such as Claude Monet, Rita Hayworth, Woody Allen, Glenn Glose, Juliette Binoche, Arthur Rubinstein, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent passed through Poulard’s doors.
Many politicians such as Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt and Georges Clemenceau visited, as well as numerous royals from the UK and Japan.
Today the hotel is every bit as popular and provides guests with a cosy room with beautiful views of the island and delicious traditional French food. If you wish to learn the secrets of Mère Poulard’s dishes you can even enroll in the cooking school of Mont Saint Michel.
For more details on reservations visit the official Mère Poulard website.
With P&O Ferries you can get a crossing from Dover to Calais in a car with up to nine people starting from just £30 – it’s then just a short drive to Mont Saint Michel.
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