Food for Thought

Computer Model View of Dining Room and Open Kitchen

 For over a year, I have had the pleasure of working with a passionate couple who are following their dreams to Vermont.  Michel Boyer and Beth Whitaker packed up their stable urban life to move to the country and open a Provence-inspired Brasserie.  Michel has spent his life in the hospitality industry, most recently as manager of Brasserie 8 1/2 in New York.  Trained as a graphic artist, Beth has developed her hand as a fine oil-painter.  This husband and wife duo combines their creative energy with experience in the business of hospitality.

Michel labored over the restaurant's name.  He wanted something clearly French, pronouncable by the great American un-washed, and reflects the sense of place he envisioned. Brasserie L'Oustau de Provence sums that up for him.  For those of you, like me, who have no idea what that means, the following definition should shed a little light.

Oustau  (oo – sto’), -noun  1. an ancient Roman agricultural homestead structure found in the South of France, often occupied by landowner, farm workers, and their extended families, serving as the heart of community. 

Working with Steven and Lauren Bryant, who helped to locate and evaluate potential properties, we seriously studied two other sites before selecting the building at 1716 Depot Street in Manchester.  The property was a going concern, but had little to do with the concept or menu of what was to become Brasserie L'Oustau.  What it did have were high ceilings, an open kitchen and an antique bar that oddly enough was perfect for our vision.

I took a field trip to New York and attended the annual hotel and restaurant show there.  While in the city, I met with Michel, and he took me on a whirlwind tour of the best brasserie spaces that Manhattan has to offer.    Balthazar, with its cool vibe and great sense of place has the recipe well worked out.  The architecture and details at Brasserie Ruhlmann are exceptional.  But what would would you expect from a restaurant named after the great Art Deco designer Emile-Jaques Ruhlmann?  Artisinal Bistro on 32nd and Park combines the brasserie dining experience with an exceptional fromagerie that purveys some of the finest hand-crafted cheeses available in the city.

Massive Columns,  brass-capped banquettes and
carefully selected lighting combine with a custom mosaic
floor to create a true brasserie environment.

Armed with this vision and sense of experience, we attacked the plans with enthusiasm.  (I had also just read Danny Meyer's book, Setting the Table, which re-lit my hospitality sense from my years as an innkeeper.)  The thesis was clear.  The concept concrete.  And the scope of worked pre-defined.  We set out taking down walls to create the open feel and dynamic flow.  I designed a custom mosaic tile to paint the floors with, and detailed massive columns that are iconic elements of our brasserie precedents.


We are not yet two months into the project, and as the tile is laid, the space is really coming together.  Lighting will be installed next week and furniture arrives as staff training takes place the following week.  A soft opening will launch three weeks from now, and I can hardly wait.  I'm sure that L'Oustau will prove to be a comfortable and envigorating hub for our community.