... in southern france!
 

Some of you may have hit on this page because you were looking for terroir restaurant with rooms in Cley next the Sea; others may simply want to find out what's happening at our new venture, Grillou, in the southern French department of Ariège Pyrénées.

After nearly nine very full-on and successful years in Cley, terroir closed its doors at the end of 2006 when we decided to move lock, stock and barrel to one of our favourite parts of our favourite country, the French Pyrénées. The house that housed terroir-as-was has been sold and has reverted to a private home, and surprisingly quickly and with remarkably little angst, we found and fell for our next home, Grillou.
 

about grillou
Grillou is a 300 year old stone farmhouse literally in the middle of the woods, in the foothills of the Pyrénées, almost at the end of its track with just one other (out of sight) house a few hundred metres beyond. We're just 3 kilometres or so from our nearest village, Rimont, which has a boulangerie, an epicerie-bar and a rather good restaurant, and surrounded by beautiful scenery. When we came to view the house we were seduced by the absolute peace: all you can hear are cowbells, crickets (the 'grilloux') and birdsong. After a serious amount of work (!), we'll be opening Grillou to guests (you can read more about that below).

Ariège Pyrénées is the 'other' south of France: still largely unknown even to the French, it's a rural department with just six main towns, many small villages and hamlets, some of the most stunning scenery in the country and a surprisingly lively and alternative cultural scene including some of France's best summer festivals. You can find us on the map wedged between Aude, Haute-Garonne and Andorra, believe it or not slightly farther south than Nice; or try this website, which is a great introduction to the area. Concern for the environment is strong here: the core of the department is in the process of forming a Parc Naturel Régional, of which we shall be a part, and there are many small organic and biodynamic producers around (not always certified), many of whom have opted out of successful city lives in France and elsewhere to live a simpler life here. The area is fantastic for walking, with endless well-marked paths for all levels; for birding; for photography and painting; or just for chilling with a picnic by a river or at one of the mountain cols with fantastic views right into Spain and Andorra.

about us
We are Kalba Meadows and John Curtis; together we ran terroir restaurant with rooms in our home in Cley next the Sea, north Norfolk from 1998 to 2006. terroir, despite its ultra-modest size, became increasingly well known and won a number of awards, including Les Routiers Regional Restaurant of the Year and Local Food Supporter of the Year (twice), plus several environmental awards such as the Business in the Community Award of Excellence for environmental responsibility. In our previous lives we worked as person centred therapist and social worker respectively; we're into food, wine, walking, contemplation, birds and wildlife, growing things, environmental stuff, writing, living and being. We've come here to France to find the time and the space to weave all the bits of our lives together into a new story.

watch this space ...
... because you haven't quite seen the last of us yet! Although Grillou is first and foremost our own home, we're planning in some space for guests (to be honest, we'd miss you if we didn't!). So from the previous owner's artist studio and workshop (originally barns), we're creating first of all a huge (100m2), light and stylish space for just two people: cooks' kitchen, dining and sitting areas on the ground floor, sleeping plus further sitting areas on the first floor, and a great bathroom in the original grenier (grain store). Flexibility will be the name of the game: come for a short break on a fully serviced basis, stay longer as largely self-catering guests, or concoct an arrangement of your own somewhere in between according to your whims, travel plans and the time you've got available. We're also converting a part of the old house next to the studio into a separate chambre d'hôte suite, also for a couple, with a bedroom upstairs and sitting room downstairs.
 

nature with a touch of nurture ...
No restaurant this time, but a kitchen cooking (slowly!) two or three times a week for our guests - four courses of local / seasonal food, including wines - and we're hoping for some really good, convivial, multilingual evenings! Think laid back days of gentle (or not!) walks, swimming in local rivers or lakes, visits to local markets and festivals, even a bit of culture-vulturing in Toulouse, just an hour and a half away, or simply reading in a shady spot in the garden; think long, lingering, warm evenings enjoying dinner al-fresco. Plus ... Slow Walking holidays, Space to Breathe breaks and, of course, a few terroir-style twists.

We'll also, generally in the warmer months, be offering occasional day and residential workshops, courses and events for small groups: space and time to be, to reflect, to see ourselves - our relationships with ourselves, with the environment and with other people - in a new way. If this kind of thing interests you, you might like to know that this summer Kalba will be co-facilitating an informal retreat with Simon Cole, a friend, colleague and fellow therapist who also lives and works here in Ariège. Retreat - a reflective passage will take place between 31 August and 3 September in the lovely surroundings of Le Sentier Tranquille, in the Douctouyre valley east of Foix. More details of this and future events are at www.thepersoncentre.net/events.html; you can also find out more about Le Sentier Tranquille on Simon's website at www.life-counselling.co.uk.
 

when?
Well, we've got an enormous amount of work to do to bring the house and grounds up to the level we'd like you (and us!) to experience. Grillou is by no means a ruin, but it's very much a product of the 1980s, complete with Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen type paint effects, blue bidets and dribbly showers! So bear with us; we want to enjoy the whole process and so we anticipate being ready for guests some time in 2009 if things go as we think, perhaps a little later if they don't! Much of the work (and all of the creative bit!) we're doing ourselves, though the house will be crawling with all manner of builders, plumbers and electricians through much of the next year.

So if you're a Francophile (or would like to be), and you've perhaps enjoyed what we've done over the last few years, or you'd like to enjoy what we'll be doing over the next few, you can contact us or add your name to our mailing list at info@grillou.com.

You can read more from Grillou on our blog, Slow Living in the French Pyrénées.
 

© Kalba Meadows 2008.    Last update 13 June 2008.
Award winning neighbourhood restaurant with rooms, unique seasonal vegetable cooking and fine organic wines; long, slow, pleasurable dining; chic, boutique style acc re