Belcastel: a tiny mediaeval village nestling against a hillside.
Below it, at the bottom of a verdant valley, a pretty stone bridge spans the river Aveyron.
It is in this wondeful setting that the Fagegaltier-Rouquier family invite you to enjoy a moment of timeless bliss.
Nicole and Michèle Fagegaltier were born in Belcastel, a tiny village of 60 inhabitants, 25 km from Rodez.
Their parents' and grandparents' hotel-restaurant was renowned for its local cuisine and whitebait. "Our parents and our village together taught us to love genuineness in people and things, to appreciate beauty, and always to look on the sunny side of life".
In 1983, Nicole took over the family restaurant. Michèle joined her a few years later to take charge of dining room and reception.
Nicole shares her great love of cooking with her husband, Bruno Rouquier, and they now run the Restaurant du Vieux Pont together.
In 1994, they opened a seven-room hotel, then a gîte, on the left bank of the river.
Belcastel's pretty bridge is a landmark and a strong focal point for the Fagegaltier-Rouquier family. It provides a link between the hotel and the restaurant, but also between today and yesterday, between flavours from here and elsewhere, between guests and the family...
The restaurant is on the right bank and is located in the house where the Fagegaltier sisters grew up. One can almost get a whiff of Fagegaltier mère's cooking.
Today, the finest cuisine that the Aveyron departement has to offer is available there: genuine local flavours are still in evidence, but the cuisine has become more refined, and vegetables are given pride of place along with fish, spices and herbs.
Michèle Fagegaltier and Gilles Héliez, the wine waiter, will guide you in you choice of dishes and wines.
Nicole and Bruno share a passion for cooking, and their respective backgrounds and working methods are complementary: they love fine ingredients and dishes with plenty of taste. Their cuisine is sincere, extremely subtle and unaffected.
Their roots in the Aveyron and their deep love of the area have undoubtedly left a stamp on their cuisine. They are fond of unexpected but logical combinations, contrasts between rusticity and refinement.
Gilles Héliez, the wine waiter, has lovingly assembled a list of 400 wines.
All of France's wine-growing regions are represented.
In the course of his visits to vineyards, he meets a variety of interesting men and women, and he will point you in the direction of some of his favourite wines.
the white wines :
Les vins blancs :
Gaillac "Mauzac" (Robert Plageoles) 2006, 21€
Bergerac "Cuvée des Conti"
(Château Tours des Gendres) 2007, 19€
Jurançon "Le Chant Des Vignes"
(Domaine Cauhapé) 2006, 28 €
Côtes du Roussillon "Les Terres Grillées"
(Domaine Piquemal) 2007, 21 €
Collioure "Folio" (La Coume Del Mas) 2007, 37 €
VDP Du Vaucluse "Cuvée Spéciale De Durban"
(Domaine de Durban) 2006, 15 €
Lirac "Cuvée De La Reine Des Bois"
(Domaine De La Mordorée) 2005, 32 €
Chinon "Les Chesnaies" (Pascal Lambert) 2005, 34.50 €
Quincy (Philippe Portier) 2005, 26 €
Chablis 1er Cru "Montmains"
(Domaine Les Malandes) 2006, 35 €
Les vins rouges :
Saumur-champigny " Terres Chaudes"
(Thierry Germain) 2006, 42 €
Saint Emilion Grand Cru
(Château Tour de Pressac) 2004, 41 €
* Vin de Pays d'Oc "Eolienne"
(Mas d'Espanet) 2006, 26.50 €
Côteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint Loup "Simon"
(Clos Marie) 2001, 52 €
Chateauneuf du Pape
(Domaine de Beaurenard) 2003, 50 €
Cahors "Cuvée Expression"
(Château Lamartine) 2001, 41 €
Gaillac "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes"
(Domaine du Moulin) 2004, 24 €
and the only Aveyron's AOC:
Marcillac "Terres D'Angles"
(Domaine du Mioula) 2005, 25 €
Marcillac "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes"
(Domaine du Cros) 2004, 19,50 €
Marcillac "Cuvée Péirafi"
(Jean-Luc Matha) 2004, 19,50 €
Agnès et Denis Armand
www.masdespanet.com
The dining room offers a soothing atmosphere, with its plush fitted carpet, cushioned chairs and colour scheme that ranges from pale coffee to chestnut purée.
Wide plate-glass windows fill the room with natural light that changes with the seasons. Exposed beams act as a reminder of past.
They are inspired by the passing seasons, which set the tone of their dishes.
The combinations of tastes and flavours they create are infuenced by places they have visited and people they have met.
They highlight all that is best in local produce: veal from the Aveyron and the Ségala, Aubrac beef and suckling lamb (Allaiton), as well as vegetables from Port d'Agrès, fruit from Pruines and Naucelle, and fruit, vegetables and herbs they go and choose twice a week at Rodez market.
The hotel complements the restaurant harmoniously.
...after which the hotel is so appropriately named.
For five centuries, its arches have proudly spanned the river that gives its name to the department.
Then look up and contemplate the light that wreathes one of France's most beautiful villages.
The landscape is topped by a superb fortified castle that has barely changed since the Middle Ages.
And if you look straight ahead, your eyes will alight on the restaurant where, in the course of a meal, you will experience the pleasure of sampler some original cuisine that attracts all the gourmets from the region and elsewhere
Next to the hotel, there is a charming spot by the river: a little cottage surrounded by a garden and flower-decked low walls.
Nicole et Michèle Fagegaltier have lovingly done uo the gîte. It is a bright, light-filled and welcoming spot. One feels at home in it.
The cottage can accommodate up to three persons (55 sq.m.) It comprises a kitchen/living room giving on to a terrace, two attic bedrooms, one with a double bed (1.60x2m) and one with a single bed (90cmx2m), a bathroom (shower) and two independent toilets.
It may be rented by the week (Saturday to Saturday) from April to November. The 2008 rates range from 342 € to 605 € a week depending on the time of the year.
To rent the gîte, contact the Departemental Tourist Office (tel 0033 5 65 75 55 55.
E-mail: gites.de.france.aveyron@wanadoo.fr
Offres d'hébergements de particuliers en France et en Outre mer
http://www.amivac.comProducteur de fromages fermier fabriqués à la ferme à
Graissac 12420 LAGUIOLE
Pour un immobilier d'exception et rare, contacter Cherlotte et Patrick Poncet
http://www.poncet-poncet.comLes découvertes de Gilles Héliez,
sommelier au Restaurant du Vieux Pont à Belcastel
Les news
http://www.rodez-hotels.comNews
http://www.hotels-rodez.comA Villeneuve d'Aveyron
(30 mn de Belcastel),
dans une belle demeure médiévale, collection privée
d'objets d'art
et de traditions populaires
Built 1000 years ago on a massive rock, this magnificent fortress rises above one of the most beautiful villages in the Aveyron region of France.
http://www.chateaubelcastel.com/L'autre hôtel situé à Rodez
http://www.fermedebourran.comAu coeur de l'Aveyron, Belcastel est un des plus beaux villages de France. Venez découvrir la beauté de ce village et tenez-vous au courant des différentes manifestations qui y ont lieu.
http://www.mairie-belcastel.fr
