48 goodthingsmagazine.com‘I^
had passed the grey, grand
old house at No 1. Rue
de Loudenne on several
occasions since moving to
Médoc, but never thought it would
ever have anything to do with me.
Monsieur Ladra, the owner of the
house, showed us round on that
first day, disclosing his family’s
whole history; the account of how,
through his great-grandmother’s
dalliance with the richest man
in town, the house had become
family property.
For me, what sealed the deal
was the kitchen. So much history
buried in the cupboards and the
old tiles peeking out from under
a modern linoleum flooring. A
fireplace so large and inviting.What food I could make here!
From the day I first walked
into that beautiful big kitchen
where I now cook every day, when
I discovered the house had been a
restaurant, when I realised it had
a big dining room and a second,
smaller kitchen next to that, I
knew what would happen next...'
Following in the footsteps of
Plantia Puatard, who convinced
her lover to turn the building into
a hotel and restaurant 100 years
earlier, Mimi and her family and
friends have opened their doors
to welcome diners from across
France and beyond.
These recipes are inspired by
her love of simple flavours and
the wealth of local produce.N
o
- RUE de
LOUDENNE
Buying a crumbling château wasn’t originally
part of the plan, but Mimi Thorisson
did just that – transforming it into a family
home then a thriving restaurantFrenchCATHY ZP.indd 48 02/04/2017 22:09