La Bergerie

Eating

Dinner - included in the room price - is served up at the new auberge, the wide stone building which greets you at the top of the estate. It's always lively, both outside on the stone-flagged terrace with its tented haima, and inside at the bar and firelit dining room. We were offered a choice of 5 starters, 5 mains and 5 desserts every day, with a regular turnover in dishes to keep long-stay guests happy (and those we spoke to backed this up) - though since our visit in 2010, things may have changed.

Cuisine is a mixture of Moroccan and French, so you might be offered anything from split-pea soup and merguez sausages to fondues and even snails! Prawn quiche, goat terrine, dorado meuniere and onion tart are some of their more unusual offerings; chicken brochettes and lamb tagine with olives, prunes and sesame are among the staples. In the interests of research, we sampled over a dozen dishes – all of them delicious – and still had room for an excellent quince and pear tart (made from homegrown fruit) and a shot of date liqueur.

Breakfast consisted of warm bread, pastries, and a choice of eggs was offered. Homemade jams, including green tomato or fig, are promised, as are fruit salads, yoghurts and maybe even some sinful deep-fried churros.

You can also book lunch, but try not to coincide with the coachloads of Club Med guests who come once or twice a week (currently Tuesday and Friday). Or, if you're out on an excursion, ask for a packed lunch the evening before.