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Why This Michelin Green Star Chef in Provence Is Redefining Luxury Dining

In a world of over-styled tasting menus and trend-driven gastronomy, Michelin Green Star chef Benoit Witz is quietly going in the opposite direction.

At Le Jardin Secret, the intimate restaurant inside the Lou Calen estate in Cotignac, Provence, there’s no menu. No “concept.” No imported ingredients from far-flung lands. Instead, guests sit down to a surprise – whatever produce is freshest that morning, transformed into something elegant, nourishing and deeply rooted in place.

“I don’t ask what the guest wants – I ask what the garden wants,” says Witz. “That’s where it begins. The ingredient speaks first.”

Every morning, nearby producers – most within 50 kilometres – arrive at the kitchen door with the best of what’s growing: early spring asparagus, heritage tomatoes, courgette blossoms, local honey, herbs cut just hours earlier. What doesn’t come from partner farms is often picked on-site from the estate’s own wild and intentionally unmanicured gardens, where fruit trees, wildflowers and vegetables grow without chemicals or design.

“It’s about intuition,” Witz explains. “My training is from life, not from a manual. My grandmother taught me to cook what’s in front of you, with care and rhythm. That’s still how I cook today.”

Born and raised in modest circumstances in southern France, Witz’s culinary origins are not found in prestigious schools or Michelin kitchens, but in his grandmother’s home, shelling peas and tasting broths made from nothing but time and instinct. That memory – of food as comfort, as presence – still anchors his approach.

The Luxury of Restraint

There’s a reason Le Jardin Secret earned the Michelin Green Star, a distinction reserved for restaurants showing outstanding commitment to sustainable gastronomy. But Witz is quick to wave away the label.

“It’s not a badge – it’s a responsibility,” he says. “If you truly respect nature, you don’t overcomplicate what it gives you.”

That respect is evident in every plate: dishes are cooked à la minute, not just for flavour, but to preserve nutrients and freshness. Nothing is prepared in advance – not because it’s trendy, but because Witz believes food loses its integrity when rushed or pre-made.

“The longer food sits, the more it forgets what it was,” he says. “We serve it when it’s still alive.”

The kitchen avoids waste, designs menus based on surplus, and reuses ingredients with intent. Every plate tells a story of place: olive oil pressed a few villages over, saffron grown nearby, edible flowers from the path behind the kitchen. Even the breads and butters are developed around the seasons.

A Different Kind of Fine Dining

Dining at Le Jardin Secret is a different experience by design. The restaurant, which sits in the former residence on the estate, hasn’t been remodelled into a sleek showroom. Instead, it’s made to feel like a Provençal home. Guests eat in small rooms, where the walls still carry the character of the past, and the setting is warm, quiet, and personal.

There are no white gloves. No formalities. Just a focus on food, place, and presence.

“Luxury isn’t about what you add – it’s about what you choose to leave out,” Witz says. “Silence can be luxurious. So can simplicity. So can time.”

This ethos fits perfectly into Lou Calen’s wider identity as a sustainable retreat with no televisions in rooms, an on-site microbrewery and pastis bar, and a regular roster of hands-on workshops (think basket weaving, wood carving, and botanical walks). The whole estate is designed to slow guests down, reconnect them to nature, and let them rediscover joy in simplicity.

What’s Next for Witz

Far from building an empire, Witz is focused on writing a book that documents his philosophy of food as storytelling and stillness. He’s also developing seasonal tasting experiences at Lou Calen- still menu-less, but themed around a single ingredient presented in multiple textures and forms.

Above all, he hopes to continue cooking in a way that feels honest.

“I’m not here to impress,” he says. “I’m here to nourish. Not just the body – but memory, feeling, connection. That’s the kind of luxury we don’t talk about enough.”

And in a culinary world that too often celebrates excess, Le Jardin Secret offers something rare: the kind of meal you don’t just remember for its flavour, but for how it made you feel.