Of Land and Sea

Savoring French flavors on a gastronomic trail between Marseille and Dijon.

- Lauren Jade Hill

FOR A TASTE of Marseille, and how its culinary heritage is shaped by the sea, there are few places like Le Petit Nice Passedat (tasting menus from $255). Since it opened on the water's edge in 1917, the restaurant has served refined versions of bouillabaisse and other local specialties. But in the hands of Gérald Passedat, the current chef and grandson of the original founder, it has taken seafood to new gastronomic heights and earned its third Michelin star in 2008.

When I arrived for lunch on a sunny autumn day, I was struck by the setting: an all-white dining room built over the rocky shoreline, with a curved wall of glass that gives the place the feel of a luxury liner sailing on the Mediterranean. After taking my seat by the window, I ordered the eight-course "Passedat" tasting menu.

Each dish told a story. The amuse-bouche had a seafood broth that was as blue as the cerulean waters outside. The chef's signature dish was steamed sea bass topped with ribbons of zucchini and cucumber, served over a flavorful base of wild fennel, tomatoes, lemon, and a touch of truffle. Passedat named the dish after his grandmother Lucie, who was raised in Quercy, a region known for its farming and truffle hunting.

"It's about a way of life that goes back to the region's roots and embraces local products," Passedat told me at the end of the lunch service. He added that he sources 70 types of seafood for his menus, including monkfish, scorpion fish, and lobster caught off Marseille's rugged coast. "I've worked with the local fishermen for many years."

All this may explain why his restaurant is highlighted by the Vallée de la Gastronomie, or the Valley of Gastronomy, a food-and-wine trail created in 2022 to promote the storied culinary heritage of three regions of France. The 385-mile trail traces a thousand-year-old trade route between Marseille and Dijon that passes through Lyon, arguably the capital of French gastronomy.